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AN 


INTRODUCTION 


TO THE 


CRITICAL STUDY AND KNOWLEDGE 


OF THE 


HOLY SCRIPTURES. 


BY THOMAS HARTWELL HORNE, M. A. 

(of st. John’s college, Cambridge,) 

Curate of the united parishes of Christ Church, Newgate Street, and St. Leonard, Foster Lane. 


FOURTH AMERICAN EDITION. 

ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS MAPS AND FAC-SIMILDS OP 
BIBLICAL MANUSCRIPTS. 



VOLUME II. 


PiClatretylUcT: j 

PUBLISHED BY E. LITTELL. 

SOLD also by 

G. & C. CARVILL, NEW-YORK; AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS. 


1881 . 















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V 








CONTENTS 


THE SECOND VOLUME. 


PART J. 

ON SCRIPTURE-CRITICISM. 


Chapter I. On the Original Languages of Scripture. 

Section I. On the Hebrew Language. 

I. Antiquity of the Hebrew Language ; — II. And of its Characters. — III. Of 
the Vowel Points. - - ... Pa^e I 

S 

Section II. On the Samaritan Pentateuch. 

I. Origin of the Samaritans. — II. Their enmity against the Jews, in the time 
of Jesus Christ. — III. Critical notice of the Samaritan Pentateuch, and of its 
variations from the Hebrew. — IV. Versions of the Samaritan Penta¬ 
teuch. - - - ... 10 

Section III. On the Greek Language. 

I. Similarity of the Greek language of the New Testament with that of the 
Alexandrian or Septuagint Greek Version.— II. The New Testament, why 
written in Greek. — III. Examination of its style. — IV. Its Dialects — He¬ 
braisms — Rabbinisms — Syriasms and Chaldaisms — Latinisms — Persisms 
and Cilicisms. 15 

Section IV. On the Cognate or Kindred Languages, 

I. The Chaldee. — II. The Syriac. — III. The Arabic, IV. The Ethiopic.— 
V. The Rabbinical Hebrew. — VI. Use and Importance of the Cognate Lam 
guages to Sacred Criticism. ...... 31 

Chapter II. On the Manuscripts of the Bible. 

Section I. On the Hebrew Manuscripts of the Old Testament. 

I. Different Classes of Hebrew manuscripts. — II. The rolled manuscripts of the 
synagogues. — III. The square manuscripts used by the Jews in private life. 
— IV. Antient recensions or editions of Hebrew manuscripts. — V. Age of 
Hebrew manuscripts. — VI. Of the order in which the sacred books are ar» 
ranged in manuscripts. — Number of books contained in different manuscripts. 
— VII. Modern families or recensions of Hebrew manuscripts. — VIII. Notice 
of the most antient manuscripts. — IX. Brief notice of the manuscripts of the 
Indian Jews. ------- - 34 

Section II. On the Manuscripts of the Greek Scriptures. 

§ 1. General Observations on Greek Manuscripts. 

I. On what materials written. — II. Form of letters. — III. Abbreviations.— 
IV. Codices Palirnpsesti or Rescripti. — V. Account of the different families, 
recensions, or editions of manuscripts of the New Testament. — 1. The system 
of Dr. Griesbach and Michaelis. — 2. Of Dr. Scholz. — 3. Of M. Matthsei. — 4. 
Of Mr. Nolan. — VI. On the Foedus cum Grrecis, or coincidence between many 
Greek manuscripts and the Vulgate Latin Version. - - - 4i) 





IV 


CONTENTS, 


§ 2. Account of Grech Manuscripts containing the Old and New Testaments. 

I. The Alexandrian manuscript. — II. The Vatican manuscript. - Page6$ 

§ 3. Account of Manuscripts (entire or in part ) containing the Scptuagint or Greek 
Version of the Old Testament 

I. The Codex Cottonianus. — II. The Codex Sarravianus. — III. The Codex 
Colbertinus. — IV. The Codex Cassareus, Argenteus, or Argenteo-PurpureuS. 
— V. The Codex Ambrosianus. — VI. The Codex Coislinianus. — VII. The 
Codex Basilio-Vaticanus. — VIII. The Codex Turicensis. 77 

§ A.^Account of the principal Manuscripts containing the New Testament entire or 
in part. 

I. The Codex Cottonianus (Titus C. XV.) —II. The Codex Bezae, or Cantabri- 
giensis. — III. The Codex Ephremi. —IV. The Codex Claromontanue. — 
The Codex Argenteus. — VI. The Codex Rescriptus of St. Matthew’s Gospel 
in Trinity College, Dublin. — VII. The Codex Laudianus 3. — VIII. The Co¬ 
dex Boernerianus. — IX. The Codex Cyprius. — X. The Codex Basileensis E. 
— XI. The Codex San-Germanensis. — XII. The Codex Augiensis. — XIIL 
The Codex Plarleianus, 5598.— XIV. The Codex Regius or Stephanie—- 
XV. The Codex Uffenbachianus. — XVI. The Codices Manners Suttoniani. — 
XVII. The Codices Mosquenses. — XVIII. The Codex Brixiensis. — XIX. 
Other MSS. written in small characters and deserving of especial notice, viz- 

1. The Codex Basileensis, 1.—2. The Codex Corsendoncensis. — 3. The Co¬ 

dex Montfortianus. — 4. The Codex Regius, 50. — 5. The Codex Leicestrensis. 
— 6. The Codex Vindobonensis. — 7. The Codex Ebnerianus. — XX. Notice 
of the Collations of the Barberini and Velesian manuscripts. - 83 

t Chapter III. On the Editions of the Old and New Testament , 

Section I. A Critical Notice of the principal Editions of the Hebrew 
Bible. - - - - - - -113 

Section II. A Critical Notice of the principal Editions of the Greek 
Testament. ------ 126 

Chapter IV. On the Divisions and Marks of Distinction occurring 
in Manuscripts and Printed Editions of the Scriptures. 

Section I. On the Divisions and Marks of Distinction occurring in 
the Old Testament. 

I. Different Appellations given to the Scriptures. — II. General Divisions of the 
Canonical Books. — III. Particularly of the Old Testament. — 1. The Law. — 

2. The Prophets. — 3. The Cetubim or Hagiographa. — IV. Account of the 

Masora. — V. Modern Divisions of the Books of the Old Testament. — Chap¬ 
ters and Verses. - 130 

Section II. On the Divisions and Marks of Distinction occurring in 
the New Testament. 

I. Antient divisions of TirXoi and Ke<pa\aia. — Ammonian, Eusebian, and Eutha- 
lian sections. — Modern divisions of chapters. — II. Account of the antient and 
modern punctuation of the New Testament. — Antient and modern 

verses. — III. Of the titles to each book. — IV. Subscriptions to the different 
books. ... .. . _ 140 

Chapter V. On the antient Versions of the Scriptures. - 156 

Section I. Antient Versions of the Old Testament . 

§ 1. Of the Targums , or Chaldee Paraphrases. 

I. Targum of Onkelos ; — II. Of the Pseudo- Jonathan ; — III. The Jerusalem 
Targum ; —IV. The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel; — V. The Targum on 
the Hagiographa ; — VI. The Targum on the Megilloth ; — VII. VPII. IX. 
Three Targums on the Book of Esther ; — X. Real value of the different Tar- 

g ume -.. 


CONTENTS. 


V 


^ 2. On the Antient Greek Versions of the Old Testament. 

I. History of the Septuagint; — II. Critical Account of its Execution; — III. 
What Manuscripts were used by its Authors ; — IV. Account of the Biblical 
Labours of Origen ; — V. Notice of the Recensions or Editions of Eusebius 
and Pamphilus, of Lucian, and of Hesychius ; — VI. Peculiar Importance of 
the Septuagint Version in the Criticism and Interpretation of the New Testa¬ 
ment ; — VII. Bibliographical Notice of the principal Printed Editions of the 
Septuagint Version; — VIII. Account of other Greek Versions of the Old 
Testament; — 1. Version of Aquila ; — 2. Of Theodotion ; — 3. Of Symma- 
chus ; — 4,5,6. Anonymous Versions; — IX. References in Antient Manu¬ 
scripts to other Versions. - Page 163 

§ 3. On the Antient Oriental Versions of the Old Testament. 

I. Syriac Versions. — Notice of the Syriac Manuscripts brought from India by 
the late Rev. Dr. Buchanan ; — Editions of the Syriac Version; -— II. Arabic 
Versions, and Editions ; — III. Other Oriental Versions; — 1. Persian Ver¬ 
sions ; — 2. Egyptian Versions. — 3. Ethiopic or Abyssinian Version. — 4. Ar¬ 
menian Version.— 5. Sclavonic or Old Russian Version. - - 187 

§ 4. On the Antient Latin Versions of the Scriptures. 

I. Of the Old Italic, or Ante-Hieronymian Version ; *— II. Account of the Biblical 
Labours and Latin Version of Jerome ; — III. Of the Vulgate Version, and its 
Editions ; — IV. Critical value of the Latin Vulgate Version. - - 196 

Section II. On the Antient Versions of the New Testament. 

I. Oriental Versions. — 1. Peschito or Antient Syriac Version. — 2. The Phi- 
loxenian Syriac Version. — 3. The Syriac translation of Jerusalem. — 4. Egyp¬ 
tian Versions. — 5. Arabic Versions.-—6. Etbiopic Version.-—7. Armenian 
Version. — 8. Persian Version. — II. Western Translations— 1. The Go¬ 
thic Version. — 2. The Sclavonic Version. — 3. The Anglo-Saxon Version. 202 

Section III. On the Use and Application of Antient Versions . 

Observations on the respective merits of the several antient versions : — rules 
for consulting them to the best advantage. - - - 212 

Chapter VI. On the Modern Versions of the Scriptures. 

Section I. General Observations on the Circulation of the Scriptures . 

I. Scarcity and high prices of the Scriptures. — II. Rude attempts to convey an 
idea of their contents to the poor and illiterate. — Account ot the Biblia Pau- 
perum. — 111. Number and classification of the translations of the Bib.le into 
modern languages. - - - - - - -21G 

Section II. On the modern Latin Versions of the Old and New Testa - 
ments. 

I. Modern Latin Versions of the entire Bible, executed by persons in communion 
with the church of Home. — 1. OfPagninus. — 2. Of Montanus. — 3. OfMal- 
venda and Cardinal Cajetan. — 4. Of Houbigant. — II. Modern Latin Versions 
of the whole Bible executed by Protestants. — 1. Of Munster. — 2. Of Leo 
Juda. — 3. Of Castalio. — 4. Ot Junius and Tremellius. — 5. Of Schmidt.— 
6. Of Dathe. — 7. Of Schott and Winzer.—-III. Modern revisions and cor¬ 
rections of the Vulgate Latin Version, by Catholics and Protestants.— IV. 
Modern Latin Versions of the New Testament. — 1. Of Erasmus. — 2. Of Beza. 
— 3. Of Sebastiani. — Other modern Latin Versions of less note. - 221 

Section III. Versions in the modern Languages of Europe. 

I. German Version of Luther. — Notice of ten versions derived from it. — No¬ 
tice of other German Versions by Protestants, and by Roman Catholics.— 
Jewish German Versions. — II. Versions in the Languages spoken in the 
British Isles. — 1. English Versions, particularly Wickliife’s Bible. — Tin- 
dais Bible. — Coverdalc’s Bible. — Matthewe s Bible. — Cranmer s or the 
Great Bible. — Geneva Bible. — English Versions by Roman Catholics at 
Rheims and Douay.—King James’s Bible, or the authorised version now in 
use.History of it.-—Notice of its best editions. — Its excellency vindicated 


Vi 


CONTENTS. 


against recent objectors. — Testimonies of eminent critics to its fidelity and 
excellency. — 2. Welsh Version. — 3. Irish Version. — 4. Gaelic Version. — 5. 
Manks Version. 1 —III. French Versions. — IV. Dutch Version. — V. Ita¬ 
lian Version. — VI. Spanish Versions. — VII. Russian Version. — VIII. 
Croat Version.— IX. Basque Version.— X. Hungarian Version.— XI. Po 
i.ish Versions. — XII. Bohemian Version. — XIII. Romaic or modern Greek 
Versions.—^ XIV. XV. Bulgarian and Wallachian Versions. — XVI. Ro- 
manese Versions. — XVII. Turkish Versions. — XVIII. Portuguese \ er- 
sion. — XIX. Albanian Version. — XX. Maltese Version. Page 22b 

Section IV. Modern Versions in the Languages of Asia. 

I. Hebrew. —II. Chaldee. — III. Versions in the Oriental Languages, eithe. 
translated by the Baptist Missionaries at Serampore, or printed at the Mission 
Press. — 1. Arabic, and the languages derived from or bearing affinity to it. 

— 2. Sanscrit, and the languages derived from or bearing affinity to it. 3. 

Chinese, and the languages derived from or bearing affinity to it. IV. Other 
Asiatic Versions. — 1. Formosan. — 2. Tartar. — 3. Georgian. — 4. Tahi- 
tan. - - - - - - - - 270 

Section V. Modern Versions in the Languages of Africa and America. 

I. African Versions. — 1. Amharic and Tigre. — 2. Bullom. — 3. Susoo.— II. 
North American Versions. — 1. Virginian. — 2. Delaware. — 3. Indian Mas¬ 
sachusetts.— 4. Mohawk. — 5. Mohegan. — 0. Esquimeaux. — 7. Greenland- 
ish. — 8. Creolese. — III. South American Versions. - - 290 

Chapter VII. On the Critical Use of the Jewish and Rabbinical 
Writings , and the Works of profane Authors. 

I. The Apocryphal books of the Old Testament. — II. The Talmud. — 1. The 
Misna. — 2. The Gemara. — Jerusalem and Babylonish Talmuds. — 3. The 
Writings of Philo-Judaeus and Josephus. — Account of them. — The genuine¬ 
ness of Josephus’s testimony to the character of Jesus Christ proved. — IV. 
On the use of the writings of profane authors for the elucidation of the Scrip¬ 
tures. -------- 295 

Chapter VIII. On the Various Readings occurring in the Old and 
JVew Testaments. 

I. The Christian faith not affected by Various Readings.— II. Nature of Vari¬ 
ous Readings. — Difference between them and mere errata. — III. Causes of 
Various Readings: — 1. The negligence or mistakes of transcribers: — 2. 
Errors or imperfections in the manuscript copied ; — 3. Critical conjecture ; 

— 4. Wilful corruptions of a manuscript from party motives. — IV. Sources 

whence a true reading is to be determined : — 1. Manuscripts ; — 2. Antieni 
Editions; — 3. Antient Versions ; — 4. Parallel Passages ; — 5. Quotations in 
the Writings of the Fathers ; — 6. Critical Conjecture. — V. General rules for 
judging of various readings. — VI. Notice of Writers who have treated on 
various readings. - 310 

Chapter IX. Of the Quotations from the Old Testament in the 
JVew. — Quotations in the JVew Testament from the Apocryphal 
Writers and from profane Authors. 341 

Section I. On the External Form of the Quotations from the Old 
Testament in the New. 

Quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures in the New Testament. — I. 
Quotations exactly agreeing with the Hebrew. — II. Quotations nearly agree¬ 
ing with the Hebrew. — III. Quotations agreeing with the Hebrew in sense, 
but not in words. — IV. Quotations that give the general sense, but abridge or 
add to it. — V. Quotations taken from several passages of Scripture. — VI. 
Quotations differing from the Hebrew, but agreeing with the Septuagint. — 
VII. Quotations in which there is reason to suspect a different reading in the 
Hebrew. — VIII. Passages in which the Hebrew seems to be corrupted. — IX. 
Passages which are mere references or allusions. - - - 343 


CONTENTS. 


VII 


Section II. On the Quotations from the Septuagint Version in the 
Greek Testament. 

I. Quotations agreeing verbatim with the Septuagint, or only changing the per¬ 
son, number, &c. — II. Quotations taken from the Septuagint, but with some 
variation. — III. Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint in sense, but not in 
words. — IV. Quotations differing from the Septuagint, but agreeing exactly 
or nearly with the Hebrew. — V. Quotations that differ from both the Septuv 
gint and the Hebrew. — VI. Considerations on the probable causes of the 
seeming discrepancies in the quotations from the Old Testament in the 
New. - • .... Page 386 

Section III. On the Internal Form of Quotations , or the Mode in ichich 
Citations from the Old Testament are applied in the New. 

General observations on the Rabbinical and other modes of quoting the Old Tes¬ 
tament. — Classification of the Quotations in the New Testament; — I. Quo¬ 
tations from the Old Testament in the New, in which the predictions are lite¬ 
rally accomplished ; — II. Quotations, in which that is said to have been done, 
of which the Scriptures have not spoken in a literal, but in a spiritual sense ; 
— III. Quotations that are accommodated by the sacred writers to particular 
events or facts ; — IV. Quotations and other Passages from the Old Testament 
which are alluded to in the New. ..... 433 

Section IV. Of Apocryphal Passages, supposed to he quoted in the 
New Testament — Quotations from profane Authors. - 443 

Chapter X. On the Poetry of the Hebrews. 

I. A large portion of the Old Testament proved to be poetical; — Cultivation of 
poetry by the Hebrews. — II. The sententious parallelism, the grand character¬ 
istic of Hebrew Poetry.— Its origin and varieties. — 1 . Parallel lines grada¬ 
tional ; — 2. Parallel lines antithetic ; — 3. Parallel lines constructive ; — 4. 
Parallel lines introverted. — III. The poetical dialect not confined to the Old 
Testament. — Reasons for expecting to find it in the New Testament. — Proofs 
of the existence of the poetical dialect there; — 1. From simple and direct 
quotations of single passages from the poetical parts of the Old Testament; — 
2. From quotations of different passages, combined into one connected whole ; 

— 3. And from quotations mingled with original matter. — IV. Original pa¬ 
rallelisms occurring in the New Testament: — I. Parallel Couplets ; — 2. Pa¬ 
rallel Triplets; — 3. Quatrains; — 4,5. Stanzas of five and six lines; — 6. 
Stanzas of more than six parallel lines. — V. Other examples of the poetical 
parallelism in the New Testament; — 1. Parallel lines gradational; — 2. The 
Epanodos. — VI. Different kinds of Hebrew Poetry. — 1. Prophetic poetry ; — 
2. Elegiac poetry ; — 3. Didactic poetry ; — 4. Lyric poetry ; — 5. The Idyl; 

— 6 . Dramatic poetry ; — 7. Acrostie or alphabetical poetry. — VII. General 
observations for better understanding the compositions of the sacred poets. 446 

Chapter XI. On Harmonies of Scripture. 

I. Occasion and design of Harmonies of the Scriptures. — II. Works reconciling 
alleged or seeming contradictions in the Sacred Writings. — III. Harmonies 
of tlie Old Testament. — IV. Harmonies of the Four Gospels. — V. 1. Har¬ 
monies of particular parts of the Gospels.—2. Harmonies of the Acts of the 
Apostles and of the Apostolical Epistles. — VI. Observations on the different 
schemes of harmonisers, and on the duration of the public ministry of Jesus 
Christ. - -.474 


CONTENTS. 


vm 


PART II. 

ON THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 


Chapter I. On the Sense of Scripture . 

I. Of the Literal Sense. — II. Allegorical Sense. — III. Typical or Spiritual 
Sense. — IV. Parabolic Sense. — V. Examination and vindication of the Spi¬ 
ritual Sense. — VI. General rules for investigating the Sense of Scrip¬ 
ture. .... ... Page 492 

Chapter II. On the Signification of Words and Phrases. 

I. General rules for investigating the meaning of words. — II. On emphatic 
words. — III. Rules for the investigation of emphases. - - 504 

Chapter III. On the subsidiary Means for ascertaining the Sense of 

Scripture. 

Section I. On the Cognate Languages. - - 514 

Section II. On the Analogy of Scripture , or Parallel Passages . 

I. Nature of Parallel Passages. — II. Verbal Parallelisms. — III. Real Parallel¬ 
isms.— IV. Parallelisms of members, or poetical parallelisms. — V. Rules for 
investigating parallel passages.— Helps tor the investigation of parallel pas¬ 
sages. -------- 517 

Section III. Scholiasts and Glossographers. 

I. Nature of Scholia. — II. And of Glossaries. — III. Rules for consulting them 
to advantage in the interpretation of the Scriptures. - - 532 

Section IY. Of the Subject Matter. - - - 534 

Section Y. Of the Context. 

I. The Context defined and illustrated. — II. Rules for investigating the Con¬ 
text. -- -- - ... 535 

Section VI. On Historical Circumstances . 

Historical Circumstances defined. — I. Order. — II. Title. — III. Author. — IV. 
Date of the several books of Scripture. — V. The Place where written. — VI. 
Chronology. — VII. Occasion on which they were written. — VIII. Scope or 
design.— IX. Analysis of each book.— X. Biblical Antiquities, including 1. 
The political, ecclesiastical, and civil state ; —2. Sacred and profane History; 
— 3. Geography ; — 4. Genealogies ; — 5. Natural History; — and 6. Philo 
sophical sects and learning of the Jews and other nations mentioned in the 
Scriptures. .542 

Section VII. Of the Scope. 

I. The Scope defined. — Importance of investigating the scope cf a book or pas¬ 
sage of Scripture.— II. Rules for investigating it. ... 552 

Section YIII. Of the Analogy of Faith. 

I. The Analogy of faith defined and illustrated. — II. Its importance in studying 
the Sacred Writings. — III. Rules for investigating the analogy of faith. 557 



CONTENTS. 


ix 


Section IX. On Commentaries. 

I. Different classes of Commentaries. — II. Nature of Scholia. — III. Of Com¬ 
mentaries strictly so called. — IV. Paraphrases. — V. Collections of observa¬ 
tions on Holy Writ. — VI. The utility and advantage of Commentaries.— 
VII. Design to be kept in view, when consulting them. — VIII. Rules for con¬ 
sulting Commentaries to the best advantage. ... Page 563 

Chapter IV. On the Historical Interpretation of the Scriptures. 

I. Historical Interpretation defined. — Rules for the historical interpretation of 
the Scriptures. — II. On the interpretation of Scripture miracles. 571 

Chapter V. On the Interpretation of the Figurative Language of 
Scripture. 580 

Section I. General Observations on the Interpretation of Tropes and 
Figures. - - 581 

Section II. On the Interpretation of the Metonymies occurring in the 
Scriptures. 

Nature of a Metonymy. — 1 . Metonymy of the cause. — 2. Metonymy of the 
effect. — 3. Metonymy of the subject. — 4. Metonymy of the adjunct, in which 
the adjunct is put for the subject. ..... 599 

Section III. On the Interpretation of Scripture Metaphors. 

Nature of a Metaphor. — Sources of Scripture Metaphors. — I. The works of 
nature. — II. The occupations, customs, and arts of life. — III. Sacred topics, 
or religion and things connected with it. — IV. Sacred history. - 597 

Section IV. On the Interpretation of Scripture Allegories. 

The Allegory defined. — Different species of Allegory. —Rules for the interpre¬ 
tation of Scripture Allegories. - - - ; 604 

Section V. On the Interpretation of Scripture Parables. 

I. Nature of a Parable. — II. Antiquity of this mode of instruction. — III. Rules 
for the interpretation of Parables. — IV. Parables, why used by Jesus Christ. 
— V. Remarks on the distinguishing excellenceof Christ’s parables, compared 
with the most celebrated fables of antiquity. ... 610 

Section VI. On Scripture Proverbs. 

I. Nature of Proverbs. — Prevalence of this mode of instruction. — II. Different 
kinds of Proverbs. —III. The Proverbs occurring in the New Testament, how 
to be interpreted. - - - - 623 

Section VII. Concluding Observations on the Figurative Language 
of Scripture. 

I. Synecdoche. — II. Irony. — III. Hyperbole. ... 626 

Chapter VI. On the Spiritual Interpretation of the Scriptures. 630 

Chapter VII. On the Interpretation of the Scripture Prophecies. 

Section I. General Rules for ascertaining the Sense of the Prophetic 
Writings. 035 

Section II. Observations on the Accomplishment of Prophecy in ge¬ 
neral. - 641 


P> 


X 


CONTENTS. 


Section III. Observations on the Accomplishment of Prophecies con¬ 
cerning the Messiah in particular . - - Page 646 

Chapter VIII. On the Interpretation of Types. 

I. Nature of a Type.— II. Different species of Types. — 1. Legal Types. — 2. 
Prophetical Types. — 3. Historical Types. — III. Rules for the Interpretation 
of Types. — IV. Remarks on the Interpretation of Symbols. - 649 

Chapter IX. On the Doctrinal Interpretation of the Scriptures. 658 

Chapter X. On the Interpretation of the Moral Parts of Scrip¬ 
ture. 670 

Chapter XI. On the Interpretation of the Promises and Threaten¬ 
ing s of Scripture. 678 

Chapter XII. On the Inferential and Practical Reading of Scrip¬ 
ture. 

Section I. On the Inferential Reading of the Bible. 

I. General rules for the deduction of Inferences. — II. Observations for ascer¬ 
taining the sources of Internal Inferences. — III. And also of External Infe¬ 
rences. 682 

Section II. On the Practical Reading of Scripture. 690 


CONTENTS OF THE APPENDIX* 


•X 


APPENDIX. 


No. I. Account of the principal Hebrew and Chaldee Grammars. 

Section I. Hebrew Grammars, with Points. - - Page 697 
Section II. Hebrew Grammars , without Points. - - 700 

Section III. Hebrew Grammars, with and without Points. 701 

Section IV. Chaldee Grammars. - - - 702 

No. II. Account of the principal Hebrew and Greek Lexicons. 

Section I. Hebrew Lexicons, with Points. - - 700 

* 

Section II. Hebrew Lexicons , without Points. - - 704 

Section III. Lexicons to the Greek Testament and to the Septuagint 
Version. - - - - - 704 

No. III. A JVotice of the principal Lexicons and Grammars of the 


Cognate or Kindred Languages. 

Section I. Lexicons of the Kindred Languages. - - 707 

Section II. Syriac Grammars and Lexicons. - - 70S 

Section III. Arabic Grammars and Lexicons. - - 709 

Section IV. Ethiopic Grammar and Lexicons. - - 710 

Section V. Egyptian Grammar and lexicon. - - 710 

Section VI. Persian Grammars and Lexicons. - • 711 

No. IV. A List of the principal Writers on the Criticism and Inter¬ 
pretation of the Scriptures. 712 


No. V. List of the principal Writers, who have treated on the Anti - 
quities, Chronology, Geography, and other Historical Circumstances 


of the Scriptures. 

Section I. Principal Writers on Biblical Antiquities. - 72G 

Section II. Sacred and Profane History. - - 730 

Section III. Principal Writers on Sacred Chronology. - 730 

Section IV. Principal Writers on Sacred Geography. - 732 

Section V. Principal Writers on the Natural History of the Bi¬ 
ble. ------- 733 


CONTENTS OF THE APPENDIX. 


Xll 

Section VI. Introductions to the Scriptures — Dictionaries of the 
Bible. .- Page 733 

No. VI. A List of the principal Commentators and Biblical Critics 
of Eminence ; with Bibliographical and Critical Notices, extracted 
from, authentic Sources 736 

Section I. Scholia on the entire Bible, or the greater Part thereof 737 

Section II. Jewish Commentators. - 739 

Section III. Commentaries by the Fathers and Doctors of the Christian 
Church previously to the Reformation. ... 741 

Section IV. The Principal Commentators on the Scriptures generally, 
since the Reformation. - - - - - 747 

§ 1. Foreign Commentators. ...... 747 

§ 2. British Commentators. - .... 750 

Section V. Principal Commentators on the Old Testament , and on de¬ 
tached Books thereof. - - - - - 761 

41. Commentators on the Old Testament. - - - - 761 

§ 2. Principal Commentators on Detached Boohs thereof. - - 762 

Section VI. Principal Commentators on the New Testament , and on 
detached Books thereof. - - - - 733 

$ 1. Commentators on the Old Testament. .... 7 g 3 

§ 2. Principal Commentators on Detached Books thereof. - - 790 

Section VII. Principal Collections of Observations on the Scriptures, 
Grammatical, Philological, and Miscellaneous . - - 807 


INTRODUCTION 


TO THE 

CRITICAL STUDY AND KNOWLEDGE 

OF 

THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 


ON THE CRITICISM AND INTERPRETATION OF THE 

SCRIPTURES. 


PART I. 

ON SCRIPTURE-CRITICISM. 


CHAPTER I. 

ON THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGES OF SCRIPTURE. 

SECTION I. 

ON THE HEBREW LANGUAGE. 

I. Antiquity of the Hebrew Language ;—II. And of its characters » 

—III. Of the Vowel Points. 

A KNOWLEDGE of the original languages of Scripture is of the 
utmost importance, and indeed absolutely necessary, to him who is 
desirous of ascertaining the genuine meaning of the Sacred Volume. 
Happily, the means for acquiring these languages are now so nume¬ 
rous and easy of access, that the student, who wishes to derive his 
knowledge of the Oracles of God from pure sources, can be at no 
loss for guides to direct him in this delightful pursuit. 

I. The Hebrew Language, in which the Old Testament is 
written, with the exception of a few words and passages that are in 
the Chaldasan dialect 1 , is generally allowed to have derived its name 


1 Besides some Chaldee words occasionally inserted in the historical and pro 
phetical books, after the Israelites became acquainted with the Babylonians, the 
following passages of the Old Testament are written in the Chaldee dialect, viz. Jer. 
x. 11. Dan. ii. 4. to the end of chap. vii. and Ezra iv. 8. to vi. 19. and vii. 12. to 17. 
VOL. II. 1 







2 


On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part I. Ch. 

from Heber, one of the descendants of Shem, (Gen. x. 21. 25. xi. 14. 
16,17.): though some learned men are of opinion that it is derived from 
the root HD (abcr) to pass over , whence Abraham was denominated 
the Hebrew , (Gen. xiv. 13.) having passed over the river Euphrates 
to come into the land of Canaan. This language has been conjec¬ 
tured by some philologists to have been that, in which Jehovah spoke 
to Adam in Paradise, and that the latter transmitted it to his posterity. 
Without adopting this hypothesis, which rests only on bare probabili¬ 
ties, we may observe that the Hebrew is the most antient of all the 
languages in the world; at least we know of none that is older. 
Although we have no certain proof that it was the unvaried language 
of our first parents, yet it is not improbable that it was the general 
language of men at the dispersion ; and, however it might have sub¬ 
sequently been altered and improved, it appears to be the original 
of all the languages, or rather dialects, which have since arisen in 
the world. 1 

Various circumstances combine to prove that Hebrew is the origi¬ 
nal language, neither improved nor debased by foreign idioms. The 
words of which it is composed are very short, and admit of very little 
flexion, as may be seen on reference to any Hebrew grammar or lex¬ 
icon. The names of places are descriptive of their nature, situation, 
accidental circumstances, he. The names of brutes express their na¬ 
ture and properties more significantly and more accurately than any 
other known language in the world. The names also of various an¬ 
tient nations are of Hebrew origin, being derived from the sons or 
grandsons of Shem, Ham, and Japhet; as the Assyrians from Ashur; 
the Elamites from Elam : the Aramaeans from Aram: the Lydians 
from Lud; the Cimbrians or Cimmerians from Gomer; the Me¬ 
dians from Madai the son of Japhet; the Ionians from Javan, &c. 2 
Further, the names given to the heathen deities suggest an additional 
proof of the antiquity and originality of the Hebrew language ; thus, 
Japetus is derived from Japhet; Saturn from the Hebrew word 
JDD) (scmm) to be concealed , as the Latins derive Latium from la¬ 
tere , to lie hidden ; because Satan was reported to have been con¬ 
cealed in that country from the arms of Jupiter 3 , or Jove, as he is 
- also called, which name is by many deduced from Jehovah ; Vulcan 
from Tubal-Cain, who first discovered the use of iron and brass, 
he. Lastly, the traces of Hebrew which are to be found in very 
many other languages, and which have been noticed by several learn¬ 
ed men, afford another argument in favour of its antiquity and prior¬ 
ity. These vestiges are particularly conspicuous in the Chaldee, 
Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Phoenician, and other languages spoken by 
the people who dwelt nearest to Babylon, where the first division of 
languages took place. 4 


1 Dr. Gr. Sharpe’s Dissertations on the Origin of Languages, &c. pp. 22. et seq. 

2 Grotius de Veritate, lib. i. sect. 16. Walton’s Prolegomena to the London? 
Polyglott, prol. iii. § 6. (p. 76. ed. Dathii.) 

3 Virg. iEn. lib. viii. v. 322. 

4 Walton, Prol. iii. <j 7, 8. (pp. 76, 77.) 



On the Hebrew Language. 


3 


I. Sect. I.] 


The knowledge of the Hebrew language was diffused very widely 
by the Phoenician merchants, who had factories and colonies on 
almost every coast of Europe and Asia; that it was identically the 
same as was spoken in Canaan, or Phoenicia, is evident from its 
being used by the inhabitants of that country from the time of 
Abraham to that of Joshua, who gave to places mentioned in the 
Old Testament, appellations which are pure Hebrew; such are, 
Kiriath-sepher, or the city of books , and Kiriath-sannah, or the city 
of learning, (Josh. xv. 15. 49.) Another proof of the identity of 
the two languages arises from the circumstance of the Hebrews 
conversing with the Canaanites without an interpreter; as the spies 
sent by Joshua with Rahab (Josh, ii.) ; the ambassadors sent by the 
Gibeonites to Joshua (Josh. ix. 3—25.), Sic. But a still stronger 
proof of the identity of the two languages is to be found in the 
fragments of the Punic tongue which occur in the writings of an- 
tient authors. That the Carthaginians (Poeni) derived their name, 
origin, and language from the Phoenicians, is a well known and 
authenticated fact; and that the latter sprang from the Canaanites 
might easily be shown from the situation of their country, as well as 
from their manners, customs, and ordinances. Not to cite the tes¬ 
timonies of profane authors on this point, which have been accu¬ 
mulated by Bishop Walton, we have sufficient evidence to prove 
that they were considered as the same people, in the fact oi the 
Phoenicians and Canaanites being used promiscuously to denote the 
inhabitants of the same country. Compare Exod. vi. 15. with Gen. 
xlvi. 10. and Exod. xvi. 35. with Josh. v. 12. in which passages, 
for the Hebrew words translated Canaanitish and land of Canaan , 
the Septuagint reads Phoenician and the country of Phoenicia. 

The period from the age of Moses to that of David has been 
considered the golden age of the Hebrew language, which declined 
in purity from that time to the reign of Hezekiah or Manasseh, 
having received several foreign words, particularly Aramaean, from 
the commercial and political intercourse of the Jews and Israelites 
with the Assyrians and Babylonians. This period has been termed 
the silver age of the Hebrew language. In the interval between 
the reign of Hezekiah and the Babylonish captivity, the purity of 
the language was neglected, and so many foreign words were intro¬ 
duced into it, that this period has not inaptly been designated its 
iron age. During the seventy years captivity, though it does not 
appear that the Hebrews entirely lost their native tongue, yet it 
underwent so considerable a change from their adoption of the ver¬ 
nacular languages of the countries where they had resided, that 
afterwards, on their return from exile, they spoke a dialect of 
Chaldee mixed with Hebrew words. On this account, it was, that, 
when the Scriptures were read, it was found necessary to interpret 
them to the people in the Chaldasan language; as when Ezra the 
scribe brought the book of the law of Moses before the congrega¬ 
tion, the Levites are said to have caused the people to understand 
the law, because “they read in the book, in the law of God, dis* 


4 


On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part I. Ch. 

tinctly, and gave the sense , and caused them to understand the reading” 
(Neh. viii. 8.) 1 Some time after the return from the great cap¬ 
tivity, Hebrew ceased to be spoken altogether : though it continued 
to be cultivated and studied, by the priests and levites, as a learned 
language, that they might be enabled to expound the law and the 
prophets to the people, who, it appears from the New Testament, 
were well acquainted with their general contents and tenor; this last 
mentioned period has been called the leaden age of the language. 2 

II. The present Hebrew characters, or letters, are twenty-two in 
number, and of a square form : but the antiquity of these letters is 
a point that has been most severely contested by many learned 
men. From a passage in Eusebius’s Chronicle, 3 and another in St. 
Jerome, 4 it was inferred by Joseph Scaliger, that Ezra, when he re¬ 
formed the Jewish church, transcribed the antient characters of the 
Hebrews into the square letters of the Chaldaeans : and that this was 
done for the use of those Jews, who being born during the captivity, 
knew no other alphabet than that of the people among whom they 
had been educated. Consequently, the old character, which we 
call the Samaritan, fell into total disuse. This opinion Scaliger 
supported by passages from both the Talmuds, as well as from rab¬ 
binical writers, in which it is expressly affirmed that such cha¬ 
racters were adopted by Ezra. But the most decisive confirmation 
of this point is to be found in the antient Hebrew coins, which 
WSre struck before (he captivity, and even previously to the revolt , 
of the ten tribes. The characters engraven on all of them are 
mnfetly the same with the modern Samaritan, though with some 
trifling variations in their forms, occasioned by the depredations of 
time. These coins, whether shekels or half shekels, have all of 
them, on one side, the golden manna-pot (mentioned in Exod. xvi. 
32, 33.) and on its mouth, or over the top of it, most of them have 
a Samaritan Aleph, some an Aleph and Schin, or other letters, 
with this inscription, The Shekel of Israel , in Samaritan characters. 
On the opposite side is to be seen Aaron’s rod with almonds, and 
in the same letters this inscription, Jerusalem the holy. Other coins 
are extant with somewhat different inscriptions, but the same cha¬ 
racters are engraven on them all. 5 

1 It is worthy of remark that the above practice exists at the present time, 
among the Karaite Jews, at Sympheropol, in Crim Tartary ; where the Tartar 
translation is read together with the Hebrew Text. (See Mr. Pinkerton’s Letter, 
in the Appendix to the Thirteenth Report of the British and Foreign Bible So¬ 
ciety, p. 70.) A similar practice obtains among the Syrian Christians at Travan- 
core, in the East Indies, where the Syriac is the learned language and the language 
of the church ; while the Malayalim or Malabar is the vernacular language of 
the country. The Christian priests read the Scriptures from manuscript copies in 
the former, and expound them in the latter to the people. Owen’s History of the 
British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. ii. p. 364. 

2 Walton, prol. iii. § 15—24.) pp. 84—97.) Schleusner’s Lexicon, voce ’E/fyai*. 
Hahn, Introd. ad Vet. Fcedus, pp. 94—96. Parkhurst (Gr. Lex. voce, ’E/3paz{) has 
endeavoured to show, but unsuccessfully, that no change from Hebrew to Chal¬ 
dee ever took place. 

3 Sub anno 4740. 4 Praef. in 1 Reg. 

• r ' Walton, Prol. iii. § 29—37. (pp. 103—125.) Carpzov, Critica Sacra, pp. 225— 

244. Bauer, Critica Sacra, pp. Ill—127. But the latest and most useful work on 



5 


1. Sect, 1.1 On the Hebrew Language. 

-J O O 

The opinion originally produced by Scaliger, and thus decisively 
corroborated by coins, has been adopted by Casaubon, Vossius, Gro- 
tius, Bishop Walton, Louis Cappel, Dr. Prideaux, and other emi¬ 
nent biblical critics and philologers, and is now generally received: 
it was, however, very strenuously though unsuccessfully opposed by 
the younger Buxtorf, who endeavoured to prove, by a variety of pas¬ 
sages from rabbinical writers, that both the square and the Samaritan 
characters were antiently used ; the present square character being 
that in which the tables of the law, and the copy deposited in the ark, 
were written ; and the other characters being used in the copies of 
the law which were used for private and common use, and in civil 
affairs in general; and that after the captivity, Ezra enjoined the 
former to be used by the Jews on all occasions, leaving the latter to 
the Samaritans and apostates. Independently, however, of the strong 
evidence against Buxtorf’s hypothesis, which is afforded by the an- 
tient Hebrew coins, when we consider the implacable enmity that 
subsisted between the Jews and Samaritans, is it likely that the one 
copied from the other, or that the former preferred to the beautiful 
letters used by their ancestors the rude and inelegant characters of 
their most detested rivals ? And when the vast difference between 
the Chaldee (or square) and the Samaritan letters, with respect to 
convenience and beauty, is calmly considered, it must be acknowl¬ 
edged that they never could have been used at the same time. After 
all it is of no great moment which of these, or whether either of 
them, were the original characters, since it does not appear that any 
change of the words has arisen from the manner of writing them, be¬ 
cause the Samaritan and Hebrew Pentateuchs almost always agree, 
notwithstanding the lapse of so many ages. It is most probable that 
the form of these characters has varied at different periods : this ap¬ 
pears from the direct testimony of Montfaucon, 1 and is implied in 
Dr. Kennieott’s making the characters, in which manuscripts are writ¬ 
ten, one test of their age. 2 

III. But however interesting these inquiries may be in a philologi¬ 
cal point of view, it is of far greater importance to be satisfied con¬ 
cerning the much litigated, and yet undecided, question respecting 
the antiquity of the Hebrew points because, unless the student has 
determined for himself, after a mature investigation, he cannot with 
confidence apply to the study of this sacred language. Three opin¬ 
ions have been offered by learned men on this subject. By some, 

Hebrew characters, according to Bishop Marsh, is “ Josephi Dobrowsky de Anti- 
quis Hebreeorum Characteribus Dissertatio.” Prag®, 1783, 8vo. “ This tract,” 
he says, contains in a short compass a perspicuous statement of all the arguments, 
both for and against the antiquity of the Hebrew letters : and the conclusion which 
the author deduces is, that not the Hebrew, but that the Samaritan,, was the antient 
alphabet of the Jews.” (Divinity Lectures, part ii. p. 135.) A tract was also pub¬ 
lished on this subject by A. B. Spitzner, at Leipsic, in 1791, 8vo. entitled “ Vindir 
cite originis et auctoritatis divin® punetorum vocalium et accentuum in libris 
sacris Veteris Testamenti.” In this pieee the author strenuously advocates the 
divine origin and authority of the owel Points. 

1 Hexapla Origenis, tom. i. pp. 22. ct scq. 

2 Dissertation on the Hebrew Text, vol. i. pp. 310—314. 



J 


6 On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part I. Cli. 

the origin of the Hebrew vowel points is maintained to be co-eval with 
the Hebrew language itself: while others assert them to have been 
first introduced by Ezra after the Babylonish captivity, when he com¬ 
piled the canon, transcribed the books into the present Chaldee cha¬ 
racters, and restored the purity of the Hebrew text. A third hy¬ 
pothesis is, that they were invented, about five hundred years after 
Christ, by the doctors of the school of Tiberias, for the purpose of 
marking and establishing the genuine pronunciation, for the conve¬ 
nience of those who were learning the Hebrew tongue. This 
opinion, first announced by Rabbi Elias Levita in the beginning of 
the sixteenth century, has been adopted by Cappel, Calvin, Luther, 
Casaubon, Scaliger, Masclef, Erpenius, Houbigant, L’Advocat, 
Bishops Walton, Hare, and Lowth, Dr. Kennicott, Dr. Geddes, 
and other eminent critics, British and foreign, and is now generally 
received, although some few writers of respectability continue stren¬ 
uously to advocate their antiquity. The Arcanum, Punctatioms Re - 
velatum of Cappel was opposed by Buxtorf in a treatise De Punctorum 
Vocalium Antiquit ate, by whom the controversy was almost exhaust¬ 
ed. We shall briefly state the evidence on both sides. 

That the vowel points are of modern date, and of human invention, 
the anti-punctists argue from the following considerations : 

1. The Samaritan letters, which (we have already seen) were the 
same with the Hebrew characters before the captivity, have no 
points; nor are there any vestiges whatever of vowel points to be 
traced either in the shekels struck by the kings of Israel, or in the 
Samaritan Pentateuch. The words have always been read by the 
aid of the four letters Alepli, He, Vau, and Jod, which are called 
matres lectionis, or mothers of reading. 

2. The copies of the Scriptures used in the Jewish synagogues to 
the present time, and which are accounted particularly sacred, are 
constantly written without points, or any distinctions of verses what¬ 
ever ; a practice that could never have been introduced, nor would it 
have been so religiously followed, if vowel points had been co-eval 
with the language, or of divine authority. To this fact we may add, 
that in many of the oldest and best manuscripts, collated and examin¬ 
ed by Dr. Kennicott, either there are no points at all, or they are evi¬ 
dently a late addition ; and that all the antient various readings, mark¬ 
ed by the Jews, regard only the letters ; not one of them relates to the 
vowel points, which could not have happened if these had been in 
use. 

3. Rabbi Elias Levita ascribes the invention of vowel points to 
the doctors of Tiberias, and has confirmed the fact by the autho¬ 
rity of the most learned rabbins. 

4. The antient Cabbalists 1 draw all their mysteries from the let- 

1 The Cabbalists were a set of rabbinical doctors among the Jews, who derived 
their name from their studying the Cabbala , a mysterious kind of science, compris¬ 
ing mystical interpretations of Scripture, and metaphysical speculations concern¬ 
ing the Deity and other beings, which are found in Jewish writings, and are said 
to have been handed down by a secret tradition from the earliest ages. By consid¬ 
ering the numeral powers of the letters of the sacred text, and changing and trans¬ 
posing them in various ways, according to the rules of their art, the Cabbalists 
extracted senses from the sacred oracles, very different from those which the ex 



7 


I. Sect. I.] On the Hebrew Language. 

ters, but none from the vowel points; which they could not have 
neglected it they had been acquainted with them. And hence it is 
concluded, that the points were not in existence when the Cabbalis¬ 
tic interpretations were made. 

5. Although the Talmud contains the determinations of the Jew¬ 
ish doctors concerning many passages ol the law, it is evident that 
the points were not affixed to the text when the Talmud was com¬ 
posed ; because there are several disputes concerning the sense of 
passages ot the law, which could not have been controverted if the 
points had then been in existence. Besides, the vowel points are 
never mentioned, though the fairest opportunity for noticing them 
offered itself, it they had really then been in use. The compilation 
ot the Talmud was not finished until the sixth century . * 1 

6. The ancient various readings, called Keri and Ketib, or Khe- 
tibh, (which were collected a short time before the completion of 
the Talmud), relate entirely to consonants and not to vowel points; 
yet, it these had existed in manuscript at the time the Keri and 
Klietib were collected, it is obvious that some reference would di¬ 
rectly or indirectly have been made to them. The silence, therefore, 
ot the collectors of these various readings is a clear proof of the 
non-existence of vowel points in their time. 

7. The antient versions, —for instance, the Chaldee paraphrases 
of Jonathan and Onkelos, and the Greek versions of Aquila, Sym- 
machus, and Theodotion, but especially the Septuagint version, — all 
read the text, in many passages, in senses different from that which 
the points determine them to mean. Whence it is evident, that 
if the points had then been known, pointed manuscripts would have 
been followed as the most correct: but as the authors of those ver¬ 
sions did not use them, it is a plain proof that the points were not 
then in being. 

8. The antient Jewish writers themselves are totally silent con¬ 
cerning the vowel points, which surely would not have been the case 
if they had been acquainted with them. Much stress indeed has 
been laid upon the books Zoliar and Bahir, but these have been 
proved not to have been known for a thousand years after the birth 
of Christ. Even Buxtorf himself admits, that the book Zohar could 
not have been written till after the tenth century; and the rabbis 
Gedaliah and Zachet confess that it was not mentioned before the 
year 1290, and that it presents internal evidence that it is of a much 
later date than is pretended. It is no uncommon practice of the 
Jews to publish books of recent date under the names of old writers, 
in order to render their authority respectable, and even to alter and 
interpolate antient writers in order to subserve their own views. 

9. Equally silent are the antient fathers of the Christian church, 
Origen and Jerome. In some fragments still extant, of Origen’s vast 
biblical work, entitled the Hexapla (of which some account is given 

pressions seemed naturally to import, or which were even intended by their inspired 
authors. Some learned men have imagined, that the Cabbalists arose soon after the 
time of Ezra; but the truth is, that no Cabbalistic writings are extant but what 
are posterior to the destruction of the second temple. For an entertaining ac¬ 
count of the Cabbala, and of the Cabbalistical philosophy, see Mr. Allen’s Modern 
Judaism, pp. 65—94, or Dr. Enfield’s History of Philosophy, vol. ii. 199—221. 

1 For an account of the Talmud, see Chapter VII., infra. 



8 


On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part I. Ch¬ 
in a subsequent page), we have a specimen of the manner in which 
Hebrew was pronounced in the third century ; and which, it appears, 
was widely different from that which results from adopting the Maso- 
retic reading. Jerome also, in various parts of his works, where he 
notices the different pronunciations of Hebrew words, treats only of 
the letters , and nowhere mentions the points, which he surely would 
have done, had they been found in the copies consulted by him. 

10. The letters N, fi, *), (Aleph, He, Vau, and Yod) upon the 
plan of the Masorites, are termed quiescent , because, according to 
them, they have no sound. At other times, these same letters indi¬ 
cate a variety of sounds, as the fancy of these critics has been pleased 
to distinguish them by points. This single circumstance exhibits the 
whole doctrine of points as the baseless fabric of a vision. To sup¬ 
press altogether, or to render insignificant, a radical letter of any 
word, in order to supply its place by an arbitrary dot or a fctitious 
mark , is an invention fraught with the grossest absurdity. 1 

11. Lastly, as the first vestiges of the points that can be traced 
are to be found in the writings of Rabbi Ben Asher, president of the 
western school, and of Rabbi Ben Naphthali, chief of the eastern 
school, who flourished about the middle of the tenth century, we are 
justified in assigning that as the epoch when the system of vowel 
points was established. 

Such are the evidences on which the majority of the learned rest 
their convictions of the modern date of the Hebrew points : it now re¬ 
mains, that we concisely notice the arguments adduced by the 
Buxtorfs, and their followers, for the antiquity of these points. 

1. From the nature of all languages it is urged that they require 
vowels, which are in a manner the soul of words. This is readily con¬ 
ceded as an indisputable truth, but it is no proof of the antiquity of 
the vowel points: for the Hebrew language always had and still has 
vowels, independent of the points, without which it may be read. 
Origen, who transcribed the Hebrew Scriptures in Greek characters 
in his Hexapla, did not invent new vowels to express the vowels 
absent in Hebrew words, neither did Jerome, who also expressed 
many Hebrew words and passages in Latin characters. The Sa¬ 
maritans, who used the same alphabet as the Hebrews, read without 
the vowel points, employing the matres lectionis, Aleph, He or 
Hheth, Jod, Oin, and Vau, (a, e, i, o, u,) for vowels; and the He¬ 
brew may be read in the same manner, with the assistance of these 
letters, by supplying them where they are not expressed, agreeably 
to the modern practice of the Jews, whose Talmud and rabbinical 
commentators, as well as the copies of the law preserved in the syn¬ 
agogues, are to this day read without vowel points. 

2. It is objected that the reading of Hebrew would be rendered very 
uncertain and difficult without the points, after the language ceased 
to be spoken. To this it is replied, that even after Hebrew ceased to 
be a vernacular language, its true reading might have been continued 
among learned men to whom it was familiar, and also in their schools, 
which flourished before the invention of the points. And thus daily 
practice in reading, as well as a consideration of the context, would 
•ena ble them not only to fi x the meaning of doubtful words, but also 

t Wilson’s Elements of Hebrew Grammar, p. 48. 




9 


l. Sect. I.] On the Hebrew Language. 

to supply the vowels which were deficient, and likewise to fix words 
to one determinate reading. Cappel, * 1 and after him Masclef, 2 have 
given some general rules for the application of the matres Icctionis , 
to enable us to read Hebrew without points. 

3. “Many Protestant writers have been led to support the author¬ 
ity of the points, by the supposed uncertainty of the appointed text; 
which would oblige us to follow the direction of the church of Rome. 
This argument, however, makes against those who would suppose 
Ezra to have introduced the points: for in that case, from Moses 
to his day, the text being unpointed must have been obscure and un¬ 
certain ; and if this were not so, why should not the unpointed text 
have remained intelligible and unambiguous after his time, as it had 
done before it 1 This argument, moreover, grants what they who 
use it are not aware of: for if it be allowed that the unpointed text 
is ambiguous and uncertain, and would oblige us in consequence to 
recur to the church of Rome, the Roman Catholics may prove—at 
least with every appearance of truth—that it has always been un¬ 
pointed, and that therefore we must have recourse to the church to 
explain it. Many writers of that communion have had the candour 
to acknowledge, that the unpointed Hebrew text can be read and 
understood like the Samaritan text; for although several words in He¬ 
brew may, when separate, admit of different interpretations, the 
context usually fixes their meaning with precision; 3 or, if it ever fail 
to do so, and leave their meaning still ambiguous, recourse may be 
had to the interpretations of antient translators or commentators. 
We must likewise remember, that the Masorites, in affixing points 
to the text, did not do so according to their own notions how it ought 
to be read ; they followed the received reading of their day, and thus 
fixed unalterably that mode of reading which was authorised among 
them : and therefore, though we reject these points as their inven¬ 
tion, and consider that they never were used by any inspired writer, 
yet it by no means follows, that for the interpretation of Scripture 
we must go to a supposed infallible church; for we acknowledge the 
divine original of what the points express, namely, the sentiments 
conveyed by the letters and words of the sacred text.” 4 

4. In further proof of the supposed antiquity of vowel points, some 
passages have been adduced from the Talmud, in which accents and 
verses are mentioned. The fact is admitted, but it is no proof of 
the existence of points; neither is mention of certain words in the 
Masoretic notes, as being irregularly punctuated, any evidence of 
their existence or antiquity: for the Masora was not finished by one 
author, nor in one century, but that system of annotation was com¬ 
menced and prosecuted by various Hebrew critics through several 
ages. Hence it happened that the latter Masorites, having detected 
mistakes in their predecessors, (who had adopted the mode of pro¬ 
nouncing and reading used in their day), were unwilling to alter 
such mistakes, but contented themselves with noting particular words 

as having been irregularly and improperly pointed. These notes 

—— ■ 1 • 

1 Arcanum Punctationis revelatum, lib. i. c. 18. 

2 Grammatica Hebraica, vol. i. cap. 1. § iv. 

3 Thus the English verb to skin has two opposite meanings : but the context will 
always determine which it bears in any passage where it occurs. 

4 Hamilton’s Introd. to the Study of the Hebrew Scriptures, pp. 44, 45. 

VOL. II. 2 



io 


On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part. I. Ch. 

therefore furnish no evidence of the existence of points before the 
time of the first compilers of the Masora. 1 

The preceding are the chief arguments usually urged for and against 
the vowel points : and from an impartial consideration of them, the 
reader will be enabled to judge for himself. The weight of evidence, 
we apprehend, will be found to determine against them : nevertheless, 
“ the points seem to have their uses, and these not inconsiderable; and 
to have this use among others—that, as many of the Hebrew letters 
have been corrupted since the invention of the points, and as the points 
subjoined originally to the true letters have been in many of these places 
regularly preserved, these points will frequently concur in proving the 
truth of such corruptions, and will point out the method ol correcting 
them.” 2 

Such being the relative utility of the vowel points, it has been recom¬ 
mended to learn the Hebrew language, in the first instance, without 
them; as the knowledge of the points can, at any time, be superadded 
without very great labour. 3 


SECTION II. 


ON THE SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH. 


1. Origin of the Samaritans. — II. Their enmity against the Jews in 
the time of Jesus Christ. — III. Critical notice of the Samaritan 
Pentateuch , and of its variations from the Hebrew. — IV. Persions 
of the Samaritan Pentateuch. 

The Samaritans, mentioned in the New Testament, were in part 
descended from the ten tribes, most of whom had been made captive 
by the Assyrians, blended with other distant nations, and settled in the 
same district with their conquerors. The different people for some 
time retained their respective modes of worship; but the country being 
depopulated by war, and infested with wild beasts, the mixed multi¬ 
tude imagined, according to the ideas then generally prevalent in the 
heathen world, that this was a judgment upon them for not worshipping 
the God of the country in which they resided. On this account one of 
the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria, came and 
“ dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord.” 
(2 Kings xvii. 24—33.) The temple of Jerusalem being destroyed 
by Nebuchadnezzar, the Samaritans proposed to join with the Jews, 
after their return from the captivity, in rebuilding it, but their proposal 
was rejected (Ezra iv. 1—3.); and, other causes of dissension arising, 
the Samaritans, at length, by permission of Alexander the Great, erect- 


1 Walton Prol. iii. §§ 38—5(5, (pp. 125—170.) Carpzov, Crit. Sacr. Vet. Test, 
part i. c. v. sect. vii. pp. 242—274. Pfeiffer., Critica Sacra, cap. iv. sect. ii. (Op. 
pp. 704—711.) Gerard’s Institutes, pp. 32—38. Jahn, Introd. ad Vet. Fcedus, pp. 129 
—131. Bauer, Critica Sacra, pp. 128—141. Bishop Marsh, (Lectures, part ii. pp.136 
-—140.) has enumerated the principal writers for and against the vowel points. 

2 Dr. Kennicott, Dissertation i. on Hebrew Text, p. 345. 

3 For an account of the principal Hebrew Grammars and Lexicons, see the Ap¬ 
pendix to this Volume, No. I. 






1 . Sect. II.] On the Samaritan Pentateuch. \\ 

ed a temple on Mount Gerizim, in opposition to that at Jerusalem, 
Here the Samaritans performed the same worship with the Jews, and 
also continued as free from idolatry as the Jews themselves: San- 
b all at, who was then governor of the Samaritans, constituted Manasses, 
the son of Jaddus, the Jewish high priest, high priest of the temple at 
Gerizim, which, from that time, they maintained to be the place where 
men ought to worship. 

II. Hence arose that inveterate enmity and schism between the 
two nations, of which we meet with numerous examples in the New 
Testament. How flagrant and bitter their rage was, is evident from 
the instance oi the woman of Samaria, who appeared amazed that our 
Lord, who was a Jew, should so far deviate from the national antipathy 
as to ask her, who was a Samaritan, even for a cup of cold water ; 
for the Jews, adds the sacred historian, have no friendly intercourse 
and dealings with the Samaritans. (John iv. 9.) With a Jew, the 
very name of Samaritan comprised madness and malice, drunken¬ 
ness and apostacy, rebellion and universal detestation. When insti¬ 
gated by rage against our blessed Saviour, the first word their fury 
dictated was Samaritan — Thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil! 
(John viii. 48.) It is remarkable that the pious and amiable author of 
the book of Ecclesiasticus was not exempt from the national prejudices, 
but ranks them that sit upon the hill of Samaria, and the foolish people 
that dwell in Sichem, among those whom his soul abhorred; and reck¬ 
ons them among the nations that were most detestable to the Jews. 
(Ecclus. 1. 25, 26.) Nor did the Samaritans yield to the Jews in 
virulence and invective, reproaching them for erecting their temple 
on a spot that was not authorised by the divine command ; and assert¬ 
ing that Gerizim was the sole, genuine, and individual seat which God 
had originally chosen to fix his name and worship there. (John iv. 
20.) How sanguine the attachment of the Samaritans was to their 
temple and worship is manifest from their refusing to Jesus Christ the 
rites of hospitality, which, in those early ages, were hardly ever re¬ 
fused, “ because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem’* 
(Luke ix. 52, 53.), and it appeared that he intended only to pass tran¬ 
siently through their territories without visiting their temple. 1 Though 
greatly reduced in number, there are still some descendants of the 
Samaritans at Naplosa (the ancient Shechem), at Gaza, Damascus, and 
Grand Cairo. Among other peculiarities by which the Samaritans 
are distinguished from the Jews, besides those already mentioned, we 
may notice their admission of the divine authority of the Pentateuch, 
while they reject all the other books of the Jewish canon, or rather 
hold them to be apocryphal or of inferior authority; with the exception, 
perhaps, of the books of Joshua and Judges, which are also acknowl- 

1 As the way from Galilee to Judea lay through the country of the Samaritans, 
the latter often exercised acts of hostility against the Galileans, and offered them 
several affronts and injuries, when they were going up to their solemn feasts at 
Jerusalem. Of this inveterate enmity Josephus has recorded a very remarkable 
instance, which occurred during the reign of Claudius, (a. d. 52.); when the Sama¬ 
ritans made a great slaughter of the Galileans, who were travelling to Jerusalem 
through one of the villages of Samaria. (Josephus, Antiq. 1. xx. c. (j. $ 1.) 



12 


On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part I. Ch. 

edged, but not allowed to possess the same authority as the five books 
of Moses. That the old Samaritans did not entirely reject all the 
other books of the Jewish Scriptures, is evident from their expectation 
that the Messiah would not only be a prophet or instructer like Moses , 
but also be the Saviour of the world (John iv. 25. 42.) ; titles these 
(Messiah and Saviour) which were borrowed from the Psalms and 
prophetical writings. 

What is of unspeakable value, they preserve among themselves, in 
the antient Hebrew character, copies of the Pentateuch ; which, as 
there has been no friendly intercourse between them and the Jews 
since the Babylonish captivity, there can be no doubt were the same 
that were in use before that event, though subject to such variations as 
will always be occasioned by frequent transcribing. And so inconsid¬ 
erable are the variations from our present copies (which were those 
of the Jews), that by this means we have a proof that those impor¬ 
tant books have been preserved uncorrupted for the space of nearly 
three thousand years, so as to leave no room to doubt that they are the 
same which were actually written by Moses. 

The celebrated critic, Le Clerc , 1 has instituted a minute compari¬ 
son of the Samaritan Pentateuch with the Hebrew text 5 and has, with 
much accuracy and labour, collected those passages in which he is of 
opinion that the former is more or less correct than the latter. For 
instance—• 

1. The Samaritan text appears to be more correct than the Hebrew , 
in Gen. ii. 4. vii. 2. xix. 19. xx. 2. xxiii. 16. xxiv. 14. xlix. 10, 11 . 
1. 26. Exod. i. 2. iv. 2. 

2. It is expressed more conformably to analogy in Gen. xxxi. 39. 
xxxv. 26. xxxvii. 17. xli. 34. 43. xlvii. 3. Deut. xxxii. 5. 

3. It has glosses and additions in Gen. xxix. 15. xxx. 36. xli. 16. 
Exod. vii. 18. viii. 23. ix. 5. xxi. 20. xxii. 5. xxiii. 10. xxxii. 9. Lev. i. 
10. xvii. 4. Dent. v. 21. 

4. It appears to have been altered by a critical hand , in Gen. ii. 2. 
iv. 10. ix. 5. x. 19. xi. 21. xviii. 3. xix. 12. xx. 16. xxiv. 38. 55. xxxv. 
7. xxxvi. 6 . xli. 50. Exod. i. 5. xiii. 6 . xv. 5. Num. xxii. 32. 

5. It is more full than the Hebrew text , in Gen. v. 8 . xi. 31. xix. 
9. xxvii. 34.xxxix.4.xliii. 25. Exod. xii. 40. xl. 17. Num. iv. 14. Deut. 
xx. 16. 

6 . It is defective in Gen. xx. 16. and xxv. 14. 

It agrees with the Septuagint version in Gen. iv. 8 . xix. 12. xx. 16. 
xxiii. 2. xxiv. 55. 62. xxvi. 18. xxix. 27. xxxv. 29. xxxix. 8 . xli. 16. 
43. xliii. 26. xlix. 26. Exod. viii. 3. and in many other passages. 
Though 

7. It sometimes varies from the Septuagint , as in Gen. i. 7. v. 29. 
viii. 3. 7. xlix. 22. Num. xxii. 4. 

III. The differences between the Samaritan and Hebrew Penta- 
teuchs may be accounted for, by the usual sources of various readings, 
viz. the negligence of copyists, introduction of glosses from the mar- 

1 Comment, in Pentateuch, Index, ii. See also some additional observations on 
the differences between the Samaritan and Hebrew Pentateuchs, in Dr. Kennicott’* 
Remarks on Select Passages in the Old Testament, pp. 43—47. 



On the Samaritan Pentateuch . 


13 


I. Sect. II.] 

gin into the text, the confounding of similar letters, the transposition of 
letters, the addition of explanatory words, Sic. The Samaritan Pen¬ 
tateuch, however, is of great use and authority in establishing correct 
readings : in many instances it agrees remarkably with the Greek 
Septuagint, and it contains numerous and excellent various lections, 
which are in every respect preferable to the received Masoretic read¬ 
ings, and are further confirmed by the agreement of other antient ver¬ 
sions. 

The most material variations between the Samaritan Pentateuch 
and the Hebrew, which affect the authority of the former, occur first, 
in the prolongation of the patriarchal generations; and secondly, in 
the alteration of Ebal into Gerizim (Deut. xxvii.), in order to support 
their separation from the Jews. The chronology of the Samaritan 
Pentateuch has been satisfactorily vindicated by the Rev. Dr. Hales, 
whose arguments however will not admit of abridgement and with 
regard to the charge of altering the Pentateuch, it has been shown by 
Dr. Kennicott, from a consideration of the character of the Samari¬ 
tans, their known reverence for the law, our Lord’s silence on the sub¬ 
ject in his memorable conversation with the woman of Samaria, and 
from various other topics; that what almost all biblical critics have 
hitherto considered as 'a wilful corruption by the Samaritans, is in all 
probability the true reading, and that the corruption is to be charged 
on the Jews themselves. In judging therefore of the genuineness of a 
reading, we are not to declare absolutely for one of these Pentateuchs 
against the other, but to prefer the true readings in both. “ One an¬ 
tient copy,” Dr. Kennicott remarks with equal truth and justice, “ has 
been received from the Jews, and we are truly thankful for dt; ano¬ 
ther antient copy is offered by the Samaritans; let us thankfully ac¬ 
cept that likewise. Both have been often transcribed ; both therefore 
may contain errors. They differ in many instances, therefore the 
errors must be many. Let the two parties be heard without pre¬ 
judice ; let their evidence be weighed with impartiality ; and let the 
genuine words of Moses be ascertained by their joint assistance. Let 
the variations of all the manuscripts on each side be carefully collect¬ 
ed ; and then critically examined by the context and the antient ver¬ 
sions. If the Samaritan copy should be found in some places to correct 
the Hebrew, yet will the Hebrew copy in other places correct the 
Samaritan. Each copy therefore is invaluable ; each copy therefore 
demands our pious veneration and attentive study. The Pentateuch 
will never be understood perfectly till we admit the authority of both.” 1 2 

Although the Samaritan Pentateuch was known to and cited by Eu¬ 
sebius, Cyril of Alexandria, Procopius of Gaza, Diodorus of Tarsus, 
Jerome, Syncellus, and offer antient fathers, yet it afterwards fell into 
oblivion for upwards of a thousand years, so that its very existence 
began to be questioned. Joseph Scaliger was the first who excited 
the attention of learned men to this valuable relic of antiquity; and 
M. Peiresc procured a copy from Egypt, which, together with the ship 


1 Analysis of Chronology, vol. i. pp. 80. et seq. 

2 Kennicott, Dias. ii. pp. 20—165. 



u 


On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part. I. Ch. 

that brought it, was unfortunately captured by pirates. More success¬ 
ful was the venerable archbishop Usher, who procured six copies from 
the East; and from another copy, purchased by Pietro della Valle 
for M. de Sancy, 1 Father Morinus printed the Samaritan Pentateuch, 
for the first time, in the Paris Polyglott. This w r as afterward reprint¬ 
ed in the London Polyglott by Bishop Walton, who corrected it from 
three manuscripts which had formerly belonged to Archbishop Usher. 
A neat edition of this Pentateuch, in Hebrew characters, was edited 
by the late Rev. Dr. Blayney, in 8vo. Oxford, 1790. 

IV. Of the Samaritan Pentateuch two versions are extant; one 
in the Aramaean dialect, which is usually termed the Samaritan ver¬ 
sion, and another in Arabic. 

The Samaritan version was made in Samaritan characters, from 
the Hebraeo-Samaritan text into the Chaldaeo-Samaritan or Aramaean 
dialect, which is intermediate between the Chaldee and Syriac lan¬ 
guages, before the schism took place between the Jews and Samaritans. 
Such is the opinion of Le Jay, who first printed this version in the Pa¬ 
ris Polyglott, whence Bishop Walton introduced it into the London 
Polyglott. The author of this version is unknown; but he has in 
general adhered very closely and faithfully to the original text. 

The Arabic version of the Samaritan Pentateuch is also extant in Sa¬ 
maritan characters, and was executed by Abu Said, a. t>. 1070, in 
order to supplant the Arabic translation of the Jewish Rabbi Saadia 
Gaon, which had till that time been in use among the Samaritans. Abu 
Said has very closely followed the Samaritan Pentateuch, whose read¬ 
ings he expresses, even where the latter differs from the Hebrew text: 
in some instances however both Bishop Walton and Bauer have re¬ 
marked, that he has borrowed from the Arabic version of Saadia. On 
account of the paucity of manuscripts of the original Samaritan Penta¬ 
teuch, Bauer thinks this version will be found of great use in correct¬ 
ing its text. Some specimens of it have been published by Dr. Durell 
in “ the Hebrew text of the parallel prophecies of Jacob relating to the 
twelve tribes,” &tc. (Oxford 1763, 4to.), and before him by Castell 
in the fourth volume of the London Polyglott; also by Hwiid, at 
Rome, in 1780, in 8vo., and by Paulus, at Jena, in 1789, in 8vo. 2 

1 Then ambassador from France to Constantinople, and afterwards archbishop 
of St. Maoles. 

2 Bishop Walton, Pro. c. xi. §§ 10—21. pp. 527- i -553. Carpzov, Critica Sacra, 
pp. 585—620. Leusden, Philologus Hebreeus, pp. 59- — 67. Bauer, Critica Sacra, 
pp. 325 — 335. Dr. Priestley's Notes on the Bible, vol. ii. pp. 82, 83. Calmet’s 
Dictionary of the Bible, article Samaritans. Dr. Harwood’s Introduction to the 
New Testament, vol. ii. pp. 239, 240. Pritii Introductio ad Lectionem Novi Tes- 
tamenti, pp. 466 — 471. See also a learned treatise intitled Pentateuchi Hebrceo- 
Samaritani Prsestantia, in illustrando et emendando Textu Masorethico ostensa, 
&c. Auctore P. AleXio A. S. Aquilino. LL. Orient. P. P. O. Heidelberg® 1784 ; 
and likewise G. Gesenii De Pentateuchi Samaritani Origine, Indole et Auctoritate, 
Commentatio philologico-critica, Hal®. 1815.4to. 



I. Sect. III.] 


On the Greek Language. 


15 


SECTION III. 

ON THE GREEK LANGUAGE. 

I. Similarity of the Greek Language of the New Testament with that 
of the Alexandrian or Septuagint Greek Version. — II. The New 
Testament why written in Greek. — III. Examination of its style. — 
IV. Its Dialects — Hebraisms — Rabbinisms — Syriasms and 
Chaldaisms — Latinisms — Persisms and Cilicisms. 

I. IF a knowledge of Hebrew be necessary and desirable, in order 
to understand the Old Testament aright, an acquaintance with the 
Greek language is of equal importance for understanding the New 
Testament correctly. It is in this language that the Septuagint ver¬ 
sion of the Old Testament was executed : and as the inspired writers 
of the New Testament thought and spoke in the Chaldee or Syriac 
tongues, whose turns of expression closely corresponded with those of 
die antient Hebrew, the language of the apostles and evangelists, when 
they wrote in Greek, necessarily resembled that of the translators of 
die Septuagint. And as every Jew, who read Greek at all, would 
read the Greek Bible, the style of the Septuagint again operated in 
forming the style of the Greek Testament. 1 The Septuagint version, 
therefore, being a new source of interpretation equally important to the 
Old and New Testament, a knowledge of the Greek language becomes 
indispensably necessary to the biblical student. 

II. A variety of solutions has been given to the question, why the 
New Testament was w T ritten in Greek. The true reason is simply this, 
— diat it was the language best understood both by writers and read¬ 
ers, being spoken and written, read and understood'* throughout the 
Roman empire, and particularly in the eastern provinces. In fact, 
Greek was at that time as well known in the higher and middle circles 
as the French is in our day. To the universality of the Greek language, 
Cicero, 2 Seneca, 3 and Juvenal 4 bear ample testimony : and the cir¬ 
cumstances of the Jews having had both political, civil, and commercial 
relations with the Greeks, and being dispersed through various parts of 
the Roman empire, as well as their having cultivated the philosophy 
of the Greeks, of which we have evidence in the New Testament, all 
sufficiently account for their being acquainted with the Greek lan- 

1 Bishop Marsh’s Lectures, part iii. pp. 30, 31. The question relative to the sup¬ 
posed Hebrew originals of Saint Matthew’s Gospel, and of the Epistle to the He¬ 
brews, is purposely omitted in this place, as it is considered in the subsequent part 
of this work. 

2 Orat. pro Archia Poeta, c. 10. Grseca leguntur in omnibus fere gentibus ; Lath 
na suis finibus, exiguis sane, continentur. Julius Caesar attests the prevalence of 
the Greek language in Gaul. De Bell. Gall. lib. i. c. 29. lih. vi. c. 14. (vol. i. pp. 
23.161. edit. Bipont.) 

3 In Consolat. ad Helviam, C. 6. Quid sibi volunt in mediis barbarorum regionibu* 
Grcecce urbes ? Quid inter Indos FersasqueMacedoniciis sermo? Scythia et totus 
ille ferarum indomitarumque gentium tractus civitates Achaiae, Ponticis impositas 
litoribus, ostentat. 

4 Nunc totus Graias nostrasque habet orbis Athenas. Sat. xv. v. 110. Even the 
female sex, it appears from the same satyrist, made use of Greek as the language 
of familarity and passion. See Sat. vi. v. 185—191. 



I G 0?i ^/ic Original Languages of Scripture. [Part I. Ch. 

guage : to which we may add the fact, that the Septuagint Greek 
version of the Old Testament had been in use among the Jews up¬ 
wards of two hundred and eighty years before the Christian aera: 
which most assuredly would not have been the case if the language 
had not been familiar to them. And if the eminent Jewish writers, 
Philo and Josephus, had motives for preferring to write in Greek, 
(and the very fact of their writing in Greek proves that that language 
was vernacular to their countrymen,) there is no reason — at least 
there is no general presumption — why the first publishers of the Gos¬ 
pel might not use the Greek language. 1 But we need not rest on 
probabilities. For, 

1 . It is manifest from various passages in the first book of Macca¬ 
bees, that the Jews of all classes must at that time (b. c. 175—140.) 
have understood the language of their conquerors and oppressors, the 
Macedonian Greeks under Antiochus, falsely named the Great, and 
his successors. 

, 2. Further, when the Macedonians obtained the dominion of west¬ 
ern Asia, they filled that country with Greek cities. The Greeks 
also possessed themselves of many cities in Palestine, to which the 
Herods added many others, which were also inhabited by Greeks- 
Herod the Great, in particular, made continual efforts to give a foreign 
physiognomy to Judasa; which country, during the personal ministry 
of Jesus Christ, was thus invaded on every side by a Greek popula¬ 
tion. The following particulars will confirm and illustrate this fact- 

Aristobulus and Alexander built or restored many cities, which 
were almost entirely occupied by Greeks, or by Syrians who spoke 
their language. * Some of the cities indeed, which were rebuilt by the 
Asmonaean kings, or by the command of Pompey, were on the frontiers 
of Palestine, but a great number of them were in the interior of that 
country : and concerning these cities we have historical data which 
demonstrate that they were very nearly, if not altogether, Greek. 
Thus, at Dora, a city of Galilee, the inhabitants refused to the Jews 
the right of citizenship which had been granted to them by Claudius. 2 3 
Josephus expressly says that Gadara and Hippos are Grech cities dk- 
X7 ]ti6ss dCi 7 ioXels? In the very centre of Palestine stood Bethshan, 
which place its Greek inhabitants termed Scythopolis. 4 Josephus 5 
testifies that Gaza, in the southern part of Judasa, was Greek : and 
Joppa, the importance of whose harbour induced the kings ol Egypt 


l Josephus, de Bell. Jud. Proem. § 2. says, that he composed his history of the 
Jewish war in the language of his country, and afterwards wrote it in Greek for 
the information of the Greeks and Romans. The reader will find a great num¬ 
ber of additional testimonies to the prevalence of the Greek language in the east, 
in Antonii Josephi Binterim Epistola Catholica Interlinealis de Lingu& Originali 
Novi Testamenti non Latin;!, &e. pp. 171—198. Dusseldorpii, 1820. It is neces¬ 
sary to apprise the reader, that the design of this volume is to support the absurd 
Popish dogma, that the reading of the Holy Scriptures, in the vulgar tongue, 
ought not to be promiscuously allowed. 

- Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. xix. c. 6. § 5. 

3 Ant. Jud. lib. xvi. c. 1L 4. 

4 XkvSwv noXif, Judges, L 27. (Septuagint Version.) Polybius, lib. v. c. 70. § 4. 

■5 Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. xvii. c. 11. § 4. 



On the Greek Language . 


17 


l. Sect. III.] 


and Syria successively to take it from the Jews, 1 most certainly 
could not remain a stranger to the same influence. Under the reign 
of Herod the Great, Palestine became still more decidedly Greek. 
That prince and his sons erected several cities in honour of the Cae¬ 
sars. The most remarkable of these, Caesarea, (which was the se¬ 
cond city in his kingdom) was chiefly peopled by Greeks ; 2 who 
after Herod’s death, under the protection of Nero, expelled the Jews 
who dwelt there with them. 3 The Jews revenged the affront, which 
they had received at Caesarea, on Gadara, Hippos, Scythopolis, Aska- 
lon, and Gaza, — a further proof that the Greeks inhabited those cities 
jointly with the Jews. 4 After the death of Pompey, the Greeks 
being liberated from all the restraints which had been imposed on 
them, made great progress in Palestine under the protection of Her¬ 
od ; who by no means concealed his partiality to them , 5 and lavish¬ 
ed immense sums of money for the exppess purpose of naturalising 
their language and manners among die Jews. With this view he built 
a theatre and amphitheatre at Caesarea ; 6 at Jericho an amphitheatre, 
and a stadium ; 7 he erected similar edifices at the very gates of the 
holy city, Jerusalem, and he even proceeded to build a theatre within 
its walls. 8 

3. The Roman government was rather favourable than adverse to 
the extension of the Greek language in Palestine, in consequence of 
Greek being the official language of the procurators, when administer¬ 
ing justice, and speaking to the people. Under the earlier emperors, 
the Romans were accustomed frequently to make use of Greek, even 
at Rome, when the affairs of the provinces were under consideration. 9 
If Greek were thus used at Rome, we may reasonably conclude that 
it w'ould be still more frequently spoken in Greece and in Asia. In 
Palestine in particular, we do not perceive any vestige of the official 
use of the Latin language by the procurators. We do not find a sin¬ 
gle instance, either in the books of the New Testament or in Jose¬ 
phus, in which the Roman governors made use of interpreters : and 
while use and the affairs of life accustomed the common people to that 
language, the higher classes of society would on many accounts be 
obliged to make use of it. 

4 . So far were the religious authorities of the Jews from opposing 
the introduction of Greek, that they appear rather to have favoured 
the use of that language : they employed it, habitually, in profane works, 


1 Diod. Sic. lib. xix. c. 59. 93. 1 Macc. x. 75. xii. 33, 34. xiii. 11. xiv. 34. 2Macc. 

xiii. 3. Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. xiii. c. 9. § 2. and lib. xiv. c. 10. § 22. 

2 Josephus, de Bell. Jud. lib. iii. c. 9.-compared with lib. ii. c. 13. § 7. 

3 Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 14. § 4. 4 Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 13. 

5 Josephtis, Ant. Jud. lib. xix. c. 7. § 5. 

6 Idem. lib. xv. c. 9. compared with lib. xvi. c. 5. 

7 Bell. Jud. lib. i. c. 33. § 6,8. Ant. Jud. lib. xvii. c. 6. 

8 Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 9. § 3. Ant. Jud. lib. xv. c. 8. Qcarpov ev 'IepoffoXv/ioif ixo&o* 
nrjaev. Compare Eichhorn de Judteorum Re Scenica in Comment. Soc. Reg. Scient. 
Gutting. Vol. II. Class. Antiq. pp. 10—13. 

9 This will account for the Jewish king, Herod Agrippa, and his brother being 
permitted by the emperor Claudius to be present in the senate, and to address that 
assembly in Greek. Dion. Hist. lib. lx. c. 8. 

you. n. 3 



18 


On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part I. Ch. 

and admitted it into official acts. An article of the Mischna prohibits 
the Jews from writing hooks in another language. 1 Such a prohibi¬ 
tion would not have been given if they had not been accustomed to 
write in a foreign language. The act or instrument of divorce 
might, indifferently, be written and signed in Greek and Hebrew. 2 
During the siege of Jerusalem for the first time, some opposition w r as 
made to the use of the Greek language, when brides were forbidden 
to wear a nuptial crown, at the same time that fathers were prohibit¬ 
ed from teaching their children Greek. 3 This circumstance will enable 
us readily to understand why Josephus, when sent by Titus to address 
his besieged countrymen, spoke to them efigcal; wr, that is, in the He¬ 
brew dialect, and rrj jtcczqico in his native tongue : 4 it was 

not that he might be better heard, but that he might make himself 
known to them as their fellow countryman and brother. 

5 . The Greek language was spread through various classes of 
the Jewish nation by usage and the intercourse of life. The people, 
with but few exceptions, generally understood it, although they contin¬ 
ued to be always more attached to their native tongue. There were 
at Jerusalem religious communities, wholly composed of Jews who 
spoke Greek, and of these Jews, as well as of Greek proselytes, the 
Christian church at Jerusalem appears in the first instance to have 
been formed. An examination of the acts of the apostles will con¬ 
firm these assertions. Thus, in Acts xxi. 40. and xxii. 2. when Paul, 
after a tumult, addressed the populace in Hebrew, they kept the more 
silence. They expected that he would have spoken to them in ano¬ 
ther language, which they would have comprehended, 5 though they 
heard him much better in Hebrew, which they preferred. In Acts vi. 
9. and ix. 29. we read that there were at Jerusalem whole synagogues 
of Hellenist Jews, under the name of Cyrenians, Alexandrians, &ic. 
And in Acts vi. I. we find that these very Hellenists formed a consi¬ 
derable portion of the church in that city. 6 

6 . Further, there are extant Greek epitaphs and inscriptions 
which were erected in Palestine and the neighbouring countries, 7 
a 3 well as antient coins which were struck in the cities of Palestine, 
and also in the various cities of Asia Minor. 8 What purpose could 

1 Mischna, Tract. Megill. c. 1. $8. 

* If the book of divorce be written in Hebrew, and the names of the witnesses 
in Greek, or vice versa ; or the name of one witness be in Hebrew and the other 
in Greek ;— if a scribe and witness wrote it, it is lawful. —Ibid. Tract. Gitin. c. 
!). $ 8. 

3 Ibid. Tract. Jotah. c. 9. § 14. 

4 Bell. Jud. lib. v. c. 9. § 2. lib. vi. c. 2. § 1. 

5 In like manner, it is well known, there are many hundred thousand natives of 
Ireland who can understand what is said to them in English, which language they 
will tolerate ; but they love their native Irish dialect, and will listen with profound 
attention tq any one who kindly addresses them in it. 

6 Essai d’une Introduction Critique au Nouveau Testament, par J. E. Cellerier, 
fils,pp. 242—248. Geneve, 1823. 8vo. 

7 Antonii Jos. Binterhn, Propempticum ad Molkenbuhrii Problema Criticum, — 
Sacra Scriptura Novi Testamenti in quo idiomate originaliter ab apostolis edita 
fait ? pp. 37—40. (Moguntioe, 1822. 8vo.) 

8 Ibid. pp. 40—44. 



[. Sect. III.] On the Greek Language. 19 

it answer, to erect the one or to execute the other, in the Greek lan¬ 
guage, if that language had not been familiar — indeed vernacular to 
the inhabitants of Palestine and the neighbouring countries ? There 
is then every reasonable evidence, amounting to demonstration, that 
Greek did prevail universally throughout the Roman empire; and 
that the common people of Judaea were acquainted with it, and un¬ 
derstood it. 

Convincing as we apprehend the preceding facts and evidence will 
be found to the unprejudiced inquirer, two or three objections have 
been raised against them, which it may not be irrelevant here briefly 
to notice. 

1 . It is objected that, during the siege of Jerusalem, when Titus 
granted a truce to the factious Jews just before he commenced his last 
assault, he advanced towards them accompanied by an interpreter : l 
but the Jewish historian, Josephus, evidently means that the Roman 
general, confident of victory, from a sense of dignity, spoke first and 
in his own maternal language, which we know was Latin. The in¬ 
terpreter therefore did not attend him in order to translate Greek words 
into Hebrew, but for the purpose of rendering into Hebrew or Greek 
the discourse which Titus pronounced in Latin. 

2 It has also been urged as a strong objection to the Greek original 
of the gospels, that Jesus Christ 'spoke in Hebrew ; because Hebrew 
words occur in Mark v. 41. ( Talitha cumi),\ ii. 34. (Ephphatha), 

Matt, xxvii. 46. (Eli, Eli! Lama sabachthani), and Mark xv. 34. 
But to this affirmation we may reply, that on this occasion the evan¬ 
gelists have noticed and transcribed these expressions in the original, 
because Jesus did not ordinarily and habitually speak Hebrew. But 
admitting it to be more probable, that the Redeemer did ordinarily 
speak Hebrew to the Jews, who were most partial to their native tongue, 
which they heard him speak with delight, we may ask — in what lan¬ 
guage but Greek did he address the multitudes, when they were com¬ 
posed of a mixture of persons of different countries and nations — pro¬ 
selytes to the Jewish religion, as well as heathen gentiles? For in¬ 
stance, the Gadarenes (Matt. viii. 28—34. Mark v. 1. Luke viii. 26.); 
the inhabitants of the borders of Tyre and Sidon (Mark vii. 24.); the 
inhabitants of the Decapolis; the Syrophoenician woman who is ex¬ 
pressly termed a Greek , y yvv? j- 'ElXTjvig, in Mark vii. 26. ; and the 
Greeks , 'EXXr^eg, who were desirous of seeing Jesus at the passover. 
(John xii. 20.) 2 

3. Lastly, it has been objected that, as the Christian churches were 
in many countries composed chiefly of the common people, they did 
not and could not understand Greek. But not to insist on the evidence 
already adduced for the universality of the Greek language, we may 
reply that “ in every church there were numbers of persons endowed 
with the gifts of tongues, and of the interpretation of tongues; who 
could readily turn the apostles’ Greek epistles into the language of the 
church to which they were sent. In particular, the president, or the 


1 Josephus, de Bell. Jud. lib. yL c. G. 


2 Cellerier, Essai. p. 249. 





"20 


On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part I. Ch. 

spiritual man, who read the apostle’s Greek letter to the Hebrews in 
their public assemblies, could, without any hesitation read it in the He¬ 
brew language, for the edification of those who did not understand 
Greek. And with respect to the Jews in the provinces, Greek being 
the native language of most of them, this epistle was much better cal¬ 
culated for their use, written in the Greek language, than if it had been 
written in the Hebrew, which few of them understood.” Further, “ it 
was proper that all the apostolical epistles should be written in the 
Greek language ; because the different doctrines of the Gospel being 
delivered and explained in them, the explanation of these doctrines 
could, with more advantage, be compared so as to be better understood, 
being expressed in one language, than if, in the different epistles they 
had been expressed in the language of the churches and persons to 
whom they were sent. Now, what should that one language be, in 
which it was proper to write the Christian Revelation, but the Greek, 
which was then generally understood, and in which there were many 
books extant, that treated of all kinds of literature, and on that account 
were likely to be preserved, and by the reading of which Christians, 
in after ages, would be enabled to understand the Greek of the New 
Testament? This advantage none of the provincial dialects used in 
the apostles’ days could pretend to. Being limited to particular coun¬ 
tries, they were soon to be disused: and few (if any) books being 
written in them which merited to be preserved, the meaning of such 
of the apostles’ letters as were composed in the provincial languages 
could not easily have been ascertained.” 1 

III. The style of the New Testament has a considerable affinity 
with that of the’ Septuagint version, which was executed at Alexan¬ 
dria, 2 3 although it approaches somewhat nearer to the idiom of the 
Greek language ; but the peculiarities of the Hebrew phraseology are 
discernible throughout: the language of the New Testament being 
formed by a mixture of oriental idioms and expressions with those 
which are properly Greek. Hence it has by some philologers been 
termed Hebraic-Greek, and (from the Jews having acquired the Greek 
language, rather by practice than by grammar, among the Greeks, in 
whose countries they resided in large communities) Hellenistic-Greek. 
The propriety of this appellation was severely contested towards the 
close of the seventeenth and in the early part of the eighteenth cen¬ 
tury : and numerous publications were written on both sides of the 
question, with considerable asperity, which, together with the contro¬ 
versy, are now almost forgotten. The dispute, however interesting 
to the philological antiquarian, is after all a mere ‘ strife of words 

1 Dr. Macknight on the Epistles, Pref. to Hebrews, sect. ii. § 3. vol. iv. p. 336. 
4to. edit. 

2 Michaelis lias devoted an entire section to show that the language of the New 
Testament lias a tincture of the Alexandrian idiom. Vol. i. p. 143. et scq. 

3 Michaelis ascribes the disputes above noticed either to “ a want of sufficient 
knowledge of the Greek, the prejudices of pedantry and school orthodoxy, or the 
injudicious custom of choosing the Greek Testament as the^rsf book to be read 
by learners of that language ; by which means they are so accustomed to its singu¬ 
lar style, that in a more advanced age they are incapable of perceiving its deviation 
:from the language of the classics.” (.Bp. Marsh’s Michaelis, vol. i. p. 211.) 



21 


I. Sect. III.] On the Greek Language. 

and as the appellation of Hellenistic or Hebraic Greek is sufficiently 
correct for the purpose of characterising the language of the New 
Testament, it is now generally adopted. 1 

Of this Hebraic style, the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark ex¬ 
hibit strong vestiges : the former presents harsher Hebraisms than the 
latter : and the Gospel of St. Mark abounds with still more striking He¬ 
braisms. “ The episdes of St. James and Jude are somewhat better, 
but even these are full of Hebraisms, and betray in other respects a 
certain Hebrew tone. St. Luke has, in several passages, written pure 
and classic Greek, of which the four first verses of his Gospel may be 
given as an instance : in the sequel, where he describes the actions of 
Christ, he has very harsh Hebraisms, yet the style is more agreeable 
than that of St. Matthew or St. Mark. In the Acts of the Apostles 
he is not free from Hebraisms, which he seems to have never stu¬ 
diously avoided ; but his periods are more classically turned, and 
sometimes possess beauty devoid of art. St. John has numerous, 
though not uncouth, Hebraisms both in his Gospel and epistles : but 
he has written in a smooth and flowing language, and surpasses all the 
Jewish writers in the excellence of narrative. St. Paul again is en¬ 
tirely different from them all: his style is indeed neglected and full of 
Hebraisms, but he has avoided the concise and verse-like construction 
of the Hebrew language, and has, upon the whole, a considerable 
share of the roundness of Grecian composition. It is evident that he 
was perfectly acquainted with the Greek manner of expression as with 
the Hebrew; and he has introduced them alternately, as either the one 
or the other suggested itself the first, or was the best approved.” 2 

This diversity of style and idiom in the sacred writers of the New Tes¬ 
tament, affords an intrinsic and irresistible evidence for the authentici¬ 
ty of the books which pass under their names. If their style had been 
uniformly the same, there would be good reason for suspecting that 
they had all combined together when they wrote; or, else, that having 
previously concerted what they should teach, one of them had com¬ 
mitted to writing their system of doctrine. In ordinary cases, when 
there is a difference of style in a work professing to be the production 
of one author, we have reason to believe that it was written by several 
persons. In like manner, and for the very same reason, when books, 
which pass under the names of several authors, are written in differ- 


1 Schaeferi Institutiones Scripturisticae, pars i. pp. 137—141. Prof. Morns has 
given a long review (too long to admit of abridgment) of the arguments advanced 
for and against the purity of the language of the New Testament, in his Acroases. 
(vol. i. pp. 202—233.) ; in which he has enumerated the principal writers on each 
side of the question. A similar list has been given by Beck (Monogrammata Her- 
meneutices Novi Testamenti, part i. pp. 28—32), by Rumpseus (Isagoge adLectio- 
nem N. T. pp. 33. ct set/.) and by Rambach (Instit. Herm. Sacr. pp. 23. 390.) Dr. 
Campbell lias treated the subject very ably in the first of his Preliminary Disserta¬ 
tions, prefixed to his version of the four gospels ; and Wetstein (Libelli ad Crisin 
atque Interpretat.ionem N. T. pp. 48—60.) has given some interesting extracts from 
Origen. Chrysostom, .and other fathers, who were of opinion that the language of 
the New Testament w r as not pure Greek. Other writers might be mentioned, who 
have treated bibliographically on this topic : but the preceding foreign critics only 
are specified, as their works may be easily procured from the continent. 

~ Michaelis, vol. i. p. 112. 



22 


On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part I. Ch. 

ent styles, we are authorised to conclude that they were not compos¬ 
ed by one person. 

Further, If the New Testament had been written with classic pu¬ 
rity ; if it had presented to us the language of Isocrates, Demosthenes, 
Xenophon, or Plutarch, there would have been just grounds for sus¬ 
picion of forgery; and it might with propriety have been objected, 
that it was impossible for Hebrews, who professed to be men of no 
learning, to have written in so pure and excellent a style, and conse¬ 
quently that the books which were ascribed to them must have been 
the invention of some impostor. The diversity of style, therefore, 
which is observable in them, so far from being any objection to the au¬ 
thenticity of the New Testament, is in reality a strong argument for 
the truth and sincerity of the sacred writers, and of the authenticity 
of their writings. “ Very many of the Greek words, found in the New 
Testament, are not such as were adopted by men of education, and 
the higher and more polished ranks of life, but such as were in use with 
die common people. Now this shows that the writers became ac¬ 
quainted with the language, in consequence of an actual intercourse 
with those who spoke it, rather than from any study of books: and 
that intercourse must have been very much confined to the middling 
or even lower classes; since the words and phrases, most frequently 
used by them, passed current only among the vulgar. There are un¬ 
doubtedly many plain intimations 1 given throughout these books, that 
their writers were of this lower class, and that their associates were 
frequently of the same description ; but the character of the style is 
the strongest confirmation possible that their conditions were not higher 
than what they have ascribed to themselves.” 2 In fact, the vulgarisms, 
foreign idioms, and other disadvantages and defects, which some crit¬ 
ics imagine that they have discovered in the Hebraic Greek of the 
New Testament, “are assigned by the inspired writers as the reasons 
of God’s preference of it, whose thoughts are not our thoughts, nor 
his ways our ways. Paul argues, that the success of the preachers 
of the Gospel, in spite of the absence of those accomplishments in lan¬ 
guage, then so highly valued, was an evidence of the divine power and 
energy with which their ministry was accompanied. He did not address 
them,-he tells us (1 Cor. i. 17.) with the ivisdom of words , — with arti¬ 
ficial periods and a studied elocution, — lest the cross of Christ should 
he made of none effect ; — lest to human eloquence that success should 
be ascribed, which ought to be attributed to the divinity of the doctrine 
and the agency of the Spirit, in the miracles wrought in support of it. 
There is hardly any sentiment which he is at greater pains to enforce. 

1 It is obvious to cite such passages, as Mark i. 16. ii. 14. John xxi. 3. 7. where 
the occupations of the Apostles are plainly and professedly mentioned. It may be 
more satisfactory to refer to Acts iii. 6. xviii. 3. xx. 34, 2 Cor. viii. & ix. xi. 6. 8, 
it 27. xii. 14, &c. Phil. ii. 25. iv. 10, &c. 1 Thes. ii. 6. 9. 2 Thes. iii. 8. 10. Philem. 
11. 18. In these, the attainments, occupations, and associates of the preachers of 
the Gospel are indirectly mentioned and alluded to ; and afford a species of unde - 
signed proof, which seems to repel the imputation of fraud, especially if the circum* 
.stance of style be taken into the account,. 

^ -Dr. Maltby’g “ Illustrations of the Truth of the Christian Religion,” pp. 10—12 




23 


I* Sect. III.] On the Greek Language. 

He used none of the enticing or persuasive words of mans wisdom. 
Wherefore ? — ‘ That their faith might not stand in the wisdom ofman 7 
but in the power of God.’ (1 Cor. ii. 4, 5.) Should I ask, what was 
the reason why our Lord Jesus Christ chose for the instruments of that 
most amazing revolution in the religious systems of mankind, men 
perfectly illiterate and taken out of the lowest class of the people ? Your 
answer to this will serve equally for an answer to that odier question, 
— Why did the Holy Spirit choose to deliver such important truths 
in the barbarous idiom of a few obscure Galilaeans, and not in the po¬ 
liter and more harmonious strains of Grecian eloquence ? — I repeat 
it, the answer to both questions is the same — That it might appear, 
beyond contradiction, that the excellency of the power was of God, 
and not of man.” 1 

A large proportion, however, of the phrases and constructions of 
die New Testament is pure Greek; that is to say, of the same degree 
of purity as the Greek which was spoken in Macedonia, and that in 
which Polybius wrote his Roman History. Hence the language of 
the New Testament will derive considerable illustration from consult¬ 
ing the works of classic writers, and especially from diligently collating 
the Septuagint version of the Old Testament: the collections also of 
Raphelius, Palairet, Bos, Abresch, Ernesti, and other writers whose 
works are noticed in a subsequent page, 2 will afford die biblical stu¬ 
dent very essential assistance in explaining the pure Greek expres¬ 
sions of the New Testament according to the usage of classic authors^ 
It should further be noticed, that there occur in the New Testament,- 
words that express both doctrines and practices which were utterly un¬ 
known to the Greeks; and also words bearing widely different inter¬ 
pretation from those which are ordinarily found in Greek writers. 

IY. The New Testament contains examples of all the dialects oc¬ 
curring in the Greek language, as the AColic, Boeotic, Doric, Ionic r 
and especially of the Attic; which being most generally in use on ac¬ 
count of its elegance, pervades every book of the New Testament. 3 
To these, some have added the poetic dialect, chiefly, it should seem, 
because there are a few passages cited by St. Paul from die antient 
Greek poets, in Acts xvii. 28. 1 Cor. xv. 33. and Tit. i. 12. 4 But 
the sacred writers of the New Testament being Jews, were conse¬ 
quently acquainted with the Hebrew idioms, and also with the com- 

1 Dr. Campbell’s Preliminary Dissertations, Diss. i. (vol. i. 3d edit.) p. 50. Bish¬ 
op Warburton has treated this topic with his usual ability in his u Doctrine of 
Grace,” book i. chapters VIII— X. (Works, vol. viii. pp. 279—302.) See also Mich- 
aelis’s Introduction, vol. i. pp. 116—123. 

2 See the Appendix to this Volume, No. VI. Sect. VII. 

3 Wvssius, in his Dialectologia Sacra , has treated largely on the dialects of the 
New Testament; but the most useful treatise, perhaps, is that of Leusden, (De 
Dialectis N. T.) which originally formed Dissertations xi—xv. of his Philologus 
Grcecus, and has twice been separately published by M. Fischer. The best edition 
is that ofLeipsic, 1792, 8vo. Some brief but judicious observations on the dialects 
of the New Testament, particularly on the Attic, are inserted in the Greek Gram¬ 
mar, (p. 71.) prefixed by Mr. Parkhurst to his Greek and English Lexicon of the 
New Testament. 

4 J. B. Carpzov. Prim® Line® Hermeneutic®, p. 16. Pfeiffer Herm. Sacra, e. 
vii. $ 6. (Op. tom. ii. p. 652.' 



24 


On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part I. Ch. 

mon as well as with the appropriated or acquired senses of the words 
of that language. Hence, when they used a Greek word, as corres¬ 
pondent to a Hebrew one of like signification, they employed it as the 
Hebrew word was used, either in a common or appropriated sense, as 
occasion required. The whole arrangement of their periods “ is regu¬ 
lated according to the Hebrew verses (not those in Hebrew poetry, 
but such as are found in the historical books); which are constructed 
in a manner directly opposite to the roundness of Grecian language, 
and for want of variety have an endless repetition of the same parti 
cles .” 1 These peculiar idioms are termed Hebraisms , and their na¬ 
ture and classes have been treated at considerable length by various 
writers. Georgi, Pfochenius, Blackwall, and others, have altogether 
denied the existence of these Hebraisms; while their antagonists have, 
perhaps unnecessarily, multiplied them. Wyssius, in his Dialectolo- 
gia Sacra, has divided the Hebraisms of the New Testament into thir¬ 
teen classes 5 Vorstius 2 3 into thirty-one classes; and Viser into eight 
classes ? and Masclef has given an ample collection of the Hebraisms 
occurring in the sacred writings in the first volume of his excellent 
Hebrew grammar . 4 The New Testament, however, contains fewer 
Hebrew grammatical constructions than the Septuagint, except in the 
book of Revelation ; where we often find a nominative, when another 
case should have been substituted, in imitation of the Hebrew, which 
is without cases . 5 As the limits necessarily assigned to this section do 
not permit us to abridge the valuable treatises just noticed, we shall 
here adduce some instances of the Hebraisms found principally in the 
New Testament, and shall offer a few canons by which to determine 
them with precision. 

1. Thus, to be called, to arise, and to be found, are the same as to 
be, with the Hebrews, and this latter is in the Old Testament fre¬ 
quently expressed by the former. Compare Isa. lx. 14. 18. lxi. 3. 
Ixii. 12. Zech. viii. 3. 

Accordingly, in the New Testament, these terms are often employed one for the 
other, as in Matt. v. 9. They shall he called the children of God : and ver. 19. He 
shall he called the least in the kingdom of Heaven! 1 John iii. 1. That toe should be 
called the sons of God . To be called here and in other places is really to he, and it 
is so expressed according to the Hebrew way of speaking. There is the like sig¬ 
nification of the word arise, as in 2 Sam. xi. 20, if the king's wrath arise. — Estn. 
iv. 14. Enlargement and deliverance shall arise to the Jews. — Prov. xxiv. 22. their 
calamity shall arise suddenly . — In all which places the word arise signifies no oth¬ 
er than actual being , or existing, according to the Hebrew idiom. And thence it 
is used in a similar manner in the New Testament, as in Luke xxiv. 38. Why do 
thoughts arise in your hearts ? i. e. why are they there ? Matt. xxiv. 24. There 
shall arise false Christs, i. c. there shall actually be at that time such persons ac¬ 
cording to my prediction. So, to he found is among the Hebrews of the same im- 


1 Leusden de Dialectis, p. 20. Michaelis, vol. i. p. 123. 

2 In his Philologia Sacra : this work was originally published in 4to. but the best 
edition is that of M. Fischer, in 8vo. Leipsic, 1778. Vorstius’s treatise was abridg¬ 
ed by Leusden in his Philologus Graecus ; and Leusden’s Abridgment was repub¬ 
lished by Fischer, with valuable notes and other additions, in8vo. Leipsic, 1783. 

3 In his Hermeneutica Sacra Novi Testamenti, pars ii. vol. ii. pp. 1—62. 

4 See particularly pp. 273—290. 304—307. and 333—352. See also Schaefer’s 
Institutiones Scripturisticse, pars ii. pp. 194—205. 

3 Michaelis, vol. i. p. 125. Glassius has given several instances in his Philologia 
Sacra, canons xxviii. and xxix. vol. i. pp. 67—72. edit. Dathe. 



25 


I- Sect. III.] Hebraisms of the New Testament. 

port with the above-mentioned expressions, and accordingly in the Old Testament 
one is put tor the other, as in I Sam. xxv. 28. Evil hath, not been found in thee. — 2 
Chron. xix. 3. Good things arc Jound in thee. — Isa. li. 3. Joy and gladness shall 
be found therein. — Dan. v. 12. An excellent spirit was found in Daniel. In these 
and other texts the Hebrew word rendered found is equivalent to teas. In imita¬ 
tion of this Hebraism, to he found is used for sum or existo, to be, in the New Tes¬ 
tament, as in Luke xvii. 18. Ihere are not found that returned to give glory to 
God, save this stranger. — Acts v. 30. Lest haply ye he found to fight hgainst God. 
— 1 Cor. iv. 2. That a man he found faithful. — Phil. ii. 8. Being°femnd in fashion 
as a man. — Heb. xi. 5. Enoch teas not found: which is the same with Enoch was 
not, as is evident from comparing this place with Gen. v. 24. to which it refers. 
The expression of St. Peter, 1 Ep. ii. 22. Neither was guile found in his mouth, 
is taken from Isa. liii. 9. Neither was there any deceit (or guile) in his mouth, 
Whence it appears, that in this, as well as the other texts above cited, to he found 
is equivalent to teas. , 

2. Verbs expressive of a person’s doing an action, are often used 
to signify his supposing the thing, or discovering and acknowledging 
the fact, or his declaring and foretelling the event, especially in the 
prophetic writings. 

Thus, lie thatfindeth his life shall lose it (Matt. x. 39.) means, He that expects to 
save his life by apostacy, shall lose it. — So, Let him become a fool (1 Cor, iii. 18), is 
equivalent to, Let him become sensible of his folly. — Make the heart of this people 
fat. (Isa. vi. 9, 10), i. e. Prophesy that they shall be so .— What God hath cleansed 
(Acts x. 15.) i. e. What God hath declared clean. — But of that day and hour no 
man knoweth (that is, maketh known), not even the angels who are in heaven , nei¬ 
ther the Son, but the Father (Matt. xxiv. 36.), that is, neither man, nor an angel, nor 
the Son, has permission to make known this secret. 

3. Negative verbs are often put for a strong positive affirmation. 

Thus, No good thing will he withhold (Psal. lxxxiv. 11.), means He will give 

them all good things. — Being not weak in the faith. (Rom. iv. 19.), i. c. Being 
strong in the faith. — I tcill not leave you comfortless. (John xiv. 18), means, / will 
both protect and give you the most solid comfort. 

4. The privileges of the first-born among the Jews being very 
great, that which is chief or most eminent in any kind, is called the 
first-born, Gen. xlix. 3. 

So, in Job xviii. 13. the first born of death is the most fatal and cruel death. — 
In Isa. xiv. 30. the first-born of the poor denotes those who are most poor and mis¬ 
erable. (See also Psal. lxxxix. 27. Jer. xxxi. 9. Rom. viii. 29. Col. i. 15. 18. Heb. 
xii. 23.) 

5. The word son has various peculiar significations. 

Thus, the sons or children of Belial, so often spoken of in the Old Testament, 
are wicked men, such as are good for nothing, or such as will not be governed.— 
Children of light are such as are divinely enlightened. (Luke xvi. 8. John xii. 36. 
Ephes. v. 8. 1 Thes. v. 5.) — Children of disobedience are disobedient persons. 
(Ephes. ii. 2.) Children of Hell (Matt, xxiii. 15.) ; — of wruth (Ephes. ii. 3.) ; and 
Son of perdition (John xvii. 12. 2 Thess. ii. 3.); are respectively such as are 
worthy thereof, or obnoxious thereto. — A son of peace (Luke x. 6.) is one that is 
worthy of it. (See Matt. x. 13. — The children of a place are the inhabitants of it. 
(Ezra ii. 1. Psal. cxlix. 2. Jer. ii. 16.) — So the word daughter is likewise used (2 
Kings xix. 21. Psal. xiv. 12. cxxxvii. 8. Lam. ii. 13. Zech. ii. 10.) ; the city being 
as a mother, and the inhabitants of it taken collectively, as her daughter. The chil¬ 
dren of the promise, are such as embrace and believe the promise of the Gospel. 
(Gal. iv. 28.) — Sons of men (Psal. iv. 2.) are no more than men. And Christ is 
as often called the son of man, as he is man. The sons of God (Gen. vi. 2.) are 
those who are of the church ; and so sons of God by profession. (Matt. v. 45.) 
They are such as imitate him, or are governed by him. (1 John iii. 10.) On the 
same account are men called the children of the devil. So likewise (John viii. 44.) 
father is understood in a like sense; also those who are the inventors of any thing, 
or instruct others therein, are called their fathers. (Gen. iv. 20.) 

6 . Name is frequently used as synonymous with persons. 

Thus, to believe on the name of Christ (John i. 12.) means to believe on him. 
See similar examples in John iii. 18. xx. 31. Acts i. 15. Rev. iii. 4. In like manner 
soul is put for person, in Matt. xii. 18. In whom my soul is icell pleased, that 

VOL. II. 4 


I 


26 


On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part I. Ch. 

is, in whom I am well pleased. See other examples in Gen. xii. 13. xix. 20. Tsai, 
cvi. 15. Job xvi. 4. Prov. xxv. 25. Rom. xiii. 1. Heb. x. 38. 

7. As the Jews had but few adjectives in their language, they had 

recourse to substantives, in order to supply their place. 

Hence we find kingdom and glory used to denote a glorious kingdom. (1 Thess. 
ii. 12.) Mouth and wisdom for wise discourse (Luke xxi. 15): the patience of hope 
fox patient expectation (1 Thess. i. 3.); glory of his power for glorious power. (2 
Thess. i. 9.) So circumcision and uncircumcision, mean circumcised and uncircum¬ 
cised persons. Anathema (1 Cor. xvi. 22.) means an excommunicated member. 
The spirits of the prophets, (1 Cor. xiv. 32.) means the spiritual gifts of the prophets. 
When one substantive governs another, in the genitive, one of them is sometimes 
used as an adjective. In the body of his flesh, means, in his fleshly body ; (Col. i. 
22.) Bond of perfectness, (Col. iii. 14.) means, a perfect bond. In Eph. vi. 12. spi¬ 
ritual wickedness, means, wicked spirits. Newness of life, (Rom. vii. 6.) is a new 
life. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, (Gen. ii. 9. compared with iii. 
22.) means the tree of the knowledge of good, or of a pleasure which to taste is an 
evil. When two substantives are joined together, by the copulative, and the one 
frequently governs the other, as in Dan. iii. 7. All the people, the nations, and the 
languages, mean , people of all nations and languages. In Acts xxiii. 6. the hope 
and resurrection of the dead, means, the hope of the resurrection of the dead. In 
Col. ii. 8. Philosophy and vain deceit, denotes a false and deceitful philosophy. 
Hath brought life and immortality to light, (2 Tim. i. 10.) means, to bring immor¬ 
tal life to light. But the expression, I am the way, the truth, and the life, (John 
xiv. 6.) means, I am the true and living way. It is of importance to observe, that, 
in the original, nouns in the genitive case, sometimes express the object, and some¬ 
times the agent. In Matt. ix. 35. the gospel of the kingdom, means, good news 
concerting the kingdom. Doctrines of devils, (1 Tim. iv. 1.) evidently mean, doc¬ 
trines concerning demons. The faith of Christ often denotes the faith which the 
Lord Jesus Christ enjoins. The righteousness of God sometimes means, his per¬ 
sonal perfection, and sometimes that righteousness which he requires of his people. 
In Col. ii. 11. the circumcision of Christ, means, the circumcision enjoined by 
Christ. The Hebrew's used the word living, to express the excellence of the thing 
to which it is applied. Thus, living water, or living fountain, signifies, running , 
or excellent water. Living stones, living ivay, living oracles, mean, excellent 
stones, an excellent way, and excellent oracles. 

8 . The Jews, having no superlatives in their language, employed 
the words of Gocl or of the Lord , in order to denote the greatness or 
excellency of a thing. 

Thus, in Gen. xiii. 10. a beautiful garden is called the garden of the Lord. In 
1 Sam. xxvi. 12. a very deep sleep is called the sleep of the Lord. In 2 Chron. xiv. 
14. and xvii. 10. the fear of the Lord denotes a very great fear. In Psal. xxxvi.7. 
Heb. (G. of English Bibles), the mountains of God are exceeding high mountains; 
and in Psal. lxxx. 10. (Heb.) the tallest cedars are termed cedars of God. The 
voices of God (Exod. ix. 28. Heb. in our version properly rendered mighty thun- 
derings ) means superlatively, loud thunder. Compare also the sublime description 
of the effects of thunder, or the voice of God, in Psal. xxix. 3—8. The production 
of rain by the electric spark is alluded to, in a very beautiful manner, in Jer. x. 13. 
When he (God) uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens. 1 
The like mode of expression occurs in the New Testament. Thus, in Acts vii. 
20. Moses is said to be aarcios tw 6m, literally fair to God, or, as it is correctly 
rendered in our version, exceeding fair. And in 2 Cor. x. 4. the weapons of our 
warfare are termed Swara rw dew, literally mighty to God, that is, exceeding power¬ 
ful, — not mighty through God, as in our authorised translation. 

9. According to the Hebrew idiom, a sword has a mouth , or the 
edge of the sword is called a mouth : (Luke xxi. 24.) 

They shall fall by the mouth (or, as our translators have correctly rendered it, the 
edge ) of the sword, (Heb. xi. 34.) — escaped the edge of the sword, is in the Greek 
(Tro/ia, the mouth of the sword. So, we read of a two mouthed, sword (Heb. iv. 12.) 
for it is 5ktto[xos in the Greek. That this is the Hebrew phraseology may be seen 
by comparing Judg. iii. 16. Psal. cxlix. 6. Prov. v. 4. 

10 . The verb yjvwcTxw, to Icnoto , in the New Testament frequently 
denotes to approve. 


1 Dr. A. Clarke on Exod. ix. 28. 



27 


I. Sect. III.] Hebraisms of the New Testament. 

Thus, in Matt. vii. 23. I never knew you, means, I never approved you. A 
similar construction occurs in 1 Cor. viii. 3. and in Rom. vii. 15. (Gr.) which in 
our version is rendered alloio. Compare also Psal. i. 0. 

11 . Lastly, to hear denotes to understand , to attend to , and to re¬ 
gard what is said. 

In illustration of this remark, compare Deut. xviii. 15. with Acts iii. 23. and see 
also Matt. xvii. 5. and xi. 15. xiii.16. and Luke viii. 8. 

It were no difficult task to adduce numerous similar examples of 
the Hebraisms occurring in the Scriptures, and particularly in the 
New Testament; but the preceding may suffice to show the benefit 
that may be derived from duly considering the import of a word in 
the several passages of holy writ in which it occurs. 

In order to understand the full force and meaning of the Hebra¬ 
isms of the New Testament, the following canons have been laid 
down by the celebrated critic John Augustus Ernesti, and his anno¬ 
tator Professor Morus. 

1 . Compare Hebrew words and forms of expressions with those which 
occur in good Greek formula, particularly in doctrinal passages. 

As all languages have some modes of speech which are common to each other, 
it sometimes happens that the same word or expression is both Hebrew, and good 
Greek, and affords a proper meaning, whether we take it in a Hebrew or a Greek 
sense. But, in such cases, it is preferable to adopt that meaning which a Jew 
would give, because it is raoet probable that the sacred writer had this in view 
rather than the Greek meaning, especially if the latter were not of very frequent 
occurrence. Thus, the expression, ye shall die in your sins (John viii. 24.) if ex- 
plained according to the Greek idiom, is equivalent to ye shall persevere in a 
course of sinful practice to the end of your lives: but, according to the Hebrew 
idiom, it not only denotes a physical or temporal death, but also eternal death, and 
is equivalent to ye shall be damned on account of your sms, in rejecting the Mes¬ 
siah. The latter interpretation, therefore, is preferable to be adopted, as agreeing 
best with the Hebrew mode of thinking, and also with the context. 

This rule applies particularly to the doctrinal passages of the New Testament, 
which must in all cases be interpreted according to the genius of the Hebrew lan¬ 
guage. Thus, to fear God, in the language of a Jew, means to reverence or wor¬ 
ship God generally. The knowledge of God, which is so frequently mentioned in 
the New Testament, if taken according to the Hebrew idiom, implies not only the 
mental knowledge of God, but also the worship and reverence of Him which Hows 
from it, and consequently it is both a theoretical and a practical knowledge of God. 
The reason of this rule is obvious. In the first place, our Saviour and his apostles, 
the first teachers of Christianity, were Jews, who had been educated in the Jewish 
religion and language ; and who (with the exception of Paul) being unacquainted 
with the niceties of the Greek language at the time they were called to the apos¬ 
tolic office, could only express themselves in the style and manner peculiar to their 
country. Secondly, the religion taught in the New Testament agrees with that 
delivered in the Old Testament, of which it is a continuation ; so that the ritual 
worship enjoined by the law of Moses is succeeded by a spiritual or internal wor¬ 
ship ; the legal dispensation is succeeded by the Gospel dispensation, in which 
what was imperfect and obscure is become perfect and clear. Now things that are 
continued are substantially the same, or of a similar nature. Thus the expression 
to come unto God occurs both in the Old and in the New Testament. In the for¬ 
mer it simply means to go up to the temple ; in the latter it is continued, so that 
what was imperfect becomes perfect, and it implies the mental or spiritual ap¬ 
proach unto the Most High, i. e. the spiritual worshipping of God. In like manner, 
since the numerous particulars related in the Old Testament concerning the vic¬ 
tims, priests, and temple of God are transferred, in the New Testament, to the 
atoning death of Christ, to his offering of himself to death, and to the Christian 
church, the veil of figure being withdrawn, the foree and beauty of these expres¬ 
sions cannot be perceived, nor their meaning fully ascertained, unless we interpret 
the doctrinal parts of the New Testament, by the aid of the Old Testament. 

2. The Hebraisms of the New Testament arc to be compared with 
the good Greek occurring in the Septuagint or Alexandrian version. 


28 


On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part L Ch. 

As the Hebraisms occurring in the Old Testament are uniformly rendered, in 
the Septuagint version, in good Greek, this translation may be considered as a 
commentary and exposition of those passages, and as conveying the sense of the 
Hebrew nation concerning their meaning. The Alexandrian translation, there¬ 
fore, ought to be consulted in those passages of the New Testament in which Hie 
sacred writers have rendered the Hebraisms literally. Thus, in 1 Cor. xv. 54. 
death is said to be swallowed up in victory , which sentence is a quotation from 
Isaiah xxv. 8 . As the Hebrew word nsj kctsach, with the *7 prefixed, acquires 
the force of an adverb, and means for ever , without end , or incessantly, and as the 
{Septuagint sometimes renders the word LaNeTsacH by us vikos in victory, but most 
commonly by us re\os,for ever, Morus is of opinion that this last meaning proper¬ 
ly belongs to I Cor. xv. 54, which should therefore be rendered death is swallowed 
vp for ever. And so it is translated by Bishop Pearce. 

8 . In passages that are good Greek, which are common both to the 
Old and New Testament, the corresponding words in the Uebreio Old 
Testament are to be compared. 

Several passages occur in the New Testament, that are good Greek, and which 
are also to be found in the Alexandrian version. In these cases it is not sufficient to 
consult the Greek language only : recourse should also be had to the Hebrew, be¬ 
cause such words of the Septuagint and New Testament have acquired a different 
meaning from what is given to them by Greek witers, and arc sometimes to be 
taken in a more lax, sometimes in a more strict sense. Thus, in Gen. v. 24. and 
Heb. xi. 5. it is said that Enoch pleased God tvyjpurtjKtvai ru ©tw ; which expres¬ 
sion in itself is sufficiently clear, and is also good Greek } but if we compare the 
corresponding expression in the Hebrew, its true meaning is, that he walked with 
God. In rendering this clause by cvvpcvvxevai ra> Qua, the Greek translator did not 
render the Hebrew verbatim, for in that case he would have said rtpu-naTijat aw 
0 £w; but he translated it correctly as to the sense, l&noch pleased God, because he 
lived habitually as in the sight of God, setting him always before his eyes in every 
thing he said, thought, and did. In Psal. ii. 1 . the Septuagint version runs thus, 
Ivan uppval-av c6vri, why did the nations rage ? Now though this expression is good 
Greek, it does not fully render the original Hebrew, which means why do- the na¬ 
tions furiously and tumultuously assemble together, or rebel? The Septuagint 
therefore is not sufficiently close. Once more, the expression ovk ovtcs, they are 
not, is good Greek, but admits of various meanings, indicating those who are not 
yet in existence, those who are already deceased, or, figuratively, persons of no 
authority. This expression occurs both in the Septuagint version of Jer. xxxL 
15. and also in Matt. ii. 18. If we compare the original Hebrew, we shall find that 
it is to be limited to those who are dead. Hence it will be evident that the colla¬ 
tion of the original Hebrew will not only prevent us from taking words either in 
too lax or too strict a sense, but will also guard us against uncertainty as to their 
meaning, and lead us to that very sense which the sacred writer intended. 

Besides the Hebraisms, which we have just considered, there are 
found in the New Testament various Rabbinical, Syriac, Persic, 
Latin, and other idioms and words, which are respectively denomi¬ 
nated Rabbinisms, Syriasms, Persisms, Latinisms, &c. &c. on which 
it may not be improper to offer a few remarks. 

1. Rabbinisms . — We have already seen that during, and subse¬ 
quent to, the Babylonian captivity, the Jewish language sustained 
very considerable changes. 1 New words, new sentences, and new 7 
expressions were introduced, especially terms of science, which Mo¬ 
ses or Isaiah would have as little understood, as Cicero or Caesar 
would a system of philosophy or theology composed in the language 
of the schools. This New Hebrew language is called Talmudi- 
cal, or Rabbinical, from the writings in which it is used ; and, al¬ 
though these writings are of a much later date than the New Testa¬ 
ment, yet, from the coincidence of expressions, it is not improbable 
dhat, even in the time of Christ, this w^as the learned language of the 


1 See p. 3. supra. 



29 


I. Sect. III.] Syriasms , 8pc. of the New Testament. 

Rabbins. 1 Ligbtfoot, Schoetgenius, Meuschen, 2 and others, have 
excellently illustrated the Rabbinisms occurring in the New Testa¬ 
ment. 

2. Syriasms. — 3. Chaldaisms. — The vernacular language of 
the Jews, in the time of Jesus Christ, was the Aramaean; which 
branched into two dialects, differing in pronunciation rather than in 
words, and respectively denominated the Chaldee or East Aramaean, 
and the Syriac or West Aramaean. The East Aramaean was spoken 
at Jerusalem and in Judaea ; and was used by Christ in his familiar 
discourses and conversations with the Jews ; the West Aramaean was 
spoken in ‘ Galilee of the Gentiles.’ It was therefore natural that 
numerous Chaldee and Syriac words, phrases, and terms of expres¬ 
sion, should be intermixed with the Greek of the New Testament, 
and even such as are not to be found in the Septuagint: and the ex¬ 
istence of these Chaldaisms and Syriasms, affords a strong intrinsic 
proof of the genuineness and authenticity of the New Testament. Were 
this, indeed, “ free from these idioms, we might naturally conclude 
that it was not written either by men of Galilee or Judaea, and there¬ 
fore was spurious; for, as certainly as the speech of Peter betrayed 
him to be a Galilaean, when Christ stood before the Jewish tribunal, 
so certainly must the written language of a man, bom, educated, and 
grown old in Galilee, discover marks of his native idiom, unless we 
assume the absurd hypothesis, that God hath interposed a miracle, 
which would have deprived the New Testament of one of its strong¬ 
est proofs of authenticity.” 3 

The following are the principal Aramaean or Chaldee and Syriac 
words occurring in the New Testament: — A/3/3a ( Abba), Father, 
(Rom. viii. 15.) — AxsXda^ct (Aceldama), the field of blood, (Acts L 
19.) — A^ceysSSuv ( Armageddon ), the mountain of Megiddo, or of 
the Gospel, (Rev. xvi. 16.) — ( Bcthesda), the house of mer¬ 

cy, (John v. 2.) —K rjtpag (Cephas), a rock or stone, (John i. 42.) — 
Ko£/3av (Corban), a gift or offering dedicated to God, (Mark vii. 11 .) 
— EXwj, EXwi, Xajj,a tfa/Sa^avt (Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani), my God, 
my God ! why has thou forsaken me 1 (Matt, xxvii. 46. Mark xv. 
34.) — E<p<paJ)ct (Ephphatha), be thou opened, (Mark vii. 34.) — 
Ma(X|xwva (Mammon), riches, (Matt. vi. 24.) — MaPav A&a (Maran 
Atha), the Lord cometh, (1 Cor. xvi. 22.) — Paxa (Raca), thou 


1 Michaelis, vol. i. p. 129, who has given some illustrative examples. Mori Acroa- 
ses super Hermeneutic® Novi Testamenti, vol. i. p. 238. See also Olearius de 
Stylo Novi Testamenti, membr. iii. aphorism vii. pp. 23, 24. 

2 Vide infra Chap. VII. § II. of this Volume, for an account of their valuable 
labours. 

3 Michaelis, vol. i. p. 135. Morus, vol. i. p. 237. Bishop Marsh, in his notes to 
Michaelis, states, that a new branch of the Aramman language has been discovered 
by Professor Adler, which differs in some respects from the East and West Aramae¬ 
an dialects. For an account of it, he refers to the third part of M. Adler’s Novi 
Testamenti Versiones Syriacce, Simplex, Philoxcnia.na, et Hierosolymitana , denuo 
examinatee, fyc. 4to. Hafniae, 1789, of which work we have not been able to obtain 
a sight. Pfeiffer has an amusing disquisition on the Galilean dialect of Peter, 
which in substance corresponds with the above cited remark of Michaelis, though 
Pfeiffer does not seem to have known the exact names of the dialects then in us*: 
among the Jews. Op. tom. i. pp. 616—622 



30 


On the Original Languages of Scripture. [Part I. Oil. 

worthless fellow ! (Matt. v. 22.) —TaX»da xovp (Talitha cumi ), maid 
arise ! (Mark v. 41.) 1 

4. Latinisms. —“The sceptre having departed from Judah,’ 
(Gen. xlix. 10.) by the reduction of Judaea into a Roman province, 
the extension of the Roman laws and government would naturally 
follow the success of the Roman arms : and if to these we add the 
imposition of tribute by the conquerors, together with the commercial 
intercourse necessarily consequent on the political relations oi the 
Jews with Rome, we shall be enabled readily to account for the La¬ 
tinisms, or Latin words and phrases, that occur in the New Testa¬ 
ment. 

The following is a list of the principal Latinisms : — A tfrfagtov (ns- 
sarion, from the Latin word assarius), equivalent to about three 
quarters of a farthing of our money, (Matt. x. 29. Luke xii. 6.) — 
Krjvfl'os (census), assessment or rate, (Matt. xvii. 25.) — Ksvroi/gjwv (cen- 
turio ), a centurion, (Mark xv. 39. 44, 45.)—KoXwvja (colama), a 
colony, (Acts xvi. 12.) — KovdruSicc (custodia), a guard of soldiers, 
(Matt, xxvii. 65, 66. xxviii. 11.) — Arjva^ios (denarius), a Roman pen¬ 
ny, equivalent to about seven-pence halfpenny of our money, (Luke 
vii. 41.)—4>£aysXXiov (flagellum), a scourge, (John ii. 15.) ; from this 
word is derived 4>£a ysXXow, to scourge with whips, (Matt, xxvii. 26. 
Mark xv. 15.) As this was a Roman punishment, it is no wonder 
that we find it expressed by a term nearly Roman. — lovtfrog (Justus), 
(Acts i. 23.) — Asyswv ( legio), a legion, (Matt. xxvi. 53.) — Ko SgavrYiz 
(quadrans), a Roman coin equivalent to about three-fourths of an 
English halfpenny, (Matt. v. 26.) — Aifisgrnog (libertinus), a freed 
man, (Acts vi. 9.) — Ai<rga (libra), a pound, (John xii. 3.) —Asvreov 
(linteum), a towel, (John xiii. 4.) — MaxsXXov ( macellum ), shambles, 
(l Cor. x. 25.) — Msp./3gava (membrana), parchment, (2 Tim. iv. 13.) 
— MiXiov ( millc ), a mile; the Roman mile consisting of a thousand 
paces. (Matt. v. 41.) — Bstfrvis (sextarius), a kind of pot, (Mark vii. 
4. 8.) —il£airo£iov ( preetorium), a judgment-hall, or place where the 
praetor or other chief magistrate heard and determined causes, (Matt, 
xxvii. 27.) — 2?)fmiv$iov or 2ifx»xivS»ov (semicinctiurn), an apron, (Acts 
xix. 12.) — Zixagiog (sicarius), an assassin, (Acts xxi. 38.)— SovSugiov 
(sudarium), a napkin or handkerchief, (Luke xix. 20.)—2tfsxovXa<rw£ 
( speculator ), a soldier employed as an executioner, (Mark vi. 27.) — 
Tafegva (taberna), a tavern, (Acts xxviii. 15.)— TirXog (titulus), a title, 
(John xix. 19, 20.) 2 

5. From the unavoidable intercourse of the Jews with the neigh¬ 
bouring nations, the Arabs, Persians, (to whose sovereigns they were 
formerly subject,) and the inhabitants of Asia Minor, numerous 

1 Additional examples of Chaldaisms and Syriasms may be seen in Olearius de 
Stylo Novi Testamenti, membr. iii. amphorism. vi. (Thesaurus Theologico-Philo- 
logicus, tom. ii. pp. 2*2, 23. 

2 Pritii Introductio ad Lectionem Novi Testamenti, pp. 320—322. Olearius, 
sect. 2. memb. iii. aph. ix. pp. 24, 25 . Michaelis, vol. i. pp. 162—173. Morus, vol 
i. pp. 235, 226. Olearius and Michaelis have collected numerous instances of Lati¬ 
nising phrases occuring in the New Testament, which want of room compels us to 
omit. Full elucidations of the various idioms above cited, are given by Schleusner 
and Parkhurst in their Lexicons to the New Testament. The Graeco-Barbara 
Novi Testamenti (lGmo. Amsterdam, 1649.) of Cheitomceus, may also be consulted 
when it can be met with. 



J. Sect. IV.] On the Cognate or Kindred Languages. 


31 


words, and occasional expressions may be traced in the New Testa¬ 
ment, which have been thus necessarily introduced among the Jews. 
These words, however, are not sufficiently numerous to constitute so 
many entire dialects : for instance, there are not more than four or 
five Persian words in the whole of the New Testament. These can¬ 
not, therefore, be in strictness termed Persisms: and, though the pro¬ 
foundly learned Michaelis is of opinion that the Zend-avesta, or an- 
tient book of the Zoroastrian religion, translated by M. Anquetil du 
Perron, throws considerable light on the phraseology of St. John’s 
writings ; yet, as the authenticity of that work has been disproved by 
eminent orientalists, it' cannot (we apprehend) be with propriety ap¬ 
plied to the elucidation of the New Testament. From the number 
of words used by St. Paul in peculiar senses, as well as words not 
ordinarily occurring in Greek writers, Michaelis is of opinion (after 
Jerome) that they were provincial idioms used in Cilicia in the age in 
which he lived ; and hence he denominates them Cilicisms. 1 

The preceding considerations and examples may suffice to convey 
some idea of the genius of the Greek language of the New Testa¬ 
ment. For an account of the most useful Lexicons that can he con¬ 
sulted, see the Appendix to this volume, No. II. 


SECTION IV. 

» 

ON THE COGNATE OR KINDRED LANGUAGES. 

I. The Chaldee. — II. The Syriac. — III. The Arabic. — IV. The 
Ethiopic. —V. The Rabbinical Hebrew. —VI. Use and impor¬ 
tance of the Cognate Languages to sacred criticism. 

The cognate or kindred languages are those, which, together with 
the Hebrew, are dialects immediately derived from the primitive lan¬ 
guage, if indeed, (as many learned men have thought,) they are not 
derived from the Hebrew itself, confessedly the most antient lan¬ 
guage in the world, and with which they preserve nearly the same 
structure and analogy. The modern Italian language, as well as the 
antient Greek and Latin, will furnish us with numerous examples of 
this affinity. The two last indeed are not dialects, but entirely diffe¬ 
rent languages ; the Latin having acquired very many words from the 
Greek, in consequence of the numerous colonies of Greeks that set¬ 
tled in Italy, from whom the Aborigines imperceptibly borrowed 
many words. 2 In like manner the antient Greeks and modern Russ 
are allied, as also all the Old German and modern Danish, together 


1 Michaelis, vol. i. pp. 14!)—1G2. 

2 Scalifrer in his treatise De causis Lingua; Latina;, and Vossius, in his Etymo- 
logicon Lingua; Latin®, have illustrated this subject at considerable length. 





32 


On the Cognate or Kindred Languages. [Part I. Ch. 

with the British and German of Lower Saxony, &c. Although these 
languages have in progress of time become distinct, yet, in many re¬ 
spects, they may all be considered as similar, from the connexion 
which may be traced between them. 1 

The principal cognate dialects or languages are the Chaldee, Sy¬ 
riac, and Arabic. 

I. The Chaldee , we have already seen, was a dialect of the Ara¬ 
maean language : it was acquired by the Jews during the Babylonian 
captivity, and was currently spoken at the time our Saviour appeared 
in Judaea. Besides the parts already stated as being written in this 
tongue, numerous Chaldaic words occur in the book of Job, the Pro¬ 
verbs, and other parts of the Sacred Writings, for the correct under¬ 
standing of which the knowledge of Chaldee is necessary. It is 
further of great use for enabling us to read the Chaldee paraphrases 
which show the sense put by the Jews themselves on the words of 
Scripture. 2 

II. The Syriac , though written in a different character, is also a 
dialect of the Aramaean language: it was vernacular in Galilee. 
Hence, though several of the sacred writers of the New Testament 
expressed themselves in Greek, their ideas were Syriac ; and they 
consequently used many Syriac idioms, and a few Syriac words. 3 
The chief difference between the Syriac and Chaldee consists in the 
vowel-points or mode of pronunciation; and, notwithstanding the forms 
of their respective letters are very dissimilar, yet the correspondence 
between the two dialects is so close, that if the Chaldee be written in 
‘ Syriac characters without points it becomes Syriac, with the excep¬ 
tion of a single inflexion in the formation of the verbs. 4 The great 
assistance,, which a knowledge of this dialect affords to the critical un¬ 
derstanding of die Hebrew Scriptures, is illustrated at considerable 
length by the elder Michaelis, in a philological dissertation, originally 
published in 1756, and reprinted in the first volume of M. M. Pott’s 
and Ruperti’s Sylloge Commenationum Theologicarum. 5 

III. Though more remotely allied to the Hebrew than either of 
the preceding dialects, the Arabic language possesses sufficient analogy 
to explain and illustrate the former, and is not perhaps inferior in im¬ 
portance to the Chaldee or the Syriac ; particularly as it is a living 
language, in which almost every subject has been discussed, and has 
received the minutest investigation from native writers and lexicogra¬ 
phers. The learned Jews who flourished in Spain from the tenth to 
the twelfth century under the dominion of the Moors, were the first 
who applied Arabic to the illustration of the Hebrew language : and 
subsequent Christian writers, as Bochart, the elder Schultens, Olaus 

1 Morus, vol. i. p. 174. 

2 Walton’s Prolegomena, c. xii. § 2, 3. (pp. 559—562. edit. Dathii.) 

3 Masclef, Gramm. Hebr. vol. ii. p. 114. Wotton’s Misna. vol. i. praef. p. xviii. 

4 Walton, Prol. c. xiii. § 2, 3, 4, 5. (pp. 594—603.) 

0 D. Ghristiani Benedicti Michaelis Dissertatio Philologica, qua Lumina Syriaca 
pro illustrando Ebraismo Sacro exhibentur (Hake, 1756), in Pott’s & Ruperti’s 
Sylloge, tom. i. pp. 170—244. The editors have inserted in the notes some addi¬ 
tional observations from Michclis’s own copy. 



1. Sect. IV.] On the Cognate or Kindred Languages. 


33 


Celsius, and others, have diligently and successfully applied the Ara¬ 
bian historians, geographers, and authors on natural history, to the 
explanation of the Bible. 1 

IV. The Ethiopic language, which is immediately derived from 
the Arabic, has been applied with great advantage to the illustration 
of the Scriptures by Bochart, De Dieu, Hottinger, and Ludolph (to 
whom we are indebted for an Ethiopic grammar and Lexicon) 2 : and 
Pfeiffer has explained a few passages in the books of Ezra and Da¬ 
niel, by the aid of the Persian language. 3 

V. The Rabbinical Hebrew is a mixture of several languages, 
which cannot be of great use for illustrating the Holy Scriptures; 
though it ought not perhaps to be wholly despised. Dr. Gill has ap¬ 
plied the Rabbinical Hebrew to the elucidation of the Bible more 
than any other modern commentator. — The Latin is nearly allied to 
the Greek, which, however, requires but little illustration from it. 

VI. The cognate or kindred languages are of considerable use in 
sacred criticism. They may lead us to discover the occasions of 
such false readings as transcribers unskilled in the Hebrew, but ac¬ 
customed to some of the other dialects, have made by writing words 
in die form of that dialect instead of the Hebrew form. Further, the 
knowledge of these languages will frequently serve to prevent ill- 
grounded conjectures that a passage is corrupted, by shewing that the 
common reading is susceptible of the very sense which such passage 
requires: and when different readings are found in copies of the Bi¬ 
ble, these languages may sometimes assist us in determining which of 
them ought to be preferred. 4 

1 Bauer, Herm. Sacr. pp. 82, 83. 106,107. Walton, Prol. c. xiv. §2—7. 14. (pp. 
635—641. 649.) Bishop Marsh's Divinity Lectures, part iii. p. 28. 

2 Bauer, llerm. Sacr. p. 107. Walton, Prol. c. xvi. § 6—8. (pp. 674—678.) 

3 Dubia Vexata, cent. iv. no. 66. (Op. tom. i. pp. 420—422.) and Herm. Sacra, c. 
vi. § 9. (Ibid. tom. ii. p. 648.) Walton, Prol. c. xvi. § 5. (pp. 691, 692.) 

4 Gerard’s Institutes of Biblical Criticism, p. 63. — For Bibliographical Notices 
of the principal Grammars and Lexicons of the Cognate Languages, see the Ap¬ 
pendix to this Volume, No. III. 

VOL. II. 


5 



34 


On the Hebrew Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. 


CHAPTER II. 

ON THE MANUSCRIPTS OF THE BIBLE. 

SECTION I. 

ON THE HEBREW MANUSCRIPTS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

I. Different classes of Hebrew Manuscripts. — II. The rolled Manu¬ 
scripts of the synagogues. — III. The square Manuscripts used by 
the Jews in private life. — IV. Antient recensions or editions of 
Hebrew Manuscripts. —V. Age of Hebrew Manuscripts. — VI. 
Of the order in ivhich the Sacred Books are arranged in Manu¬ 
scripts. — Number of Books contained in different Manuscripts. 

— VII. Modern Families or Recensions of Hebrew Manuscripts. 

— VIII. Notice of the most antient Manuscripts. — IX. Brief 
notice of the Manuscripts of the Indian Jews. 

i. Although, as we have already seen, the Hebrew text of 
the Old Testament has descended to our times uncorrupted, yet, with 
all the care which the antient copyists could bestow, it was impossible 
to preserve it free from mistakes, arising from the interchanging of 
the similar letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and other circumstances 
incident' to the transcription of antient manuscripts. The Rabbins 
boldly asserted, and. through a credulity rarely to be paralleled, it 
was implicitly believed, that the Hebrew text was absolutely free 
from error, and that in all the manuscripts of the Old Testament not 
a single various reading of importance could be produced. Father 
Morin was the first person who ventured to impugn this notion in his 
Exercitationes m utrumque Samaritanorum Pentateuchum, published 
at Paris in 1631 ; and he grounded his opinion of the incorrectness 
of the Hebrew manuscripts on the differences between the Hebrew 
and the Samaritan texts in the Pentateuch, and on the differences be¬ 
tween the Hebrew and the Septuagint in other parts of the Bible. 
Morinus was soon after followed by Louis Cappel, (whose Critica 
.Sacra was published in 1650,) who pointed out a great number of 
errors in the printed Hebrew, and shewed how they might be cor¬ 
rected by the antient versions and the common rules of criticism. He 
did not, however, advert to the most obvious and effectual means of 
emendation, namely, a collation of Hebrew manuscripts ; and, valu¬ 
able as his labours unquestionably are, it is certain that he neither used 
them himself, nor invited others to have recourse to them, in order to 
correct the sacred text. Cappel was assailed by various opponents, 
but chiefly by the younger Buxtorf in his Anticritica , published at 
Basil in 1653, who attempted, but in vain, to refute the principles he 
had established. In 1657 Bishop Walton, in his Prolegomena to the 
London Polyglott Bible, declared in favour of the principles asserted 
by Cappel, acknowledged the necessity of forming a critical appara¬ 
tus for the purpose of obtaining a more correct text of the Hebrew 
Bible, and materially contributed to the formation of one by his own 


35 


FI* Sect. I.] Of the Old Testament. 

exertions. Subsequent biblical critics acceded to the propriety of 
their arguments, and since the middle of the seventeenth century, the 
importance and necessity of collating Hebrew manuscripts have been 
generally acknowledged . 1 

Hebrew manuscripts are divided into two classes, viz. autographs , 
or those written by the inspired penmen themselves, which have long 
since perished; and apographs , or copies made from the originals, 
and multiplied by repeated transcription. These apographs are also 
divided into the more antient , which formerly enjoyed the highest au¬ 
thority among the Jews, but have in like manner perished long ago ; 
and into the more modern , which are found dispersed in various public 
and private libraries. The manuscripts which are still extant, are 
subdivided into the rolled manuscripts used in the synagogues, and 
into the square manuscripts which are used by private individuals 
among the Jews. 

II. The Pentateuch was read in the Jewish synagogues from the 
earliest times ; and, though the public reading of it was intermitted 
during the Babylonish captivity, it w r as resumed shortly after the re¬ 
turn of the Jew T s. Hence numerous copies were made from time to 
time ; and as they held the books of Moses in the most superstitious 
veneration, various regulations were made for the guidance of the 
transcribers, who were obliged to conform to them in copying the 
rolls destined for the use of the synagogue. The date of these regu¬ 
lations is not known, but they are long posterior to the Talmud; and 
though many of them are the most ridiculous and useless that can be 
well conceived, yet the religious observance of them, which has con¬ 
tinued for many centuries, has certainly contributed in a great degree 
to preserve the purity of the Pentateuch. The following are a few 
of the principal of these regulations. 

The copies of the law must be transcribed from antient manu¬ 
scripts of approved character only, with pure ink, on parchment pre¬ 
pared from the hide of a clean animal, for this express purpose, by a 
Jew, and fastened together by the strings of clean animals; every 
skin must contain a certain number of columns of prescribed length 
and breadth, each column comprising a given number of lines and 
words ; no word must be written by heart or with points, or without 
being first orally pronounced by the copyist; the name of God is not 
to be written but with the utmost devotion and attention, and previ¬ 
ously to writing it, he must wash his pen. The want of a single let¬ 
ter, or the redundance of a single letter, the writing of prose as verse, 
or verse as prose, respectively, vitiates a manuscript: and when a 
copy has been completed, it must be examined and corrected within 
thirty days after the writing has been finished, in order to determine 
whether it is to be approved or rejected. These rules, it is said, are 
observed to the present day by the persons who transcribe the sacred 
writings for the use of the synagogue . 2 


1 Bishop Marsh’s Lectures, part ii. p. 99. 

2 Carpzov, Critica Sacra Vet. Test. pp. 271,272. 




36 


On the Hebrew Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. 

III. The square manuscripts, which are in private use, are written 
with black ink, either on vellum or on parchment, or on paper, and 
of various sizes, folio, quarto, octavo, and duodecimo. Those which 
are copied on paper, are considered as being the most modern ; and 
they frequently have some one of the Targums or Chaldee Para¬ 
phrases, either subjoined to the text in alternate verses, or placed in 
parallel columns with the text, or written in the margin of the manu¬ 
script. The characters are, for the most part, those which are called 
die square Chaldee ; though a few manuscripts are written with rab¬ 
binical characters, but these are invariably of recent date. Biblical' 
critics, who are conversant with the Hebrew manuscripts, have distin¬ 
guished three sorts of characters, each differing in the beauty of their 
form. The Spanish character is perfectly square, simple, and ele¬ 
gant: the types of the quarto Hebrew Bibles, printed by Robert 
Stephen and by Plantin, approach the nearest to this character. The 
German , on the contrary, is crooked, intricate, and inelegant, in every 
respect; and the Italian character holds a middle place betw r een 
diese two. The pages are usually divided into three columns of va¬ 
rious lengths; and the initial letters of the manuscripts are frequently 
illuminated and ornamented with gold. In many manuscripts the 
Masora 1 is added ; what is called the larger Masora , being placed 
above and below the columns of the text, and the smaller Masora 
being inserted in the blank spaces between the columns. 

IV. In the period between the sixth and the tenth centuries, the 
Jews had two celebrated academies, one at Babylon in the east, and 
another at Tiberias in the west; where their literature was cultivated, 
and the Scriptures were very frequently transcribed. Hence arose 
two recensions or editions of the Hebrew Scriptures, which were col¬ 
lated in the eighth or ninth century. The differences or various 
readings observed in them were noted, and have been transmitted to 
our time under the appellation of the oriental and occidental or east¬ 
ern and western readings. They are variously computed at 210, 21G, 
and 220, and are printed by Bishop Walton in the Appendix to his 
splendid edition of the Polyglott Bible. In the early part of the 
eleventh centyry, Aaron ben Asher, president of the academy at Ti¬ 
berias, and Jacob ben Naphtali, president of the academy at Babylon, 
collated the manuscripts of the oriental and occidental Jews. The 
discrepancies observed by these eminent Jewish scholars amount to 
upwards of 864; with one single exception, they relate to the vowel 
points, and consequently are of little value ; they are also printed by 
Bishop Walton. The western Jews, and our printed editions of the 
Hebrew Scriptures, almost wholly follow the recension of Aaron ben 
Asher. 

Among the Jews five exemplars have been particularly celebrated 
for their singular correctness, and from them all their subsequent 
copies have been made. These standard copies bear the names of 
the Codex of Hillel, of Ben Asher, which is also called the Palestine 


1 See an account of the Masora in Chap. IV. Sect. I. § IV. infra. 




37 


11. Sect. I.] . Of the Old Testament. 

or Jerusalem Codex, of Ben Naphtali, or the Babylonian Codex, the 
Pentateuch of Jericho, and the Codex Sinai. 

1. The Codex oj Hdlel was a celebrated manuscript which Rabbi 
Kimchi (who lived in the twelfth century) says that he saw at Toledo, 
though Rabbi Zacuti, who flourished towards the close of the fifteenth 
century, states that part of it had been sold and sent into Africa. 
Who this Hillel was, the learned are by no means agreed; some have 
supposed that he was the very eminent Rabbi Hillel who lived about 
sixty years before the birth of Christ; others imagine that he was the 
grandson of the illustrious Rabbi Jehudah Hakkadosh, who wrote the 
Misna, and that he flourished about the middle of the fourth century. 
Others, again, suppose that he was a Spanish Jew, named Hillel; but 
Bauer, with greater probability, supposes the manuscript to have been 
of more recent date, and written in Spain, because it contains the 
vowel points, and all the other grammatical minutiae ; and that the 
feigned name of Hillel was inscribed on its title in order to enhance 
its value. 

2, 3. The Codices of Ben Asher and Ben Naphtali have already 
been noticed. We may, however, state, on the authority of Maimon- 
ides, that the first of these was held in most repute in Egypt, as having 
been revised and corrected in very many places by Ben Asher him¬ 
self, and that it was the exemplar which he (Maimonides) followed in 
copying the law, in conformity with the custom of the Jews. 

4. The Codex of Jericho is highly commended by Rabbi Elias 
Levita, as being the most correct copy of the Law of Moses, and ex¬ 
hibiting the defective and full words. 

5. The Codex Sinai was also a very correct manuscript of the 
Pentateuch, that presented some variation in the accents, in which 
respect it differed from the former. A sixth codex, called Sanbouki , 
is mentioned by Pere Simon, as having been seen by him; but no¬ 
thing certain is known respecting its date, or by whom it was written. 

V. As the authority of manuscripts depends greatly on their an¬ 
tiquity, it becomes a point of considerable importance to ascertain 
their age as exactly as possible. Now this may be effected either by 
external testimony or by internal marks. 

1. External testimony is sometimes afforded by the subscriptions 
annexed by the transcribers, specifying the time when they copied 
the manuscripts. But this criterion cannot always be depended upon : 
for instances have occurred, in which modern copyists have added 
antient and false dates in order to enhance the value of their labours. 
As however by far the greater number of manuscripts have no sub¬ 
scriptions or other criteria by which to ascertain their date, it becomes 
necessary to resort to the evidence of 

2. Internal Marks . Of these, the following are stated by Dr. 

Kennicott and M. De Rossi to be the principal: 1. The inelegance 

or rudeness of the character (Jablonski lays down the simplicity and 
elegance of the character as a criterion of antiquity); — 2. The yel¬ 
low colour of the vellum; — 3. The total absence, or at least they 


39 On the Hebrew Manuscripts [Part. I. Ch. 

very rare occurrence, of the Masora, and of the Keri and Ketib 1 ; 
— 4. The writing of the Pentateuch throughout in one book, without 
any greater mark of distinction appearing at the beginning of books 
than at the beginning of sections; -—5. The absence of critical emen¬ 
dations and corrections;—6. The absence of the vowel points; — 
7. Obliterated letters, being written and re-written with ink; — 8. 
The frequent occurrence of the name Jehovah in lieu of Adonai; — 
9. The infrequency of capital and little letters; — 10. The insertion 
of points to fill up blank spaces; —11. The non-division of some 
books and psalms ; —12. The poetical books not being distinguished 
from those in prose by dividing them into hemistichs ;— 13. Read¬ 
ings frequently differing from the Masoretic copies but agreeing with 
the Samaritan text, with antient versions, and with the quotations of 
the fathers. The conjunction of all, or of several, of these internal 
marks, is said to afford certain criteria of the antiquity of Hebrew 
manuscripts. But the opinions of the eminent critics above named 
have been questioned by professors Bauer and Tychsen, who have 
advanced strong reasons to prove that they are uncertain guides in 
determining die age of manuscripts. \ 

VI. A twofold order of arrangement of the sacred books is observ¬ 
able in Hebrew manuscripts, viz. the Talmudical and the Masoretic. 
Originally, the different books of the Old Testament were not joined 
together : according to Rabbi Elias Levita (die most learned Jewish 
writer on this subject), they were first joined together by the mem¬ 
bers of the great synagogue, who divided them into three parts, — 
the law, the prophets, and the hagiographa, and who placed the 
prophets and hagiographa in a different order from that assigned by 
the Talmudists in the book intitled Baba Bathra. 

The following is the Talmudical arrangement of the Old Testa 
ment: —Of the Prophets , Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings (1 and 2), 
Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets (in one 
book). Of the Hagiographa , Ruth, Psalms, Job, Ecclesiastes, Song 
of Solomon, Lamentations, Esther, Chronicles. By the Masorites, 
the Prophets are placed in the same order, with the exception of 
Isaiah, who precedes Jeremiah and Ezekiel, because he flourished be¬ 
fore them. This arrangement is adopted in the manuscripts of the 
Spanish Jews, while the Talmudical order is preserved in those of 
the German and French Jews. In the Hagiographa, the Masorites 
have departed from the arrangement of the Talmudists, and place the 
books comprised in that division thus : -— Psalms, Job, Proverbs, 
Ruth, the Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations of Jeremiah, 
Esther, Daniel, and Ezra. This mode of arrangement obtains in the 
Spanish manuscripts. But in the German MSS. they are thus dis¬ 
posed : Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Five Megilloth (or books) Daniel, 
Ezra, and Chronicles ; and the Five Megilloth (or books) are placed 
in the order in which tiiey are usually read in their Synagogues, viz. 
the Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, 
and Esther. 


1 For an account of these, see Chap IV. Sect. 1. § IV. infra. 



39 


II. Sect. I.] Of the Old Testament. 

There are, however, several manuscripts extant, which depart both 
from the Talmudical and from the Masoretical order, and have an 
arrangement peculiar to themselves. Thus, in the Codex Norimber- 
gensis 1. (No. 198 ot Dr. Kennicott’s catalogue), which was written 
a. n. 1291, the books are thus placed: the Pentateuch, Joshua, 
Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Twelve Minor 
Prophets,. Ruth, Esther, Psalms, Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, 
Lamentations, Proverbs, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah (in one book), 
and Chronicles. In the Codex, No. 94, written a. d. 1285 (in the 
university library, at Cambridge), and also in No. 102, a manuscript 
in the British Museum, written early in the fourteenth century, the 
books of Chronicles precede the Psalms; Job is placed before the 
Proverbs; Ruth before the Song of Solomon ; and Ecclesiastes before 
the Lamentadons. In the Codex, No. 130, a manuscript of the 
same date (in the library of the Royal Society of London), Chroni¬ 
cles and Ruth precede the Psalms; and in the Codex, No. 96, (in 
the library of St. Jolm’s College, Cambridge,) written towards the 
close of the fourteenth century, and also in many other MSS., Jere¬ 
miah takes precedence of Isaiah. 

In die Codex Regiomontanus 2. (No. 224), ivritten early in the 
twelfth century, Jeremiah is placed before Ezekiel, whose book is 
followed by that of Isaiah : then succeed die Twelve Minor Prophets. 
The Hagiographa are thus disposed : — Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, 
Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations, Daniel, Esther, Ezra 
and Nehemiah (in one book), and the books of Chronicles (also in 
one book). 

The order pursued in the Codex Ebnerianus 2. is altogether differ¬ 
ent from the preceding. Samuel follows Jeremiah, who is succeeded 
by the two books of Kings, and by part of the prophecy of Ezekiel: 
dien comes part of Isaiah. The Twelve Minor Prophets are written 
in one continued discourse; and are followed by Ruth, Psalms, Job, 
Proverbs with Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon, Lamentations, 
Daniel, Esdier, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles. 

Of the various Hebrew manuscripts which have been preserved, 
few contain the Old Testament entire : the greater part comprise only 
particular portions of it, as the Pentateuch, five Megilloth, and Haph- 
taroth, or sections of the prophets which are read on the sabbath-days; 
the Prophets or the Hagiographa. Some, indeed, are confined to 
single books, as the Psalms, the book of Esther, the Song of Solomon, 
and the Haphtaroth. This diversity in the contents of manuscripts is 
occasioned, partly by the design of the copyist, who transcribed the 
whole or part of the sacred writings for particular purposes; and 
partly by the mutilations caused by -the consuming hand of time. 
Several instances of such mutilations are given in the account of the 
principal Hebrew MSS. now extant, in pp. 41—44. infra. 

VII. As the Hebrew manuscripts which have been in use since the 
eleventh century have all been corrected according to some particular 
recension or edition, they have from this circumstance been classed 
into families, according to the country where such recension has ob» 


40 On the Hebrew Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. 

tained. These families or recensions are three or four in number, 

viz. 

1. The Spanish manuscripts, which were corrected after the Codex 
of Hillel. They follow the Masoretic system with great accuracy, 
and are on this account highly valued by the Jews, though some He¬ 
brew critics hold them in little estimation. The characters are written 
with great elegance, and are perfectly square: the ink is pale ; the 
pages are seldom divided into three columns ; the Psalms are divided 
into hemistichs ; and the Chaldee paraphrases are not interlined, but 
written in separate columns, or are inserted in the margin in smaller 
letters. Professor Tychsen speaks in high terms of the calligraphy 
of the Spanish manuscripts. As the Spanish monks excelled in that 
art, he thinks the Jews, who abounded in Spain in the twelfth and 
thirteenth centuries, acquired it from them, and he appeals to manu¬ 
scripts which he had seen, where the letters are throughout so equal, 
that the whole has the appearance of print. 1 

2. The Oriental manuscripts are nearly the same as the Spanish 
manuscripts, and may be referred to the same class. 

3. The German manuscripts are written with less elegance than 
the Spanish codices: their characters are more rudely formed ; the 
initial letters are generally larger than the rest, and ornamented ; the 
ink is very black. They do not follow the Masoretic notation, and 
frequently vary from the Masoretic manuscripts, exhibiting important 
readings that are not to be found in the Spanish manuscripts, but 
which agree with the Samaritan text of the Pentateuch, and with the 
antient versions. The Chaldee paraphrases are inserted in alternate 
verses. This class of manuscripts is little esteemed by the Jews, but 
most highly valued by biblical critics. 

4. The Italian manuscripts hold a middle place between the 
Spanish and German codices, and sometimes have a nearer affinity 
to one class than to the other, both in the shape of the Hebrew cha¬ 
racters, and also as it respects their adherence to or neglect of the 
Masoretic system. M. Bruns, the able assistant of Dr. Kennicott in 
collating Hebrew manuscripts, has given engraved specimens of the 
Spanish, German, and Italian manuscripts, in his edition of Dr. K.’s 
Dissertatio Generalis (8vo. Brunswick, 1783) ; and Professor Tych¬ 
sen has given fourteen Hebrew alphabets, of various ages and coun¬ 
tries, at the end of hisTentamen de variis Codicum Hebrasorum Vet. 
Test. MSS. Generibus. Antient and unpointed Hebrew manuscripts, 
written for the use of the synagogues, and those Masoretic Spanish 
exemplars, which have been transcribed by a learned person, and for 
a learned person, from some famous and correct copy, are preferred 
by M. De Rossi to the copies written for private use, or even for the 
synagogue, from Masoretic exemplars, of which last the number is 
very great. But M. Bauer pronounces those manuscripts to be the 
best, whose various lections are most frequently confirmed by the an- 


l Tychsen, Tentamen de variis Cod. Heb. MSS. pp. 302—308 



41 


11. Sect. I.] Of the Old Testament. 

tient versions, especially by the Alexandrian and Syriac, and also 
by the Samaritan Pentateuch and version. * 1 

VIII. M. De Rossi has divided Hebrew manuscripts into three 
classes, viz. 1. More antient , or those written before the twelfth cen¬ 
tury ; —2. Antient , or those written in the thirteenth and fourteenth 
centuries ; — 3. More recent , or those written at the end of the four¬ 
teenth, or at die beginning of the fifteenth century. The most recent, 
or those written since the fifteenth century, which are very numerous, 
and are those found in the synagogues, he pronounces to be of little 
or no use, unless it can be proved that they have been transcribed from 
antient apographs. The total number of Hebrew manuscripts col¬ 
lated by Dr. Kennicott for his critical edition of the Hebrew Bible 
(of which an account is given in a subsequent page), is about six hun¬ 
dred and thirty. The total number collated fey M. De Rossi for his 
Collection of Various Readings (also noticed in a subsequent page), 
is four hundred and seventy-nine manuscripts, besides two hundred 
and eighty-eight printed editions. The following are the most antient 
manuscripts collated by Dr. Kennicott. 

1. The Codex Laudianus a. 172 and 162, and numbered 1, in Dr. 
Kennicott’s list of Hebrew manuscripts. Though now in two folio 
parts, it is evident that they originally formed only one volume : 
each part consists of quinquernions, or gatherings of five sheets or 
ten leaves, and at the bottom of every tenth leaf is a catch-word be¬ 
ginning the next leaf, which is the first of the succeeding gathering 
of ten leaves. But at the end of the first part or volume, there is 
pasted on, one leaf of the next quinquernion, completing the book 
of Deuteronomy ; so that this volume concludes with five sheets and 
one leaf over. And the first gathering in the second volume consists 
of only four sheets and one leaf, which last is likewise pasted on, 
for want of its fellow-leaf. This manuscript is written on vellum, 
according to Dr. Kennicott, in the Spanish character, but in the 
opinion of Dr. Bruns it is in the Italic character, to which M. de 
Rossi assents. The letters, whieh are moderately large, are plain, 
simple, and elegant, hut universally unadorned; and they were 
originally written without points, as is evident from the different 
colour of the ink in the letters and in the points. Some of the let¬ 
ters, having become obliterated by the lapse of ages, have been 
written over a second time ; and though such places were re-written 
in the same strong character, yet many of the words were becoming 
a second time invisible, when collated by Dr. K. This eminent 
critic assigns it to the tenth century, but De Rossi refers it to the 
eleventh. The Laudian manuscript begins with Gen. xxvii. 31.: it 
contains fourteen thousand variations from Vander Hooght’s edition 
of the Hebrew Bible. More than two thousand are found in the 
Pentateuch, which confirm the Septuagint Greek version in one 
hundred and nine various readings -; the Syriac, in ninety-eight; the 

1 Walton, Prolegom. c. iv. § 1—12. pp. 171—184. ec. vii. Vni. pp. 225—331. edit. 
Dathii. Carpzov. Critica Sacra, pp. 283—387. Dr. Kennicott, diss. i. pp. 313— 
317.; also his Disserta-tio Generalis, 'passim. Jahn, Introd. ad Vet. Fcedus, pp. 153 
—170. Bauer, Critica Sacra, pp. 215—226. 343—407. De Rossi. Var. Beet. toip.. 

i. Prolegom. § xi.—six. pp. xi.—xxu. 


6 



42 


On the Hebrew Manuscripts 


[Part I. Cli. 


Arabic, in eighty-two ; the Vulgate or Latin Version, in eighty-eight: 
and the Chaldee Paraphrase, in forty-two : it also agrees with the 
Samaritan Pentateuch, against the printed Hebrew, in seven hun¬ 
dred instances. What renders this manuscript the more valuable 
is, that it preserves a word of great importance for understanding 2 
Sam. xxiii. 3—7., which word is confirmed by the Greek Version, 
and thus recovers to us a prophecy of the Messiah. 1 

2. The Codex Carlsruhensis 1 , (No. 154 of Dr. Kennicott’s list 
of manuscripts,) formerly belonged to the celebrated and learned 
Reuchlin, whose efforts contributed so much towards the revival of 
literature in the fifteenth century. This manuscript is now preserved 
in the public library at Carlsruhe, and is the oldest that has a cer¬ 
tain date. It is in square folio, and was written in the year of the 
world 4866, corresponding with 1106 of our sera. It contains the 
Prophets with the Targum. 

3. The Codex Vienna (No. 590 of Kennicott) contains the Pro¬ 
phet’s and Hagiographa. It is written on vellum in folio, and if 
the date in its subscription be correct, (a. d. 1018 or 1019) it is 
more antient than the preceding. Bruns collected two hundred im¬ 
portant various readings from this manuscript. The points have 
been added by a later hand. According to Adler’s enumeration, it 
consists of four hundred and seventy-one leaves, and two columns, 
each column containing twenty-one lines. 

4. The Codex C^esejnme, in the Malatesta Library at Bologna. 
(No. 536 of Kennicott,) is a folio manuscript written on vellum, in 
the German character, towards the end of the eleventh century. It 
contains the Pentateuch, the Haphtaroth or sections of the Pro¬ 
phetical Books, and the Megilloth or five Books of Canticles, or the 
Song of Solomon, Ruth, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesias?- 
tes, and Esther. De Rossi pronounces it to be a most antient and 
valuable manuscript, and states that in its margin are inserted some 
various readings of still more antient manuscripts. 2 

5. The Codex Florentines 2, (No. 162 of Kennicott,) is written 
on vellum, in quarto, in a square Spanish character, with points, 
towards the end of the eleventh, or at the latest, in the beginning of 
the twelfth century. It contains the books of Joshua, Judges, and 
Samuel. Very many of the letters, which were obliterated by time, 
have been renewed by a later hand. 

6. The Codex Mediolanensis 9, (193 of Kennicott,) is written 
on vellum, in octavo, in the German character, towards the close of 
the twelfth century. It has neither the points nor the Masora. 
This manuscript comprises the Pentateuch ; the beginning of the 
book of Genesis, and the end of Leviticus and Deuteronomv, have 
been written by a later hand. Both erasures and alterations occur 
in this manuscript; and sometimes a worse reading is substituted in 
place of one that is preferable. Nevertheless it contains many good 
various readings. 

7. The Codex Norimbergensis 4, (,201 of Kennicott,) is a folio 
manuscript, written on thin vellum, in the German character, and 


1 Kennicott, Dissert. I. pp.315—310. Dissert. II. pp.533, 534. BibliaHebraica, tom 
ii. Dissert. Generalis, pp. 70, 71. De Rossi, Varite Lectiones, tom. i. Proleg. p. li* 

2 De Rossi, tom. i. Proleg. p. lxxxvii. 





43 


U. Sect. I.] Of the Old Testament. 

containing the Prophets and Hagiographa. It is mutilated in vari¬ 
ous parts. It is of great antiquity, and from the similarity of its 
character to that of the Codex Carlsruhensis, both Dr. Kennicott 
and M. de Rossi assign it to the beginning of the twelfth century. 

8. The Codex Parisiensis 27, (Regius 29, 210 of Kennicott,) is 
a quarto manuscript of the entire Bible, written on vellum, in an 
elegant Italic character. The initial words are, with few exceptions, 
of the same size as the rest. The Masora and Keri are both want¬ 
ing ; and the Megilloth precede the books of Chronicles. It is high¬ 
ly valued by Kennicott and De Rossi, who refer it also to the begin¬ 
ning of the twelfth century. 

9. Coeval with the preceding is the Codex Regiomontanus 2, 
(224 of Kennicott,) written in the Italic character, in small folio. 
This manuscript contains the Prophets and the Hagiographa, hut it 
is mutilated in various places. The initial letters are larger than 
the others, and three of the poetical books are written in hemistichs. 

10. To the beginning of the twelfth century likewise is to be re¬ 
ferred the Codex Parisiensis 84, (San-Germanensis 2, No. 366 of 
Kennicott): it is written on vellum, in large quarto. It is imperfect 
from Jer. xxix. 19. to xxxviii. 2.; and from Hosea iv. 4. to Amos vi. 
12. Isaiah follows Ezekiel according to the Talmudical Canon. 1 

The following are among the most antient of the manuscripts in 
tlie possession of the late M. De Rossi, and collated by him, viz 

1. The Codex, by him numbered 634, which is in quarto. It con¬ 
tains a fragment of the books of Leviticus and Numbers, — from 
Levit. xxi. 19. to Numb. i. 50.; and exhibits every mark of the re¬ 
motest antiquity. The vellum on which it is written is decayed by 
age ; the character is intermediate, or Italic, — approaching to that 
of the German manuscripts. The letters are all of an uniform size ; 
there is no trace of the Masora, or of any Masoretic notes, ror is 
any space left before the larger sections ; though sometimes, as in 
other very antient manuscripts, a few points are inserted between 
the words. M. De Rossi assigns this manuscript to the eighth cen 
tury. 

2. A manuscript of the Pentateuch (No. 503), in quarto and on 
vellum, containing from Gen. xii. 41. to Deut. xv. 12. It is com¬ 
posed of leaves of various ages, the most antient of which are the 
ninth or tenth century. The character is semi-rabbinical, rude, and 
confessedly very antient. Points occur, in some of the more antient 
leaves, in the writing of the original copyist, but sometimes they are 
wanting. There are no traces of the Masora or of the Masoretic 
notes, and sometimes no space at all before the larger sections. It 
frequently agrees with the Samaritan text and antient versions. 

3. A manuscript of the Pentateuch (No. 10), with the Targum and 
Megilloth. It is written in the German character, on vellum and in 
quarto, towards the end of the eleventh or in the beginning of the 
twelfth century. The Masora is absent. The character, which is 
defaced by time, is rudely formed, and the initial letters are larger 
than the rest. Coeval with this manuscript is, 

4. A manuscript of the book of Job, in quarto, also on vellum, 
and in the German character. It is one of the most valuable ma- 


1 Kennicott, Dissertatio Generalis, pp. 85. 87,88, 80.08. 104. 





44 On the Hebrew Manuscripts [Part I. Cli. 

smscripts of that book. The pages are divided into two columns, the 
lines being of unequal length. 

5. A manuscript of the Hagiographa (No. 379), the size, charac¬ 
ter, and date of which correspond with the preceding. It begins 
with Psal. xlix. 15. and ends with Neh. xl. 4. The Masora and Keri 
are absent; and the poetical books are divided into hemistichs. 

6. A manuscript of the Pentateuch, (No. 611), on vellum, in oc¬ 
tavo, and written in the German character, approaching somewhat 
to the Spanish, towards the close of the eleventh or in the com¬ 
mencement of the twelfth century. The ink is frequently faded by 
age ; there are no traces of the Masora; the Keri are very rarely 
to be seen, and the initial letters are larger than the others. There 
are frequent omissions in the text, which are supplied in the margin. 1 

Dr. Kennicott states that almost all the Hebrew manuscripts of the 
Old Testament, at present known to be extant, were written between 
the years 1000 and 1457, whencq he infers that all the manuscripts 
written before the years 700 or 800 were destroyed by some decree 
of the Jewish senate, on account of their many differences from the 
copies then declared genuine. This circumstance is also alleged by 
Bishop Walton as the reason why we have so few examplers of the 
age of 600 years, and why even the copies of 700 or 800 years are 
very rare. 

IX. It was long a desideratum with biblical scholars to obtain the 
Hebrew-Scriptures from the Jews who are settled in India and other 
parts of the East. It was reasonably supposed, that, as these Jews 
had been for so many ages separated from their brethren in the west, 
their manuscripts might contain a text derived from the autographs of 
the sacred writers, by a channel independent of that through which 
the texts of our printed Bibles has been transmitted to us. Dr. 
Kennicott was very anxious to obtain a copy, or at least a collation of a 
manuscript from India or China, for his edition of the Hebrew Bible, 
in the expectation that it would exhibit important variations from the 
Masoretic editions; but he was unsuccessful in his endeavours to pro¬ 
cure it 2 , and the honour of first bringing an Indian manuscript of the 
Hebrew Scriptures into Europe was reserved for the late Rev. Dr. 
Buchanan. 

Among the biblical manuscripts brought from India by this learned 
and pious divine, and which are now deposited in the public library 
at Cambridge, there is a roll of the Pentateuch, which he procured 


1 De Rossi, Var. Lect. tom. i. Proleg. pp. cxvi.cxii. xcvm. cvn. cvm. 

2 According to the information collected from various sources, by Professor Bau¬ 
er, it does not appear that the manuscripts of the Chinese Jews are of any remote 
antiquity, or are calculated to afford any assistance to biblical critics. Although 
Jews have resided in China for many centuries, yet they have no antient manu¬ 
scripts, those now in use being subsequent to the fifteenth century. Critica Sacra, 
pp. 405—407. See an account of the Hebraeo-Chinese manuscripts in Koegler’s 
Notitia S. S. Bibliorum Judseorum in Imperio Sineasi. Edit. 2. 8vo. Halae ad 
Salam, 1805. Brotier., in bis edition of Tacitus, (vol. iii. pp. 507, et seq.) has given 
the best account that is extant of the Jews in China, a colony of whom settled in 
that country in the first century of the Christian rera. The reader will find an 
abridgment of it in Mr. Townley’s Illustrations of Biblical Literature, vol. i. pp. 83 
—89, 



45 


IT. Sect. 1.] Of the Old Testament. 

from the black Jews in Malabar 1 , who, (there is strong reason to be¬ 
lieve) are a part of the remain| of the first dispersion of that nation by 
Nebuchadnezzar. The date of this manuscript cannot now be ascer¬ 
tained ; but its text is supposed to be derived from those copies which 
their ancestors brought with them into India. Those Jews, on being 
interrogated, could give no precise account of it: some replied, that 
it came originally from Senna in Arabia ; others of them said, it was 
brought from Cashmir. The Cabul Jews, who travel annually into 
the interior of China, remarked, that in some synagogues the Law is 
still found written on a roll of leather; not on vellum, but on a soft 
flexible leather, made of goat-skins, and dyed red. It is evident that 
the Jews, in the time of Moses, had the art of preparing and dying 
skins; for rams’ skins dyed red, made a part of the covering for the 
tabernacle; (Exod. xxvi. 14.); and it is not improbable, that the 
very autography of the Law, written by the hand of Moses, was writ¬ 
ten on skins so prepared. The antient rules prescribed to the Jewish 
scribes direct, that the Law be so written, provided it be done on the 
skins of clean animals, such as sheep, goat, or calf-skins: therefore 
this MS. and many others in the hands of the Jews, agree in the same 
as an antient practice. The Cabul Jews, above noticed, shew that 
copies of the Law, written on leather skins, are to be found among 
their people in India and China; and hence we have no doubt, that 
such are copies of very antient MSS. 2 The Cambridge Roll, or In¬ 
dian copy of the Pentateuch, which may also be denominated Mala - 
baric , is written on a roll of goat-skins dyed red , and was discovered 
by Dr. Buchanan in the record chest of a synagogue of the black 
Jews, in the interior of Malayala, in the year 1806. It measures 
forty-eight feet in length, and in breadth about twenty-two inches, or 
a Jewish cubit. The book of Leviticus and the greater part of the 
book of Deuteronomy are wanting. It appears, from calculation, that 
the original length of the roll was not less than ninety English feet. 
In its present condition it consists of thirty-seven skins ; contains one 
hundred and seventeen columns of writing perfectly clear and legible ; 
and exhibits (as the subjoined lac-simile of Deut. iv. 1, 2. will shew) 
a noble specimen of the manner and form of the most antient Hebrew 
manuscripts among the Jews. 

1 See an account of these Jews in Dr. Buchanan’s “ Christian Researches,” pp. 
224. et seq. 4th edit. 

2 Dr. Kennicott quotes from Wolfius, that a certain Jew, named Moses Fereyra, 
affirmed, he had found MS. copies of the Hebrew text in Malabar ; for that the 
Jews, having escaped from Titus, betook themselves through Persia to the Mala¬ 
bar coast, and arrived there safe in number about eighty persons. Whence Wolfius 
concludes, that great fidelity is to be attached to the Malabar MSS. The Bucha¬ 
nan MS. may fairly be denominated a Malabar copy, as having been brought from 
those parts. “ Refert Moses Pereyra, se invenisse Manuscripta Exemplaria (He- 
braei Textus) Malabarica. Tradit Judaeos, a Tito fugientes, per Persiam se ad oras 
Malabaricas contulisse, ibique cum octoginta animis salvos advenisse. Unde con¬ 
stat, MStis Malabaricis multum fidei tribuendum esse.” Wolf. 4, 97. See Dr. 
Kennicott’s Dissertation the Second, p. 532. Oxford, 1759. 



4G 


On the Hebrew Manuscripts. [Part I. Ch. 


bsjittvhztaiK ws 

'iMp'i hViWjlw t&ftibbftftt 
*mim witiufrf bbAK 'iw 

The columns are a palm or four inches in breadth, and contain from 
forty to fifty lines each, which are written widiout vowel points, and 
in all other respects according to the rules prescribed to the Jewish 
scribes or copyists. As some of the skins appear more decayed 
than others, and the text is evidently not all written by the same 
hand, Mr. Yeates (from whose collation of this MS. the present 
account is abridged, and to whom the author is indebted for the 
preceding fac-simile,) is of opinion, that die roll itself comprises the 
fragments of at least three different rolls, of one common material, 
viz. dyed goat-skin, and exhibits three different specimens of writing. 
The old skins have been strengthened by patches of parchment on 
die back ; and in one place four words have been renewed by the 
same supply. The text is written in the square character, and 
without the vowel points and accents ; and the margin of the columns 
is every where plain, and free from writing of any sort. He has di¬ 
ligently examined and collated diis manuscript with die printed 
text of Vander Hooght’s edition of the Hebrew Bible : and the 
result of his investigation is, that the amount of variations in the 
whole does not exceed forty , and that none of them are found to 
differ from the common reading as to the sense and interpretation 
of the text, but are merely additions or omissions of a jod or vau 
letter, expressing such words full or deficient, according to the 
known usage of die Hebrew tongue. But even diis small number 
of readings was considerably reduced, when compared with the text 
of Athias’s edition, printed at Amsterdam in 1661 ; so that the in¬ 
tegrity of the Hebrew text is confirmed by this valuable manuscript 
so far as it goes, and its testimony is unquestionably important. 
Four readings are peculiar to this copy, which are not to be found 
m Dr. Kennicott’s edition of the Hebrew Bible ; and many minute 
Masoretical distinctions, chiefly relative to the formation of the 
letters in certain words, show that the Masora of the eastern Jews 
has its peculiarities not common with that of the western Jews 


47 


11. Sect. I.] Of the Old Testament. 

whence it is certainly determined that the present roll is not a copy 
from any exemplar of the Jews in Europe $ for no other synagogue' 
rolls known in Europe are observed to have the same characteristics., 
at least as far as appears from any description of Hebrew manuscripts 
that is extant. 1 

“ With respect to the several sorts of skins and hand-writing, the 
answer of some Indian Jews, when interrogated concerning this MS., 
is worthy of remark. By one account, it was brought from Senna 
in Arabia; and by another account, it came from Cashmir: which 
two accounts are cleared up on an examination of the MS., since 
part of it being composed of brown skins, and the writing very simi¬ 
lar to that seen in rolls of Arabian and African extraction, there is 
a possibility that such part is the fragment of an Arabian or African' 
MS., as those Jews relate: and the other account, viz. that it was 
brought from Cashmir, may also be equally true ; since that part 
consisting of red skins so well corresponds with their own description 
of copies found in the synagogues of the Eastern Jews. The consi¬ 
deration of this point attaches still greater consequence to the roll it¬ 
self, which, as it is found to consist of fragments of copies purely 
Oriental, and seemingly unconnected with the Western Jewish copies, 
we may now conclude the same to be ample specimens of copies in* 
diose parts of the world. It is true, indeed, that a great part of the 
text is wanting, and the whole book of Leviticus ; yet, notwithstanding 
the large deficiencies of the MS., it ought to be a satisfaction to know, 
that herein are ample specimens of at least three antient copies of the 
Pentateuch, whose testimony is found to unite in the integrity and pure 
conservation of the Sacred Text, acknowledged by Christians and 
Jews in these parts of the world.” 2 

The following testimony of Bishop Marsh to the value of the Co¬ 
dex Malabaricus is too valuable to be omitted. — “A manuscript 
Roll of the Hebrew Pentateuch, apparently of some antiquity, and 
found among the black Jews in the interior of India, must be regarded 
at least as a literary curiosity, deserving the attention of the learned 
in general. And as this manuscript appears, on comparison, to have 
no important deviation from our common printed Hebrew text, it is 
of still greater value to a theologian, as it affords an additional argu¬ 
ment for the integrity of the Pentateuch. The Hebrew manuscripts 
of the Pentateuch, preserved in the West of Europe, though equally 
derived, with the Hebrew manuscripts preserved in India, from the 
autograph of Moses, must have descended from it through very diffe¬ 
rent channels ; and therefore the close agreement of the former with 
*he latter is a proof, that they have preserved the original text in great 

1 See Mr. Thomas Yeates’s“ Collation of an Indian copy of the Pentateuch, with 
preliminary remarks, containing an exact description of the manuscript, and a no¬ 
tice of some others, Hebrew and Syriac, collected by the Rev. C. Buchanan, D. D. 
in the year 1806, and now deposited in the Public Library, Cambridge. Also a 
collation and description of a manuscript roll of the Book of Esther, and the Me- 
gillah of Ahasuerus, from the Hebrew copy, originally extant in brazen tablets at 
Goa ; with an English Translation.” pp. 2, 3, 6, 7. Cambridge, 1812. 4to. 

2 Ibid. p. 8. 



46 


Hebrew MSS. of the Old Testament. [Part I. Ch. II. 

purity, since the circumstances, under which the MS. was found, for¬ 
bid the explanation of that agreement on the principle of any imme¬ 
diate connexion. It is true that, as this Manuscript (or rather the 
three fragments of which this manuscript is composed) was probably 
written much later than the time when the Masoretic text was esta¬ 
blished by the learned Jews of Tiberias, it may have been wholly de¬ 
rived from that Masoretic text: and in this case it would afford only an 
argument, that the Masoretic text had preserved its integrity, and 
would not affect the question, whether the Masoretic text itself were an 
accurate representative of the Mosaic autograph. But, on the other 
hand, as the very peculiar circumstances, under which the manuscript 
was found, render it at least possible, that the influence of the Masora, 
which was extended to the African and European Hebrew manu¬ 
scripts by the settlement of the most distinguished Oriental Jews in 
Africa and Spain, never reached the mountainous district in the South 
of India; as it is possible, that the text of the manuscript in question 
was derived from manuscripts anterior to the establishment of the Ma¬ 
sora, manuscripts even, which might have regulated the learned Jews 
of Tiberias in the formation of their own text, the manuscript appears 
for these reasons to merit particular attention.” 1 Such being the va¬ 
lue of this precious manuscript, Mr. Yeates has conferred a great 
service on the biblical student by publishing his collation, of which fu¬ 
ture editors of the Hebrew Bible will doubtless avail themselves. 

In the seventh and following volumes of the Classical Journal there 
is a catalogue of the biblical, biblico-oriental, and classical manuscripts 
at present existing in the various public libraries in Great Britain. 

1 See Yeates’s Collation of an Indian copy of the Pentateuch, &c. pp. 40, 41. 


I 



Sect. II. § l.] 


On Greek Manuscripts . 


49 


SECTION II. 

ON THE MANUSCRIPTS OF THE GREEK SCRIPTURES. 

§ 1. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON GREEK MANUSCRIPTS. 

t. On what materials written. — II. Form of letters. — III. Abbrevia¬ 
tions. — IV. Codices Palimpsesti or Rescripti. — V. Account of the 
different Families , Recensions, or Editions of Manuscripts of the 
New Testament. — 1. The system of Dr. Griesbacli and Michaelis. 

— 2. Of Dr. Scliolz. — 3. Of M. Matthm. — 4. Of Mr. Nolan. 

— VI. On the Foedus cum Greeds, or coincidence between many 
Greek Manuscripts and the Vulgate Latin Version. 

I. THE Greek manuscripts which have descended to our time, are 
written either on vellum or on paper ; and their external form and 
condition vary, like the manuscripts of other antient authors. The 
vellum is either purple-coloured or of its natural hue, and is either 
thick or thin. Manuscripts on very thin vellum were always held in 
the highest esteem. The paper also is either made of cotton, or 
the common sort manufactured from linen, and is either glazed, or 
laid (as it is technically termed), that is, of the ordinary roughness. 
Not more than six manuscript fragments on purple vellum are known 
to be extant; they are described in the following sections of this 
chapter. The Codex Claromontanus, of which a brief notice is also 
given in a subsequent page, is written on very thin vellum. All ma¬ 
nuscripts on paper are of much later date ; those on cotton paper be¬ 
ing posterior to the ninth century, and those on linen subsequent to 
the twelfth century; and if the paper be of a very ordinary quality, 
Wetstein pronounces them to have been written in Italy, in die fif¬ 
teenth and sixteenth centuries. 

II. The letters are either capital (which in the time of Jerome 
were called uncial , i. e. initial) or cursive , i. e. small; the capital let¬ 
ters, again, are of two kinds, either unadorned and simple, and made 
with straight thin strokes, or thicker, uneven, and angular. Some 
of diem are supported on a sort of base, while others are decorated, 
or rather burthened with various tops. As letters of the first kind 
are generally seen on antient Greek monuments, while those of the 
last resemble the paintings of semibarbarous times, manuscripts 
written with the former are generally supposed to be as old as the 
fifth century, and those written with the latter are supposed to be 
posterior to the ninth century. Greek manuscripts were usually 
written in capital letters till the seventh century, and mosdy without 
any divisions of words : and capitals were in general use until the 
eighth century, and some even so late as the ninth; but there is a 
striking difference in die forms of the letters after the seventh century. 
Great alterations took place in the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries : 
the Greek letters in the manuscripts copied by the Latins in the ninth 
century, are by no means regular ; the a, s , and y , being inflected 
like the a , e, and y , of the Latin alphabet. Towards the close of 
the tenth century, small or cursive letters were generally adopted ; 

VOL. II. 7 


50 


General Observations 


[Part I. Ch. II 

and Greek manuscripts written in and since the eleventh century are 
in small letters, and greatly resemble each other, though some few 
exceptions occur to the contrary. Flourished letters rarely occur ir 
Greek manuscripts of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth cen¬ 
turies. 1 The fac-similes of the Alexandrian and other manuscripts 
given in the subsequent pages of this work, will furnish the reader 
with a tolerably correct idea of the various styles of Greek writing 
which obtained at different periods between the sixth and the four¬ 
teenth centuries. 

The most antient manuscripts are written without accents, spirits, 
or any separation of the words; nor was it until after the ninth cen¬ 
tury that the copyists began to leave spaces between the words. Mi- 
chaelis, after Wetstein, ascribes the insertion of accents to Euthalius 
bishop of Sulca in Egypt, a. d. 458. 2 3 

III. Nearly the same mode of spelling obtains in antient manu¬ 
scripts which prevails in Greek printed books; but, even in the ear¬ 
liest manuscripts, we meet with some words that are abbreviated 
by putting the first and last letters, and sometimes also the middle 
letter, for an entire word, and drawing a line over the top: thus 

0C, KC, 1c, XC, TS, 2HP, IHA^ or L 2 HA, IINA, IIHP, MHP, 

OTN02, ANOs, IAHM, AAA, respectively denote Qsos God, Kvgiog 
Lord , Jesus , Xgigog Christ , Tios a son, Hurrig Saviour, Idgan'X 

Israel, nvsujma spirit , Uarrig father, mother, Ovgavos heaven, Av- 

tfog man, legovdaJerusalem , Aaui<$ David . 2 At the beginning of 
a new book, which always commences at the top of a page, the first 
three, four, or five lines are frequently written in vermilion ; and, with 
the exception of the Alexandrian and Vatican manuscripts, all the 
most antient codices now extant have the Eusebian xs<pa>,oua and titXoj, 
of which we have given an account in a subsequent chapter. 4 

Very few manuscripts contain the whole either of the Old or of 
the New Testament. By far the greater part have only the four 
Gospels, because they were most frequently read in the churches ; 
others comprise only the Acts of the Apostles and the Catholic Epis¬ 
tles ; others, again, have the Acts, and St. Paul’s Epistles; and a 
very few contain the Apocalypse. Almost all of them, especially 
the more antient manuscripts, are imperfect, either from the injuries 
of time, or from neglect. 5 

All manuscripts, the most antient not excepted, have erasures and 

1 Wetstein’s Prolegomena to his edition of the Greek Testament, vol. i. pp. 1— 
3. Astle on the Origin of Writing, pp. 60—76. 2d edit. Wetstein has given an 
alphabet from various Greek manuscripts, and Astle has illustrated his observa¬ 
tions with several very fine engravings. 

2 Wetstein, Proleg. p. 73. Michaelis, vol. ii. pp. 519—524. 

3 Concerning Greek Abbreviations, see Montfaucon’s Palaeographia Grseca, pp. 
345—370. Mr. Astle has also given a specimen of Greek abbreviations from two 
Psalters.— On Writing, p. 76. plate vi. 

4 See Part I. Chap. IV. infra. 

5 The Codex Cottonianus, for instance, when perfect, contained only the Book 
of Genesis ; the Codex Csesareus contains only part of the same book, together 
with a fragment of the Gospel of Luke : the Alexandrian manuscript wants the 
first twenty-four chapters of Saint Matthew’s Gospel; and the Codex Bezse con 
tains only the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. 











S6ct. II. § 1.] On Greek Manuscripts. L-i 

corrections ; which, however, were not always effected so dexterous¬ 
ly, but that the original writing may sometimes be seen. Where 
these alterations have been made by the copyist of the manuscript 
(d primci manu , as it is termed), they are preferable to those made 
by later hands, or a secunda manu. These erasures were sometimes 
made by drawing a line through the word, or, what is tenfold worse, 
by the penknife. But, besides these modes of obliteration, the 
copyist frequently blotted out the old writing with a sponge , and 
wrote other words in lieu of it: nor was this practice confined to a 
single letter or word, as may be seen in the Codex Bezae. 1 Authen¬ 
tic instances are on record, in which whole books have been thus ob¬ 
literated, and other writing has been substituted in the place of the 
manuscript so blotted out: but where the writing was already faded 
through age, they preserved their transcriptions without further erasure. 

IV. These manuscripts are termed Codices Palimpsesti or Rescrip¬ 
ts- Before the invention of paper, the great scarcity of parchment in 
different places induced many persons to obliterate the works of an- 
tient writers, in order to transcribe their own or those of some other 
favourite author in their place : hence, doubtless, the works of many 
eminent writers have perished, and particularly those of the greatest 
antiquity $ for such, as were comparatively recent, were transcribed, 
to satisfy the immediate demand ; while those, which were already 
dim with age, were erased. 2 It was for a long time thought, that 
this destructive practice was confined to the eleventh, twelfth, thir* 
teenth, and fourteenth centuries, and that it chiefly prevailed among 
the Greeks : it must, in fact, be considered as the consequence of 
the barbarism which overspread those dark ages of ignorance ; but 
this destructive operation was likewise practised by the Latins, and is 
also of a more remote date than has usually been supposed. 

In general, a Codex Rescriptus is easily known, as it rarely hap* 
pens that the former writing is so completely erased, as not to exhi¬ 
bit some traces : in a few instances, both writings are legible. Many 
such manuscripts are preserved in the library of the British Museum. 
Montfaucon found a manuscript in the Colbert Library, which had 
been written about the eighth century, and originally contained the 
works of St. Dionysius : new matter had been written over it, three 
or four centuries afterwards, and both continued legible. 3 Muratori 
saw in the Ambrosian library a manuscript comprising the works of 
the venerable Bede, the writing of which was from eight to nine hun¬ 
dred years old, and which had been substituted for another upwards 
of a thousand years old. Notwithstanding the efforts which had been 
made to erase the latter, some phrases could be deciphered, which 


1 Wetstein’s Prolegomena, pp. 3—8. Griesbach has discovered the hands of 
five different correctors in the Codex Claromontanais. See his Symboke Critic©, 
tom. ii. pp. 32—52. 

2 Peignot, Essai sur l’Histoire <le Parchemin, p. &3, et seq. 

3 Palseogr. Grsec. pp. 231. 233. The greater part of the manuscripts on parch¬ 
ment, which Montfaucon had seen, he affirms, were written on parchment, from 
which some former treatise had been erased, except in those of a verv antient date. 
Mem. de l’Acad. de Inscript, tom. ix. p. 325. 




52 


General Observations 


[Part 1. Ch. II. 

indicated it to be an antient pontifical. 1 2 3 The indefatigable researches 
of signor Angelo Mai (who has recently been appointed the principal 
keeper of the Vatican Library at Rome) have discovered several va¬ 
luable remains of biblical and classical literature in the Ambrosian 
Library at Milan f and a short account of some of the principal Co¬ 
dices Rescripti of the New Testament, or of parts thereof, will be 
found in the sequel of this section. 

V. The total number of manuscripts of the New Testament 
(whether they have been transmitted to us entire or in fragments), 
which are known to have been wholly or partially collated, amounts 
nearly to five hundred ; but this number forms only a small part of 
the manuscripts found in public and private libraries. The result of 
these collations has shown that certain manuscripts have an affinity to 
each other, and that their text is distinguished from that of others by 
characteristic marks; and eminent critics, (particularly Griesbach,, 
who devoted the whole of his life to sacred criticism), after diligently 
comparing the quotations from the New Testament in the writings of 
Clement of Alexandria and of Origen with those made by Tertullian 
and Cyprian, have ascertained that, so early as the third century, there 
were in existence t wo families, recensions , or editions 3 of manuscripts, 
or, in other words, two entirely different texts of the New Testament. 4 
Michaelis has observed that, as different countries had different ver¬ 
sions according to their respective languages, their manuscripts natu¬ 
rally resembled their respective versions, as these versions, generally 
speaking, were made from such manuscripts as were in common use. 
Four different systems of recensions or editions have been proposed, 
viz. by Griesbach and Michaelis, by Scholz, by Matthsei, and by Mr. 
Nolan. 

1. The basis of Griesbach’s system is, the division of the Greek 
manuscripts of the New Testament into three classes, each of which 
is considered as an independent witness for the various readings which 
it contains. The value of a reading, so far as manuscript authority 
is regarded, is decided by Griesbach, not according to the individual 
manuscript in which it is found, but according to the number of 
classes by which it is supported. The classes, under which he ar¬ 
ranges all the Greek manuscripts are the following, viz. 1. The Alex¬ 
andrine ; 2. The Occidental or Western ; and 3. The Byzantine or 
Oriental, to which Michaelis has added 4. The Edessene. To each 
of these are given the appellation of recension or edition , as we com¬ 
monly say of printed books. 

1 Muratori. Antiq. Ital. tom. iii. diss. 43. col. 833, 834. 

2 See a brief notice of signor Mat’s discovery of a Codex Rescriptus of Saint 
Paul’s Epistles, in pp. 93, 94. infra, of the present volume. 

3 Bengel expressed this relationship or affinity between manuscripts by the term 
family. (Introd. ad Crisin N. T. § 27—30.) Semler (Apparatus ad Liberalem 
Novi Testamenti Interpretationem, p. 45.) and Griesbach (Symbol® Criticae, tom 
i. p. cxviii.) use the term recensio, recension , that is, edition , which last term is 
adopted by Michaelis, vol. ii. p. 173. 

4 In the second volume of Griesbach’s Symbol® Critic® (pp. 229—620.), there 
is a laborious collation of the quotations from the New Testament, made by Origen 
And Clement of Alexandria, with the Vulgate or common Greek Text. 



58 


Sect, H. § 1.] On Greek Manuscripts. 

1. The first class or Alexandrine Recension, which is also call¬ 
ed the Egyptian Recension, comprises those manuscripts, which, in 
remarkable and characteristic readings, agree with the quotations of 
the early Alexandrine writers, particularly Origen and Clement of 
Alexandria. After them, this recension was adopted by the Egyp- 
tian Greeks. 

To this class Griesbach refers the Codex Alexandrinus, 1 noted by 
the letter A., but in the epistles of St. Paul only ; and also B. the 
Vatican manuscript. 2 To this class also Dr. Scholz refers C., the 
Codex Ephremi ; 3 L. the Codex Regius 62, an imperfect manuscript 
of the four Gospels of the eighth century, collated by Wetstein and 
Griesbach ; P. the Guelpherbytanus A., a Codex Rescriptus of the 
sixth century, comprising fragments of the four Gospels ; Q. the 
Guelpherbytanus B., also a Codex Rescriptus of the same date, and 
containing some fragments of Luke and John ; T. the Codex Bor- 
giae I., containing a Greek Sahidic version of John vi. 28—67. 
vii. 6. — viii. 31., executed in the fourth century ; Griesb. 22.: the 
Codex Regius 72., a fragment of Matt. i. 1.—ii. 2., written in the 
eleventh century ; Griesb. 33. : the Codex Regius 14., a mutilated 
MS. of the Old and New Testament, of the eleventh century ; 
Griesb. 102. : the Codex Medicseus, which comprises from Matt, 
xxiv. to Mark viii. 1.: and the Codex Regius 305, a MS. of the thir¬ 
teenth century. 4 5 The Alexandrine Recension is followed by the 
Coptico-Memphitic, Coptico-Basmuric, Coptico-Sahidic, Ethiopia 
Armenian, and the Syro-Philoxenian versions ; and it is the text 
cited by the fathers, Eusebius, Anastasius, Ammonius, Didymus, 
Cyril of Alexandria, Marcus, Macarius, Cosmas Indicopleustes, 
Nonnus, Isidore of Pelusium, Theodore of Pelusium, and frequently 
also by Chrysostom. 

2. The Occidental or Western Edition is that which tvas 
adopted by the Christians of Africa (especially by Tertullian and Cy¬ 
prian), Italy, Gaul, and the west of Europe generally. 

According to Griesbach it is followed in A. the Codex Alexandri¬ 
nus, in the Acts of the Apostles, and the Catholic Epistles ; and ac¬ 
cording to Dr. Scholz, in D. the Codex Bez«e or Cantabrigiensis 
in the Codex Regius 314, a MS. of the eighth century, contain¬ 
ing Luke ix. 36—47. and x. 12—22.; Griesb. 1. (Basileensis ; 6 ) 
Griesb. 13. the Codex Regius 50, a mutilated MS. of the twelfth 
century, collated for Birch’s edition of the four Gospels ; Griesb. 2S. 
the Codex Regius 379, a MS. of the eleventh century ; Griesb. 69. 
the Codex Leicestrensis, and 124, the Codex Vindobonensis (Lambe- 
cii 31. ; 7 ) Griesb. 131. the Codex Vaticanus 360, a MS. of the ele¬ 
venth century, collated by Birch ; Griesb. 157. the Codex Vaticanus 


1 See an account of this MS. in pp. 66—73. infra. 

2 Described pp. 74—77. infra. 

3 See p. 89. infra. The letters and figures, above used, are those employed by 
Griesbach. to denote the several manuscripts collated or consulted by him for his 
edition of the New Testament. They are explained in the Prolegomena to his first, 
volume. 

4 The manuscripts in the Royal Library at Paris are generally known by t)h$ 
appellation of Codices Regii. 

5 See pp. 85—89. infra. 6 See p. 106. infra. 

'7 See a notice of those two MSS. in pp. 109, 110. infra. 



51 


'Genefal Observations 


[Part I. Ch. If. 


2, a MS. of the twelfth century, also collated by Birch ; the Codex 
Regius 177, containing the four Gospels, with very copious scholia, 
written (Dr. Scholz thinks) in the eleventh century ; and in the Co¬ 
dex Regius 375, containing lessons from the New Testament, 
excepting the Revelation, and written early in the eleventh century : 
in the Gospels, it very seldom differs from the Codex Bezse, but in 
the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles, it chiefly agrees with 
the Alexandrine Recension. With these manuscripts sometimes 
harmonise the Sahidic Version, made in the fourth century, the Sy¬ 
riac Version of Jerusalem, and the readings in the margin of the 
Syro-Philoxenian Version ; as also the Ante-Hieronymian or Old 
Latin Versions, which were in use before the Vulgate Version. 

The Western Edition was cited by the African fathers, Tertullian, 
Cyprian, Lactantius, Victorinus, Augustine, and by the unknown 
author of the book against Fulgentius the Donatist; by the Italic 
fathers, Zeno of Verona, Gaudentius of Brescia, Chromatius of 
Aquileia, Ambrose, the author of certain pieces which are attributed 
to that writer, Rufinus, the author of the Opus Imperfectum on St. 
Matthew, Gregory surnamed the Great, and Lucifer Bishop of Cag¬ 
liari ; and by the Gallic fathers, Irenaeus, Hilary, Julius Firmicus 
Maternus, Phcebadius (a Spaniard) Bishop of Agen, Juvencus, and 
by the Mozarabic Ritual. With this edition also coincides the Vul¬ 
gate Latin Version, which is followed by Isidore bishop of Seville, 
Remigius, Bede, llabanus Maurus, Haymo, Anselm, Pietro Damiani, 
Bernard, and all subsequent writers in communion with the 
Latin church for the last thousand years, as well as by the Lection- 
aries, Breviaries, Antient Missals, Acts of the Martyrs, and other 
ecelesiastical books of that church. 1 

3. Towards the end of the fourth century, and during the fifth and 
sixth centuries, critics have observed a text differing from the two 
first, and which they call the Byzantine or Oriental Recension 
or Edition, because it was in general use at Constantinople, after that 
city became the capital and metropolitan see of the eastern empire. 

With this edition are closely allied those of the neighbouring pro¬ 
vinces, whose inhabitants were subject to the spiritual jurisdiction 
of the patriarch of Constantinople. 2 The readings of the Byzantine 
Recension are those which are most commonly found in the Ko»v?i 
Ex<W»s, or printed Vulgate Greek Text, and are also most numerous 
in the existing manuscripts which correspond to it. Griesbach 
reckons upwards of one hundred manuscripts of this class, which 
minutely harmonise with each other. On account of the many 
alterations, that were unavoidably made in the long interval between 
the fourth and the fifteenth centuries, Michaelis proposes to divide the 
Byzantine edition into antient and modern ; but he does not specify 


1 Scholz, Curse Criticse in Historiam Textfts Evangeliorum, pp. 27—30. 

2 Michaelis remarks that the greatest number of manuscripts written on Mount 
Athos are evidently of the Byzantine edition ; and he thinks it probable that almost 
all the Moscow manuscripts, of which M. Matthoei has given extracts, belong to 
this edition. As the valuable manuscripts collected by the late learned Professor 
Carlyle were obtained in Syria, Constantinople, and the islands of the Levant, it 
is probable, whenever they shall be collated, that they will be found to coincide 
with the Byzantine recension. These manuscripts are preserved in the Archia 
uiacopal Library at Lambeth, and are described infra, pp. 104, 105. 



On Greek Manuscripts. 


55 


beet. II. § 1.] 


any criteria by which we can determine the boundaries between 
these two classes. The Byzantine text is found in the four Gospels 
of the Alexandrian manuscript; it was the original of the Sclavonic 
or old Russian version, and was cited by Chrysostom and Theophy- 
lact bishop of Bulgaria. 

As the Peschito, or Old Syriac version of the New Testament, 
differs from the three preceding recensions, Michaelis has instituted* 
another, which he terms, 

4. The Edessene Edition, comprehending those manuscripts 
from which that version was made. 

Of this edition no manuscripts are extant; which circumstance 
Michaelis accounts for, by the early prejudice of the Syriac literati 
in favour of whatever was Grecian, and also by the wars that de¬ 
vastated the East for many ages subsequent to the fifth century. 
But by some accident which is difficult to be explained, manuscripts 
are found in the west of Europe, accompanied even with a Latin 
translation, such as the Codex Bezse, which so eminently coincide 
with the Old Syriac Version, that their affinity is indisputable. 

Although the readings of the Western, Alexandrine, and Edes¬ 
sene editions sometimes differ, yet they very frequently harmonise 
with each other. This coincidence Michaelis ascribes to their high 
antiquity, as the oldest manuscripts extant belong to one of these 
editions, and the translations themselves are antient. A reading con¬ 
firmed by three of them is supposed to be of the very highest authori¬ 
ty; yet the true reading may sometimes be found only in the fourth. 

2 . The second system of recensions is that proposed by Dr. 
Scholz in his Curce Criticce in Historian Textus Evangeliorum, 
founded on a long and minute examination of the treasure of Biblical 
manuscripts contained in the Royal Library at Paris : this system is 
in effect a modification of that proposed by Griesbach. According 
to this critic, there are Jive recensions, viz. 1. The Alexandrine ; 2. 
The Occidental or Western ; 3. The Asiatic; 4. The Byzantine ; 
and 5. The Cyprian. 

1, 2. The Alexandrine and Occidental are the same as the two 
first classes of Griesbach ; the Byzantine of the latter critic, Dr. S. 
divides into two distinct families, viz. the Asiatic and the Byzantine. 

3. The Asiatic Recension, as its name implies, is that text which 
has prevailed in Asia from the apostolic times, and which has under¬ 
gone fewer changes than the Alexandrine or Egyptian and Occiden¬ 
tal or Western Editions have experienced. 

To this recension belongs the Codex Regius 53, a manuscript of 
the tenth century, written on Mount Athos, and transcribed with 
great correctness from the Jerusalem manuscripts. To this class 
also are referred the Codices Regii 186, 188, 277, 293, 298, and 
300. No. 186. is a manuscript of the eleventh century, containing 
the four Gospels, together with the commentaries of Chrysostom 
and others, and disquisitions on select passages. No. 188. (Griesb. 
20.) is a manuscript of the four Gospels, of the eleventh century, 
with the commentaries of various authors. No. 177 is an evangeli- 
starium, or collection of lessons from the Gospels of the ninth, and 
Nos. 293, 298, and 300 are evangelistaria of the eleventh century; 


56 General Observations [Part I. Ch. II. 

but all, in the judgment of Dr. Scholz, are copied from very antient 
Palestine manuscripts. 

With the Asiatic recension coincide the Peschito or Old Syriac 
Version, and the fathers who have used it, the Syro-Philoxenian 
Version, Cyril of Jerusalem, Theodoret, and Heschius of Jerusalem. 

4. The Byzantine or Constantinopolitan Recension contains 
that text, which is found in the manuscripts in use at Constantinople, 
and in the Greek Churches. 

This text is found in A. the Codex Alexandrinus (but in the four 
Gospels only ;) in E. the Codex Basileensis B. VI. 21 ; in F. the 
Codex Boreelii ; in G. the Codex Harleianus 5684 ; in H. the Co¬ 
dex Wolfii B. ; in M. the Codex Regius 48. (a manuscript of the 
tenth century containing the four Gospels) ; S. the Codex \ aticanus 
654 (a manuscript of the tenth century collated by Birch) ; and the 
manuscripts noted by Griesbach, 42, 106. (both of the tenth cen¬ 
tury,) 116 (of the twelfth century), 114 of the thirteenth century, 
and one of the Moscow manuscripts, (No. 10 of Matthaei’s nota¬ 
tion) written in the thirteenth century. To this class also are refer¬ 
red fifty-three other manuscripts contained in the royal library, 
either collated for the first time by Dr. Scholz, or (if previously col¬ 
lated by Mill, Wetstein, Griesbach, Alter, Birch, Matthaei, and 
others) subjected by him to a second examination and collation. 
With the Byzantine Recension agree the Gothic and Sclavonic 
versions, and most of the Greek fathers (fifty-five are enumerated 
by Dr. Scholz,) particularly by Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium, 
Apollinaris, bishop of Laodicea, Caesarius, Epiphanius, Gregory of 
Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzum, Theodoret, and Theophylact. 

From the preceding manuscripts there is a slight variation, and 
kind of transition to the received or Vulgate Greek text, in the Co- 
dices Regu, as well as in many others preserved in different libra¬ 
ries. Dr. S. has enumerated eighty-seven manuscripts of this de- 
cription, that are in the royal library at Paris, fifteen only of which 
have been collated for Griesbach’s edition of the New Testament. 

5. The Cyprian Recension contains that text, which is exhibit¬ 
ed in the Codex Cyprius, a manuscript of the eighth century, brought 
from the Isle of Cyprus, of which a description is given in a subse¬ 
quent page . 1 

By a comparison of the readings of the Codex Cyprius, with the 
received text, and with the Alexandrine and Constantinopolitan Re¬ 
censions, in nearly one hundred instances, Dr. Scholz has shown, 
that it very frequently coincides with the two last, sometimes agree¬ 
ing with both, sometimes following one or the other of them, and 
sometimes holding a mean between them. In many instances it 
harmonises with but few manuscripts, and in some cases its readings 
are peculiar to itself. On these accounts he is of opinion that the 
Codex Cyprius exhibits a family which has sprung from a collation 
of various manuscripts, some of which owe their origin to Egypt, 
others to Asia, and others to Cyprus. 

Most of the Manuscripts now extant exhibit one of the texts above 
described ; some are composed of two or three recensions. No in¬ 
dividual m anuscript preserves any recension in a pure state ; but ma- 

1 See pp. 99, 100. infra. 




57 


Sect. II. § 1.] On Greek Manuscripts. 

liuscripts are said to be of the Alexandrian or Western recension, as 
tlie appropriate readings of each preponderate. The margins of 
these manuscripts, as well as those of the Ethiopic, Armenian, Sahi- 
dic, and Syro-Philoxenian versions, and the Syriac version of Jeru¬ 
salem, contain the Alexandrian variations for the Western readings, 
or vice versa ; and some Byzantine manuscripts have the Alexandrian 
or Western various lections in their margins. 1 

Each of these recensions has characteristics peculiar to itself. The 
. Occidental or Western preserves harsh readings, Hebraisms and so¬ 
lecisms, which the Alexandrine has exchanged for readings more con¬ 
formable to classic usage. The Western is characterised by read¬ 
ings calculated to relieve the text from difficulties, and to clear the 
sense : it frequently adds supplements to the passages adduced from 
the Old Testament; and omits words that appear to be either repug¬ 
nant to the context or to other passages, or to render the meaning 
obscure. The Alexandrine is free from the interpretations and transpo¬ 
sitions of the Western recension. An explanatory reading is there¬ 
fore suspicious in die Western recension, and a classical one in the 
Alexandrine. The Byzantine or Constantinopolitan recension (ac¬ 
cording to Griesbach’s system) preserves the Greek idiom still purer 
than the Alexandrine, and resembles the Western in its use of copious 
and explanatory readings. It is likewise mixed, throughout, with the 
readings of the other recensions. 

The Asiatic recension of Scholz coincides widi the Western in its 
supplementary and explanatory readings ; and his Byzantine or 
Constantinopolitan family with the Alexandrine in the affinity of cer¬ 
tain manuscripts, which in some instances is so great as to prove that 
diey had one common origin. 2 

The system of recensions, above proposed by Bengel and Semler, 
and completed by the late celebrated critic Dr. Griesbach, has been 
subjected to a very severe critical ordeal; and has been formidably 
attacked, on the continent by the late M. Mattha3i, and in this coun¬ 
try by the Rev. Dr. Laurence (now archbishop of Cashel), 3 * * * * * and the 
Rev. Frederic Nolan. 

5. Totally disregarding Griesbach’s system of recensions, M. 
Matthaei recognises only one class or family of manuscripts, which he 
terms Codices textiis perpetui , and pronounces every thing that is de¬ 
rived from commentaries and scholia to be corrupt. As the manu¬ 
scripts of the New Testament, which he found in the library of the 
Synod, came originally from Mount Athos, and other parts of the 
Greek empire, and as the Russian church is a daughter of the Greek 

1 Michaelis, vol. ii. pp. 1G3—177. Griesbach’s Symbolse Criticse, tom. i. pp. 
cxvii.—cxxii. cxxxvii. clvii.—clxiv. tom. ii. pp. 132—148. Griesbach’s edit, of 
the New Test. vol. i. Proleg. pp. lxxiii.—lxxxi. edit. Halae, 1796. 

2 Dr. Scholz has given numerous examples of the characteristics of the several 
recensions above noticed. Cur. Crit. in Hist. Text. Evang. pp. 31—42. 46—51. 

3 In his 11 Remarks on the Classification of Manuscripts adopted by Griesbach in 

his edition of the Ncio Testament,” (8vo. Oxford, 1814.) For learned and elabo¬ 

rate analyses of Dr. Laurence’s work, see the Eclectic Review for 1815, vol. iv. N. 

S. pp. 1—22. 173—189., and particularly the British Critic for 1814, vol. i. N. S. 

pp. 173—192. 296—315. 401—428. 

vol. ir. 


8 



58 


General Observations 


[Part I. Ch. II. 


church, those manuscripts consequently contain what Griesbach has 
called the Byzantine Text; which Mattlieei admits to be the only au¬ 
thentic text, excluding the Alexandrine and Western recensions, and 
also rejecting all quotations from the fathers of the Greek church. To 
the class of manuscripts to which the Codex Bezae, the Codex Cla- 
romontanus, and others of high antiquity belong, he gave, in the pre¬ 
face to bis edition of Saint John’s Gospel, the appellation of editio 
scurrilis, nor did he apply softer epithets to those critics who ventured 
to defend such manuscripts . 1 

4 . The last system of recensions which remains to be noticed is 
that of the Rev. F. Nolan. It is developed in his “ Inquiry into the 
Integrity of the Greek Vulgate or received Text of the New Testa¬ 
ment , in which the Greek Manuscripts are newly classed , the Integrity 
of the authorised Text vindicated , and the various Readings traced to 
their Origin .” (London, 1815, 8vo.) 2 That integrity he has confess¬ 
edly established by a series of proofs and connected arguments, the 
most decisive that can be reasonably desired or expected : but as 
these occupy nearly six hundred closely printed pages, the limits of 
this section necessarily restrict us to the following concise notice of 
his elaborate system. 

It has been an opinion as early as the times of Bishop Walton, 
that the purest text of the scripture canon had been preserved at 
Alexandria; the libraries of that city having been celebrated from 
an earl)'' period for their correct and splendid copies. From the iden¬ 
tity of any MS. in its peculiar readings, with the scripture quotations 
of Origen, who presided in the catechetical school of Alexandria, a 
strong presumption arises that it contains the Alexandrine recension : 
the supposition being natural, that Origen drew his quotations from 
the copies generally prevalent in his native country. This, as we 
have seen, was the basis of Dr. Griesbach’s system of recensions : 
accordingly he ascribes the highest rank to the manuscripts of the 
Alexandrine class, the authority of a few of which in his estimation 
outweighs that of a multitude of the Byzantine. The peculiar read¬ 
ings, which he selects from the manuscripts of this class, he confirms 
by a variety of collateral testimony, principally drawn from the quo¬ 
tations of the antient fathers and the versions made in the primitive 
ages. To the authority of Origen, however, he ascribes a paramount 
weight, taking it as the standard by which his collateral testimony is 
to be estimated ; and using their evidence merely to support his tes¬ 
timony, or to supply it when it is deficient. The readings which he 
supports by this weight of testimony, he considers genuine ; and, in¬ 
troducing a number of them into the sacred page, he has thus formed 
his corrected text of the New Testament. The necessary result of 
this process, as obviously proving the existence of a great number of 
spurious readings, has been that of sh aking the authority of the au- 

1 Schoell, Hist, de la Litterature Grecque, tom. ii. p. 136. Bishop Marsh’s 
Lectures, part ii. p. 30. 

2 There is a copious analysis of this work in the British Critic, (N. S.) vol. v 
pp. 1—24, from which, and from the work itself, the present notice of Mr. Nolan’s 
system of recensions is derived. 



59 


Sect. II. § l.j On Greek Manuscripts. 

thorised English version, together with the foundation on which it 
rests. 

In combating the conclusions of Griesbach, Mr. Nolan argues from 
the inconstancy of Origen’s quotations, that no certain conclusion can 
be deduced from his testimony ; he infers from the history of Origen, 
who principally wrote and published in Palestine, that the text, quot¬ 
ed by that antient father, was rather the Palestine than the Alexan¬ 
drine : and he proves, from the express testimony of Saint Jerome, 
that the text of Origen was really adopted in Palestine, while that of 
Hesychius was adopted at Alexandria. 

Having thus opened the question, and set it upon the broader 
ground assumed by those critics, who confirm the readings of the 
Alexandrine text, by the coincidence of the antient versions of the 
Oriental and Western churches ; Mr. N. combats this method, pro¬ 
posed for investigating the genuine texts, in two modes. He first 
shows that a coincidence between the Western and Oriental churches 
does not necessarily prove the antiquity of the text which they mutu¬ 
ally support; as the versions of the former church were corrected, 
after the texts of the latter, by Jerome and Cassiodorus, who may 
have thus created the coincidence, which is taken as a proof of the 
genuine reading. In the next place, he infers, from the prevalence 
of a text published by Eusebius of Caesarea, and from the compara¬ 
tively late period at which the Oriental Versions were formed, that 
their general coincidence may be traced to the influence of Euse¬ 
bius’s edition. This position he establishes, by a proof deduced from 
the general prevalence of Eusebius’s sections and canons in the 
Greek MSS. and antient versions, and by a presumption derived 
from the agreements of those texts and versions with each other in 
omitting several passages contained in the Vulgate Greek, which 
were at variance with Eusebius’s peculiar opinions . 1 And having 
thus established the general influence of Eusebius’s text, he gene¬ 
rally concludes against the stability of the critical principles on which 
the German critics have undertaken the correction of the Greek 
Vulgate. 

The material obstacles being thus removed to the establishment of 
his plan, Mr. Nolan next proceeds to investigate the different classes 
of text which exist in the Greek manuscripts. Having briefly con¬ 
sidered the scripture quotations of the fathers, and shown that they 
afford no adequate criterion for reducing the text into classes, he pro¬ 
ceeds to the consideration of the antient translations, and after an ex¬ 
amination of the Oriental versions, more particularly of the Sahidic, 
he comes to the conclusion, that no version but the Latin can be ta¬ 
ken as a safe guide in ascertaining the genuine text of Scripture. This 
point being premised, the author lays the foundation of his scheme 
of classification, in the following observations. 


1 In the course of this discussion, Mr. Nolan assigns adequate reasons for the 
omission of the following remarkable passages, Mark xvi. 9—20. John viii. 1—13., 
and for the peculiar readings of the following celebrated texts, Acts xx. 28. 1 Tim 
iii. 16. 1 John v. 7. See his Inquiry, pp. 35—41. 



GO 


General Observations 


[Part I. Ch. II. 


K In proceeding to estimate the testimony which the Latin trans¬ 
lation bears to the state of the Greek text, it is necessary to premise, 
that this translation exhibits three varieties : — as corrected by Saint 
Jerome at the desire of Pope Damasus, and preserved in the Vul¬ 
gate; as corrected by Eusebius of Verceli, at the desire of Pope Ju¬ 
lius, and preserved in the Codex Vercellensis ; and as existing pre¬ 
viously to the corrections of both, and preserved, as I conceive, in 
the Codex Brixianus. The first of these three editions of the Italic 
translation is too well known to need any description ; both the last 
are contained in beautiful manuscripts, preserved at Verceli, and at 
Brescia, in Italy. The curious and expensive manner in which at 
least the latter of these manuscripts is executed, as written on purple 
vellum in silver characters, would of itself contain no inconclusive 
proof of its great antiquity ; such having been the form in which the 
most esteemed works were executed in the times of Eusebius, Chry- 
sostome, and Jerome. The former is ascribed, by immemorial tra¬ 
dition, to Eusebius Vercellensis, the friend of Pope Julius and Saint 
Athanasius, and, as supposed to have been written with his own hand, 
is deposited among the relics, which are preserved, with a degree of 
superstitious reverence, in the author’s church at Verceli in Pied¬ 
mont. By these three editions of the translation, we might naturally 
expect to acquire some insight into the varieties of the original; and 
this expectation is fully justified on experiment. The latter, not less 
than the former, is capable of being distributed into three kinds ; each 
of which possesses an extraordinary coincidence with one of a cor¬ 
respondent kind, in the translation. In a word, the Greek manu¬ 
scripts are capable of being divided into three principal classes, one 
of which agrees with the Italic translation contained in the Brescia 
manuscript; another with that contained in the Verceli manuscript; 
and a third with that contained in the Vulgate.” 1 

Specimens of the nature and closeness of the coincidence of these 
three classes are annexed by Mr. Nolan, in separate columns, from 
which the four following examples are selected. He has prefixed 
the readings of the received text and authorised English version, 
(from Matt. v. 38. 41. and 44.), in order to evince their coincidence 
with that text, to which the preference appears to be due, on account 
of its conformity to the Italic translation contained in the Codex Brix¬ 
ianus. 

38. xai oSovra av<ri o Sovrog. Rec. 

— and a tooth for a tooth. Autlu 
tdovra avn o<Jov<ro£. Cant. dentem pro dentem. Verc. 

xou oSovra avn oSovrog. Vat. et dentem pro dente. Vulg. 

xai oSovra avn oSovrog. Mosc. et dentem pro dente. Brix. 

41. vntays (isr' avrov Svo. Rec. 

— go with him twain. Auth. 

h*ayz (xsr ’ avrov en aXka Svo. Cant, vade cum illo adhuc alia duo. Verc 
vnays (isr’ avrov Svo. Vat. vade cum illo et alia duo. Vulg 

$«aye (isr 1 avrov Svo. Mosc. vade cum illo duo. Brix. 


1 Nolan’s Inquiry, pp. 58—61. 




Sect. 11. § 1.] 


61 


On Greek Manuscripts. 


44. svXoysirs rovg xaragu[jLSvovg bfiag. Rec. 

— bless them that curse you. Autli. 

svXoysirs rovg xaragupcvovg ufxac;.desunt. Verc . 

Cant. .desunt. Vulg. 

svXoysirs rovg xaragu^svovg v\xag. benedicite maledicentibus vos. 
Mosc. Brix. 

44. rfgodsv/s&s urfEg ruv s-rrj^sa^ovrwv u|J.a£, 

xai Oiuxovruv u[iag. Rec. 

— pray for them who despitefully use you 

and persecute you. Auth. 

•rgodevystfSiS vrfsg ruv sirrjgsa^ovruv xai orate pro calumniantibus et perse- 
<hwxo vruv vpag. Cant. quentibus vos. Verc. 

‘ r f otfsu X s0 ’^ 6 i{,irs S ruv Siuxovruv v^xag. orate pro persequentibus etcalum- 
Vat. niantibus vos. Vulg. 

nr^offsv/sd^s vrfsg ruv eirypea^ovruv orate pro calumniantibus vobis er 
vfxag, xai Siuxovruv vfiag. Muse. persequentibus vos. Brix. 

The preceding short specimen will sufficiently evince the affinity 
subsisting between the Latin and Greek manuscripts, throughout the 
different classes into which they may be divided : at the same time 
it will illustrate the dissimilarity which those classes exhibit among 
themselves, in either language, regarded separately. Still further 
to evince the affinity which in other respects they possess among 
themselves, Mr. Nolan exhibits a connected portion, comprising 
the first twelve verses of the fifth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, 
in the original and the translation ; from which we select the six 
following examples : 


CLASS i. 


Codex Cantabrigiensis. 

1. I(kov Ss rovg oyXovg, avsfiri sig ro 
ogog' xai xa’hitfavrog avrov, rtgotf '/}XSov 
avru oi [AaSrjrat avrov 

* > 

2. Kai avotgag ro flVofxa avrov, 
sSiSagsv atiroug Xsyuv 

3. Maxa^ioi oi rfruyoi ru r'vsvfxarr 
on avruv soViv rj GatfiXsia ruv ovgavuv. 

5. Maxa^ioi ot <rgasig m on avroi xXr- 
P ovcfxrjo'ouc'j rvjv yr\v. 

4. Maxa^ioi oi irsvSo vvrsg' on avroi 
ffa^axXrjSrjtfovrai. 

6. Maxa^ioi oi irsivuvrsg xai (h-^wv- 
rsg rr\v 5ixaio<fvvv}v on avroi yogra&r]- 
tfovrai. 


Codex Vercellensis. 

1. Videns autem Jesus turbam, 
ascendit in montem, et cum sedis- 
set, accesserunt ad eum discipuli 
ejus; 

2. Et aperuit os suum, et docebat 
eos dicens : 

3. Beati pauperes spiritu: quoni- 
am ipsorum est regnum coelorum. 

5. Beati mites: quoniam ipsi 
hereditatc pcssidebunt terrain. 

4. Beati qui lugent: quoniam 
ipsi consolabuntur. 

6. Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt 
justitiam t quoniam ipsi satura- 
buntur* 


CLASS II. 


Codex Vaticamis. 

1. l5wv 5s rovg oyXovg, ave£r\ sig ro 
Ggog* xai xatinfavrog avrov, r’^oC^X^ov 
[cwtw] oi jxadrjrai avrov 

2. Kai avoi%ag ro Cro\xa avrov, 
sStbarfxsv avrovg Xsyuv. 

3. MaxaPioi oi tfruyoi ru <7r'vsu l uowi* 
on avruv sdnv vj fia&iXsiaruv ou^avwv. 


Versio Vulgata. 

1. Videns autem turbas ascen¬ 
dit in montem, et cum sedisset ac¬ 
cesserunt ad eum discipuli ejus : 

2. Et aperiensos suum, docebat 
eos dicens : 

3. Beati pauperes spiritu: quo¬ 
niam ipsorum est regnum coelorum» 




62 


General Observations 


[Part I. Ch. II. 


4. Maxa^ioj oi tfSvSouv-rsg* bn avroi 4. Beati mites : quoniam ipsi 

iragax\ri§v)(fovrcu. possidebunt terram. 

5. Maxa|<oi oi rfgaeig' on auroi 5. Beati qui lugent: quoniam 

xXrjgovofJLrjd'ovifi rrjv yvjv. ipsi consolabuntur. 

6. Maxagiot oi tfeivojvrsg xai (^wv- 6. Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt 

reg T7)v Sixaiorfvvyv on avroi '/ograd- justitiam: quoniam ipsi saturabun- 


\ -,K '' 

CLASS 

Codex Moscuensis. 

1. iSuv Ss rovg oxXous, a vs§^ sig to 
o£og* xa» xa&ifl'avToj aurou, ^ocfrjX^ov 
auroj oi fxa^rai aurou. 

2. Kai avoigag to tfro/xa aurou, 
sSiSadxsv aurou£ Xsywv. 

3. Maxa^ioi oi tfruyoi rw tfvsu/xan* 
bn aurwv scViv f3adi\sia rwv ou^avwv, 

4. Maxapioi oi r'Bv^ovvrsg- bn avroi 

ffagaxXr] dovrai . 

5. Maxa^joi oi ‘irgasig’ on avroi 
xXr^ovofJWjtfoutf* T?]V yrjv. 

6. Maxa^joi oi irsivuvrsg xai 5i|/wv- 
rsg ry\\ Sixaiorfvvrjv bn avroi ‘/ogratfOr)- 
dovrai. 


III. 

Codex Brixiensis. 

1. Videns autem turbas ascen- 
dit in montem, et cum sedisset ac- 
cesserunt ad eum discipuli ejus; 

2. Et aperiens os suum, docebat 
eos dicens: 

3. Beati pauperesspiritu: quoni¬ 
am ipsorum est regnum ccelorum. 

4. Beati qui lugent: quoniam 
ipsi consolabuntur. 

5. Beati mansueti: quoniam 
ipsi hereditabunt terram. 

6. Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt 
justitiam: quoniam ipsi satura- 
buntur. 


On these different classes of manuscripts in the Greek and Latin, 
Mr. Nolan remarks, that it must be evident, on the most casual in¬ 
spection, that the manuscripts in both languages possess the same 
text, though manifestly of different classes. “ They respectively 
possess that identity in the choice of terms and arrangement of the 
language, which is irreconcileable with the notion of their having de¬ 
scended from different archetypes. And though these classes, in 
either language, vary among themselves, yet, as the translation fol¬ 
lows the varieties of the original, the Greek and Latin consequently 
afford each other mutual confirmation. The different classes of text 
in the Greek and Latin translation, as thus coinciding, may be regard¬ 
ed as the conspiring testimony of those churches, which were appoint¬ 
ed the witnesses and keepers of Holy Writ, to the existence of three 
species of text in the original and in the translation .” 1 

Having thus produced the testimony of the eastern and western 
churches to the existence of these classes, the learned inquirer pro¬ 
ceeds to ascertain the antiquity of the classes : which he effects by 
the Latin translation. 

“ As the existence of a translation necessarily implies the priority 
of the original from which it was formed ; this testimony may be di¬ 
rectly referred to the close of the fourth century. The Vulgate must 
be clearly referred to that period, as it was then formed by St. Je¬ 
rome ; in its bare existence, of course, the correspondent antiquity of 
the Greek text, with which it agrees, is directly established. This 
version is, however, obviously less antient than that of the Verceli or 


1 Nolan’s Inquiry, p. 70. 



63 


Sect. II. § 1.] On Greek Manuscripts. 

Brescia manuscript; as they are of the old Italic translation, while it 
properly constitutes the new. In the existence of the antient version, 
the antiquity of the original text with which it corresponds is conse¬ 
quently established. The three classes of text, which correspond 
with the Vulgate and Old Italic Version, must be consequently re¬ 
ferred to a period not less remote than the close of the fourth cen¬ 
tury.” 1 

The system of classification being thus carried up as high as the 
fourth century, Mr. Nolan justifies it by the testimony of Jerome ; for 
this learned father, who lived at that period, asserts the existence of 
three classes of text in the same age, which respectively prevailed in 
Egypt, Palestine, and Constantinople. The identity ol these classes 
with the different classes of text which still exist in the Greek original 
and Latin translation, 2 our author then proceeds to establish. And 
this he effects by means of the manuscripts which have been written, 
the versions which have been published, and the collations which have 
been made, in the different countries to which St. Jerome refers his 
classes ; founding every part of his proofs on the testimony of Adler, 
Birch, Woide, Munter, and other critics who have analysed the text 
and versions of the New Testament. 

The result of this investigation is, that the three classes of text, 
which are discoverable in the Greek manuscripts, are nearly identical 
with the three editions, which existed in the age of Jerome; with 
which they are identified by their coincidence with the Latin trans¬ 
lation which existed in the age of that Christian father. Of the first 
class, the Codex Bezce or Cambridge manuscript, is an exemplar : it 
contains the text, which Jerome refers to Egypt, and ascribes to He- 
sychius. Of the second class , the Codex raticanus , or Vatican ma¬ 
nuscript forms the exemplar, and contains the text, which Jerome re¬ 
fers to Palestine, and ascribes to Eusebius; and of the third class % 
the Moscow manuscript, collated by Matthaei, and by him noted with 
the letter V. and the Harleian manuscript in the British Museum, No. 
. 5684, noted G. by Griesbach, are the exemplars, and contain the 
text which Jerome attributes to Lucian, and refers to Constantinople. 
The result of Mr. Nolan’s long and elaborate discussion is, that, as 
the Occidental or Western Alexandrine, and Byzantine texts, (ac¬ 
cording to Griesbach’s system of recensions) respectively coincide with 
the Egyptian, Palestine, and Byzantine texts of Mr. N., we have only 
to substitute the term Egyptian for Western, and Palestine for Alex¬ 
andrine, in order to ascertain the particular text of any manuscript 
which is to be referred to a peculiar class or edition. “ The artifice 
of this substitution admits of this simple solution : the Egyptian text 
was imported by Eusebius of Verceli into the West, and the Pales¬ 
tine text republished by Euthalius at Alexandria, the Byzantine text 
having retained the place in which it was originally published by Lu- 
cianus. In a word, a manuscript which harmonises with the Codex 

— - . . -■ — ■ ■ — 1 i — — - 1 ■ ■ ■ - - - — ■■ * » 

1 Nolan’s Inquiry, pp. 70, 71. 

2 To which is now to be added the Peschito or Old Syriac version. The iden¬ 
tity above noticed Mr. Nolan purposes fully to illustrate, in a future edition of his 
“ Inquiry.” 



64 


General Observations 


[Part I. Ch. II. 

Cantabrigiensis, must be referred to the first class, and will contain 
the text of Egypt. One, which harmonises with the Vatican manu¬ 
script, must be referred to the second class, and will contain the 
text of Palestine. And one, which harmonises with the Moscow ma¬ 
nuscript, must be referred to the third class, and will contain the text 
of Constantinople .” 1 

The advantages resulting from the system of recensions just deve¬ 
loped are twofold : — In the first place, it leads not only to a more 
adequate method of classification, but also to the discovery of a more 
antient text, by means of the priority of the old Italic Version to the 
New or Vulgate Latin of Jerome. And, secondly, it coincides with 
the respective schemes of Dr. Griesbach and of M. Matthaei, and de¬ 
rives support from their different systems. It adopts the three classes 
of the former, with a slight variation merely in the name of the class¬ 
es ; and, in ascertaining the genuine text, it attaches the same au¬ 
thority to the old Italic translation, which the same distinguished cri¬ 
tic has ascribed to that version. It likewise agrees with the scheme 
of Matthaei, in giving the preference to the Kojvrj ExSorfig, the Greek 
Vulgate or Byzantine text, over the Palestine and Egyptian, but it 
supports the authority of this text on firmer grounds than the concur¬ 
rence of the Greek manuscripts. “ Hence, while it differs from the 
scheme of M. Matthaei, in building on the Old Italic Version, it differs 
from that of Dr. Griesbach, in distinguishing the copies of this trans¬ 
lation, which are free from the influence of the Vulgate, from those 
w T hich have been corrected since the times of Eusebius of Verceli, of 
Jerome, and Cassiodorus. And it affords a more satisfactory mode 
of disposing of the multitude of various readings, than that suggested 
by the latter, who refers them to the intentional or accidental corrup¬ 
tions of transcribers ; or by that of the former, who ascribes them to 
the correction of the original Greek by the Latin translation : as it 
traces them to the influence of the text which was published by Eu¬ 
sebius, at the command of Constantine.” We may therefore safely 
adopt the system of recensions proposed by Mr. Nolan in preference 
to any other : not only on account of its comprehensiveness, but also 
because (independently of its internal consistency, and the historical 
grounds on which it is exclusively built,) it embraces the different sys¬ 
tems to which it is opposed, and reconciles their respective inconsis¬ 
tencies. But, notwithstanding the strong — we may add, indisputa¬ 
ble — claims to precedence which his system of recensions possesses, 
the classification of recensions proposed by Griesbach has obtained 
such a general reception as will prevent the adoption of Mr. Nolan’s 
system much beyond the limits of this country. In giving a decided 
preference to the latter, die author of this work trusts that he shall be 
acquitted of any'intention to undervalue the critical labours of Dr. 
Griesbach, which, from the comprehensive brevity of his plan of 
classifying manuscripts, and the scrupulous accuracy of his execution 
of it, have unquestionably rendered the highest service to sacred lite¬ 
rature. As a general and correct index to the great body of Greek 

1 Nolan’s Inquiry, pp. 105, 106. 





65 


Sect. II. § l.] On Greek Manuscripts , 

manuscripts, they are an invaluable treasure to the scholar, and a ne¬ 
cessary acquisition to the divine : at the same time, his collection of 
various readings is admirably calculated to satisfy our minds on a 
point of the highest moment, — the integrity of the Christian Records. 
Through the long interval of seventeen hundred years, — amidst the 
collision of parties, — the opposition of enemies — and the desolations 
of time, they remain the same as holy men read them in the primitive 
ages ol Christianity. A very minute examination of manuscripts, ver¬ 
sions, and fathers, proves the inviolability of die Christian Scriptures. 
“ They all coincide in exhibiting the same Gospels, Acts* and Epis¬ 
tles ; and among all the copies of them which have been preserved, 
there is not one which dissents from die rest either in the doctrines 
or precepts, which constitute Christianity. They all contain the 
same doctrines and precepts. For the knowledge of this fact we are 
indebted to such men as Griesbach, whose zealous and persevering 
labours to put us in possession of it entitle them to our grateful re¬ 
membrance. To the superficial, and to the novice, in dieology, the 
long periods of life, and the patient investigation, which have been ap¬ 
plied to critical investigation, may appear as mere waste, or, at the 
best, as only amusing employment; but to the serious inquirer, who, 
from his own conviction, can declare that he is not following cunning¬ 
ly devised fables, the time, the talents, and the learning, which have 
been devoted to critical collation, will be accounted as well expended, 
for the result which they have accomplished. The real theologian is 
satisfied from his own examination, that the accumulation of many 
thousands of various readings, obtained at the expense of immense 
cridcal labour, does not affect a single sentiment in the whole New 
Testament. And thus is criticism, —- which some despise, and others 
neglect, — found to be one of those undecaying columns, by which 
the imperishable structure of Christian Truth is supported.” 1 

VI. From the coincidence observed between many Greek manu¬ 
scripts and the Vulgate, or some other Latin version, a suspicion 
arose in the minds of several eminent critics, that the Greek text had 
been altered throughout to the Latin ; and it has been asserted that 
at the council of Florence, (held in 1439 with the view of establish¬ 
ing an union between the Greek and Latin churches,) a resolution 
was formed, that the Greeks should alter their manuscripts from the 
Latin. This has been termed by the learned, Fcedus cum Grcecis. 
The suspicion, concerning the altering of the Greek text, seems to 
have been first suggested by Erasmus, but it does not appear that he 
supposed the alterations were made before the fifteenth century: so 
that the charge of Latinising the manuscripts did not (at least in his 
notion of it) extend to the original writers of the manuscript, or, as 
they are called, the writers a prnnd marm ; since it affected only the 
writers a secunda manu, or subsequent interpolators. The accusation 
was adopted and extended by Father Simon and Dr. Mill, and espe¬ 
cially by Wetstein. Bengel expressed some doubts concerning it; 
and it was formally questioned by Sender, Griesbach, and Woide. The 


VOL. il 


t Eclectic Review, vol. v. part i. p. 130- 

9 





66 


Account of Greek Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II 

reasonings of the two last mentioned critics convinced Michaelis (who 
had formerly agreed with Erasmus) that the charge of Latinising was 
unfounded ; and in the fourth edition of his Introduction to the New 
Testament (the edition translated by Bishop Marsh), with a candour 
of which there are too few examples, Michaelis totally abandoned his 
first opinion, and expressed his opinion that the pretended agreement 
in the Fcedas cum Greeds is a mere conjecture of Erasmus, to which 
lie had recourse as a refuge in a matter of controversy. Carrying the 
proof to its utmost length, it only shows that the Latin translations 
and the Greek copies were made from the same exemplars; which 
rather proves the antiquity of the Latin translations, than the corrup¬ 
tion of the Greek copies. It is further worthy of remark, that Je¬ 
rome corrected the Latin from the Greek, a circumstance which i.> 
known in every part of the Western church. Now, as Michaelis 
justly observes, when it was known that the learned father had made 
the Greek text the basis of his alterations in the Latin translation, it 
is scarcely to be imagined that the transcribers of the Western Church 
would alter the Greek by the Latin ; and it is still less probable, that 
those of the Eastern Church would act in this manner. 1 


V. . . ' 

$ 2. ACCOUNT OF GREEK MANUSCRIPTS CONTAINING THE OLD AND NEW 

TESTAMENTS. 

I. The Alexandrian Manuscript. — II. The Vatican Manuscript. 

Of the few manuscripts known to be extant, which contain the 
.Greek Scriptures (that is, the Old Testament, according to the Sep- 
tuagint Version, and the New Testament), there are two which pre¬ 
eminently demand the attention of the Biblical student for their anti¬ 
quity and intrinsic value, viz. The Alexandrian manuscript, wdiich is 
preserved in the British Museum, and the Vatican manuscript, depo¬ 
sited in the library of the Vatican Palace at Rome. 

I. The Codex Alexandrinus, or Alexandrian Manuscripts which 
is noted by the letter A. in Wetstein’s and Griesbach’s critical edi¬ 
tions of the New Testament, consists of four folio volumes ; the three 
first contain the whole of the Old Testament, together with the Apo¬ 
cryphal books, and the fourth comprises the New Testament, the first 
epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, and the Apocryphal Psalms as¬ 
cribed to Solomon. In the New Testament there is wanting the be¬ 
ginning as far as Matt. xxv. 6. o vu/xpios £gx STai ? likewise from John 
vi. 50. to viii. 52. and from 2 Cor. iv. 13. to xii. 7. The Psalms 
are preceded by the epistle of Athanasius to Marcellinus, and follow¬ 
ed by a catalogue, containing those which are to be used in prayer 
for each hour, both of the day and of the night; also by fourteen 
hymns, partly apocryphal, partly biblical, the eleventh of which is a 
hymn in praise of the Virgin Mary, entitled tfgodsvxq Mcqaaj rris Sfoto- 
xou: the arguments ol Eusebius are annexed to the Psalms, and his 


1 Michaclis's Introduction, vol. ii. part i. pp. 1G3—173. Butler’s Horae Biblie©, 
vol. i. p. 125. 







Sect. II. § 2.] Containing the Old and New Testaments. 67 

canons to the Gospels. This manuscript is now preserved in the 
British Museum, where it was deposited in 1753. It was sent as a 
present to King Charles I. from Cyrillus Lucaris, a native of Crete,, 
and patriarch of Constantinople, by Sir Thomas Rowe, ambassador 
from England to the Grand Seignior, in the year 1628. Cyrillus 
brought it with him from Alexandria, where, probably, it was written. 
In a schedule annexed to it, he gives this account; that it was writ¬ 
ten, as tradition informed them, by Thecla, a noble Egyptian lady, 
about thirteen hundred years ago, a little after the council of Nice. He 
adds, that the name of Thecla, at the end of the book, was erased ; 
but that this was the case with other books of the Christians, after 
Christianity was extinguished in Egypt by the Mohammedans : and 
that recent tradition records the fact of the laceration and erasure of 
Theda’s name. The proprietor of this manuscript, before it came 
into the hands of Cyrillus Lucaris, had written an Arabic subscription, 
expressing that this book was said to have been written with the pen 
of Thecla the Martyr. 

Various disputes have arisen with regard to the place whence it 
was brought, and where it was written, to its antiquity, and of course 
to its real value. Some critics have bestowed upon it the highest com¬ 
mendation, whilst it has been equally depreciated by others. Of its 
most strenuous adversaries, Wetstein seems to have been the principal. 
The place from which it w r as sent to England was, without doubt, 
Alexandria, and hence it has been called Codex Alexandrinus. As 
to the place where it was written, there is a considerable difference 
of opinion. Matthaeus Muttis, who was a contemporary, friend, and 
deacon of Cyrillus, and who afterwards instructed in the Greek lan¬ 
guage John Rudolph Wetstein, uncle of the celebrated editor of the 
Greek Testament, bears testimony, in a letter, written to Martin Bog¬ 
dan, a physician in Berne, dated January 14, 1664, that it had been 
brought from one of the twenty-two monasteries in Mount Athos, 
which the Turks never destroyed, but allowed to continue upon the 
payment of tribute. Dr. Woide endeavours to weaken the evidence 
of Muttis, and to render the testimony of the elder Wetstein suspi¬ 
cious : but Spohn 1 shows that the objections of Woide are unground¬ 
ed. Allowing their reality, we cannot infer that Cyrillus found this 
manuscript in Alexandria. Before he went to Alexandria he spent 
some time on Mount Athos, the repository and manufactory of manu¬ 
scripts of the New' Testament, whence a great number have been 
brought into the West of Europe, and a still greater number has been 
sent to Moscow. It is therefore probable, independently of the evi¬ 
dence of Muttis, that Cyrillus procured it there either by purchase or 
by present, took it with him to Alexandria, and brought it thence on 
his return to Constantinople. But the question recurs, where was 
this copy written ? The Arabic subscription above cited, clearly 
proves, that it had been in Egypt, at some period or other, before it 

1 Caroli Godofredi Woidii Notilia Codicis Alexandrini, cum variis cjus lect.ioni- 
bus omnibus. Itecudendum curavit. notasque adjecit Gottlieb Lebcrecht Spohn 
pp. 10—13. (8vo. Lipsis? 1700.) 





•68 


Account of Greek Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II. 

fell into the hands of Cyrillus. This subscription shows that it 
once belonged to an Egyptian, or that during some time it was pre¬ 
served in Egypt, where Arabic has been spoken since the seventh 
century. Besides, it is well known that a great number of manu¬ 
scripts of the Greek Bible have been written in Egypt. Woide has 
also pointed out a remarkable coincidence between the Codex Alex- 
andrinus, and the writings of the Copts. Michaelis alleges another 
circumstance as a probable argument of its having been written in 
Egypt. In Ezekiel xxvii. 18. both in the Hebrew and Greek text, 
the Tyrians are said to have fetched their wine from Chelbon, or ac¬ 
cording to Bochart, Ohalybon. But as Chalybon, though celebrated 
for its wine, was unknown to the writer of this manuscript, he has al¬ 
tered it by a fanciful conjecture to ojvgv sx ysfigw, wine from Hebron. 
This alteration was probably made by an Egyptian copyist, because 
Egypt was formerly supplied with wine from Hebron. The subscrip¬ 
tion before mentioned, ascribes the writing of it to Thecla, an Egyp¬ 
tian lady of high rank, who could not have been, as Michaelis sup¬ 
poses, the martyress Thecla, placed in the time of Saint Paul: but 
Woide replies, that a distinction must be made between Thecla mar¬ 
tyr, and Thecla proto-martyr. With regard to these subscriptions 
we may observe, with Bishop Marsh, that the true state of the case 
appears to be as follows : “ Some centuries after the Codex Alexan- 
drinus had been written, and the Greek subscriptions, and perhaps 
those other parts where it is more defective, already lost, it fell into 
the hands of a Christian inhabitant of Egypt, who, not finding the 
usual Greek subscription of the copyist, added in Arabic, his na¬ 
tive language, the tradition, either true or false, which had been 
preserved in the family or families to which the manuscript had be¬ 
longed, ‘ Memorant hunc codicem scriptum esse calamo Theclae mar- 
tyris.’ In the 17th century, when oral tradition respecting this ma¬ 
nuscript had probably ceased, it became the property of Cyrillus Lu- 
ca*ris; but whether in Alexandria, or Mount Athos, is of no impor¬ 
tance to the present inquiry. On examining the manuscript, he finds 
that the Greek subscription is lost, but that there is a tradition record¬ 
ed in Arabic by a former proprietor, which simply related that it 
was written by one Thecla a martyress, which is what he means by 
“ memoria et traditio recens.” Taking therefore upon trust, that one 
Thecla the martyress was really the copyist, he consults the an¬ 
nals of the church to discover in what age and country a person of 
this name and character existed ; finds that an Egyptian lady of rank, 
called Thecla, suffered martydom between the time of holding the 
council of Nicsea and the close of the fourth century ; and concludes, 
without further ceremony, that she was the very identical copyist. 
Not satisfied with this discovery, he attempts to account for the loss 
of the Greek subscription, and ascribes it to the malice of the Sara¬ 
cens; being weak enough to believe that the enemies of Christianity 
would exert their vengeance on the name of a poor transcriber, and 
leave the four folio volumes themselves unhurt.” Dr. Woide, who 
transcribed and published this manuscript, and must be better ac- 


09 


Sect. II. § 2.] Containing the Old and New Testaments. 

qnainted with it than any other person, asserts, that it was written by 
two different copyists; for lie observed a difference in the ink, and, 
which is of greater moment, even in the strokes of the letters. The 
conjecture of Oudin, adopted by Wetstein, that the manuscript was 
written by an Aeoemet is, in the judgment of Michaelis, worthy of at¬ 
tention, 1 and he adds, that this conjecture does not contradict the ac¬ 
count that Thecla was the copyist, since there were not only monks 
but nuns of this order. 

The antiquity of this manuscript has also been the subject of con¬ 
troversy. Grabe and Schulze think that it might have been written 
before the end of the fourth century, which, says Michaelis, is the 
very utmost period that can be allowed, because it contains the epis¬ 
tles of Athanasius. Oudin places it in the tenth century. Wetstein 
refers it to the fifth, and supposes that it was one of the manuscripts 
collected at Alexandria in 615, for the Syriac version. Dr. Semler 
refers it to the seventh century. Montfaucon 2 is of opinion, that nei¬ 
ther the Codex Alexandrinus, nor any Greek manuscript, can be said 
with great probability to be much prior to the sixth century. Mi¬ 
chaelis apprehends, that this manuscript was written after Arabic was 
become the native language of the Egyptians, that is, one, or rather 
two centuries after Alexandria was taken by the Saracens, which 
happened in the year 640, because the transcriber frequently con¬ 
founds M and B, which is often done in the Arabic : and he con¬ 
cludes, that it is not more antient than the eighth century. Woide, 
after a great display of learning, with which he examines the evidence 
for the antiquity of the Codex Alexandrinus, concludes, that it was 
written between the middle and the end of the fourth century. It 
cannot be allowed a greater antiquity, because it has not only the 
nrXoi or xs(paXaia majora, but the xspaXoua minora, or Ammonian sec¬ 
tions, accompanied with the references to the canons of Eusebius. 
Woide’s arguments have been objected to by Spohn. 3 Some of the 
principal arguments advanced by those who refer this manuscript to 
the fourth or fifth centuries are the following : the epistles of Saint 
Paul are not divided into chapters like the gospels, though this divi¬ 
sion took place so early as 396, when to each chapter was prefix¬ 
ed a superscription. The Codex Alexandrinus has the epistles of 
Clement of Rome ; but these were forbidden to be read in the 
churches, by the council of Laodicea, in 364, and that of Carthage, 
in 419. Hence Schulze has inferred, that it was written before the 
year 364 ; and he produces a new argument for its antiquity, deduc¬ 
ed from the last of the fourteen hymns found in it after the psalms, 

1 The Accemets were a class of monks in the antient church, who flourished, 
particularly in the east, during the fifth century. They were so called, because 
they had divine service performed, without interruption, in their churches. They 
divided themselves into three bodies, each of which officiated in turn, and relieved 
the others, so that their churches were never silent, either night or day. Wetstein 
adopts the opinion of Casimir Oudin, that the Codex Alexandrinus was written by 
an Aeoemet, because it contains a catalogue of the psalms that were to be sung at 
every hour both of the day and night. Proleg. in Nov. Test. vol. i. p. 10. 

2 Paleeog. Grsec. p. 185. . . 

3 pp. 42—109. of his edition of Woide’s Notitia Codicis Alexandnni. ■*} 



79 


Account of Greek Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. IL 

which is superscribed vfxvog sthvog, and is called the grand doxology 5 
for this hymn has not the clause ayiog 0 Ssog, ayiog a 7 l0S a ^ ava “ 

<rog, sXsrjc'ov y(Ms, which was used between the years 434 and 446 ; 
and therefore the manuscript must have been written before this time. 
Wetstein thinks that it must have been written before the time of Je¬ 
rome, because the Greek text of this manuscript was altered from the 
old Italic. He adds, that the transcriber was ignorant that the Arabs 
were called Hagarenes, because he has written (1 Chron. v. 20 .) 
ayo^aioj for Aya^aioi. Others allege that ayogcuot is a mere erratum; 
because Aya^ouwv occurs in the preceding verse, Ayagtrys in 1 Chron. 
xxvii. 31. and Aya^voi in Psal. lxxxiii. 6 . These arguments, says 
Michaelis, afford no certainty, because the Codex Alexandrinus must 
have been copied from a still more antient manuscript; and if this 
were faithfully copied, the arguments apply rather to this than to the 
Alexandrian manuscript itself. It is the hand-writing alone, or the 
formation of the letters, with the want of accents, which can lead to 
any probable decision. The arguments alleged to prove that it is 
not so antient as the fourth century, are the following. Dr. Sender 
thinks, that the epistle of Athanasius, on the value and excellency oi 
the Psalms, would hardly have been prefixed to them during his life. 
But it ought to be recollected, that Athanasius had many warm and 
strenuous advocates. From this epistle Oudin has attempted to de¬ 
duce an argument, that the manuscript was written in the tenth cen¬ 
tury. This epistle, he says, is spurious, and could not have been 
forged during the life of Athanasius, and the tenth century was fertile 
in spurious productions. Again, the Virgin Mary, in the superscrip¬ 
tion of the Song of the Blessed Virgin, is styled 6soroxog, a name which 
Wetstein says betrays the fifth century. Further, from the probable 
conjecture, that this manuscript was written by one of the order of the 
Accemetae, Oudin concludes against its antiquity; but Wetstein con¬ 
tents himself with asserting, that it could not have been written before 
the fifth century, because Alexander, who founded this order, lived 
about the year 420. From this statement, pursued more at large, 
Michaelis deduces a reason for paying less regard to the Codex Alex¬ 
andrinus than many eminent critics have done, and for the preference 
that is due, in many respects, to antient versions, before any single 
manuscript, because the antiquity of the former, which is in general 
greater than that of the latter, can be determined with more preci¬ 
sion. 

The value of this manuscript has been differently appreciated by 
different writers. Wetstein, though he denotes it by A. the first 
letter of the alphabet, is no great admirer of it, nor does Michaelis 
estimate it highly, either on account of its internal excellence or the 
value of its readings. The principal charge which has been pro¬ 
duced against the Alexandrian manuscript, and which has been 
strongly urged by Wetstein, is its having been altered from the 
Latin version. It is incredible, says Michaelis, who once agreed 
in opinion with Wetstein, but found occasion to alter his sentiments, 
that a transcriber who lived in Egypt, should have altered the Greek 


s «. 


Sect. II. § 2.] Containing the Old and JYeiv Testaments. 

text from a Latin.version, because Egypt belonged to the Greek dio- 
cese, and Latin was not understood there. On this subject Woide 
has eminently displayed his critical abilities, and ably defended the 
Greek manuscripts in general, and the Codex Alexandrinus in par¬ 
ticular, from the charge of having been corrupted from the Latin. 
Griesbach concurs with Woide, 1 and both have contributed to con¬ 
firm Michaelis in his new opinion. If this manuscript has been cor¬ 
rupted from a version, it is more reasonable to suspect the Coptic, 
the version of the country in which it was written. Between this 
manuscript and both the Coptic and Syriac versions, there is a re¬ 
markable coincidence. Griesbach has observed, that this manu¬ 
script follows three different editions : the Byzantine in the Gospels, 
the Western edition in the Acts of the Apostles, and the Catholic 
epistles, which form the middle division of this manuscript, and the 
Alexandrine in the epistles of Saint Paul. The transcriber, if this as¬ 
sertion be true, must have copied the three parts of the Greek Tes¬ 
tament from three different manuscripts of three different editions. 
It is observable, that the readings of the Codex Alexandrinus coin¬ 
cide very frequently not only with the Coptic and the old Syriac, but 
with the New Syriac and the Ethiopic; and this circumstance fa¬ 
vours the hypothesis, that this manuscript was written in Egypt, be¬ 
cause the new Syriac version having been collated with Egyptian 
manuscripts of the Greek Testament, and the Ethiopic version being 
taken immediately from them, have necessarily the readings of the 
Alexandrine edition. 

The Alexandrian manuscript is written in uncial or capital letters, 
without any accents or marks of aspiration, but with a few abbrevia¬ 
tions nearly similar to those already noticed, 2 and also with some 
others which are described by Dr. Woide, 3 who has likewise explained 
the various points and spaces occurring in this manuscript. 

A fac-simile of the Codex Alexandrinus was published in folio 
by the late Dr. Woide, principal librarian of the British Museum, 
with types cast for the purpose, line for line, without intervals be¬ 
tween the words, precisely as in the original. 4 The following speci¬ 
men will convey to the reader an idea of this most precious manu¬ 
script. . 

1 In his “ Symbols Critics,” vol. i. pp. 110—117. 

2 See p. 50. supra. __ , 

3 In the Preface to his fac-simile of the Alexandrian manuscript of the New 
Testament, §§ 27—34. 

4 The following is the title of Dr. Woide’s splendid work. — Novum Testamen• 
turn Grcecum, e Codice MS. Alexandrino , qui Londini in Bibliotheca Musei Britan¬ 
nia. asservatur, descriptum, a Carolo Godofredo IVoide. Londini ex prelo Joannis 
Nichols , Typis Jacksonianis, mdcclxxxvi. Twelve copies were printed on vellum. 
The fac-simile itself fills two hundred and sixty pages ; and the preface, comprising 
twenty-two pages, contains an accurate description of the manuscript, illustrated 
by an engraving representing the style of writing in various manuscripts. To this 
is subjoined an exact list of all its various readings, in eighty-nine pages; each 
reading is accompanied with a remark, giving an account of what his predecessors, 
Junius (i. e. Patrick Young), Bishop Walton, Drs. Mill and Grabe, and Wetstein, 
had performed or neglected. To complete this work, there should be added the 
following : Appendix ad editionem Novi Testamenti Grceci, c Codice Alexandrino 
descripti a C. G. IVoide , in qua continentur Fragmenta Novi Testamenti juxta in 



; •'miH 'M-iH 


7 $ Account of Greek Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II* 


John i. 1—7. 


0NXPXH HNOXOrOCKXIOXOroCH 
TTPOCTONGN’KXIOCHNOXOrOC 
OVTOCHHeNXPXHTTPOCTONON 

TrxHTxxixvi’overeMeTO - icxixgi 
peicxvTovereN0TOOVA.eeN * 
OrerONeNGNXYTCUXCUHH n* _ 
KXIHXCUH H NTO(l>CDCT<LDNXNa)K 
KXITOCt>CDCeNTHCKOTIxq>AI 
Ner KXI HCKOTIXXYTOOYK XT 0 


eiCMXpTYPIXKUNXMXpTYrH 
CHTrePITOY4>CDTOC INXTTXN 
T6CTTICTGYCCDCINAIXYTOV 

For this stereotype specimen we are indebted to the Rev. H. H. 
Baber, one of the librarians of the British museum, who kindly fa¬ 
voured us with the use of the Alexandrian types, with which he is 
now printing the Codex Alexandrinus. * 1 For the gratification of the 


terpretationcm dialecti superioris JEgypti quiz Thebaica vel Sahidica appellatur , c 
Codd. Oxoniens, maxima ex parte desumpta cum dissertatione de Versionc Biblio- 
rum JEgyptiaca, quibus subjicitur Codicis Vaticani collatio. Oxonii: E Typogra- 
pheo Ciarendoniano, 1799, folio. This work was edited by the Rev. Dr. Ford. 

1 In 1812 Mr. Baber published, by subscription, a fac-simile of the book of 
Psalms, from the manuscript now under consideration, of which twelve copies are 
cm vellum , to match with the same number of copies of the New Testament. To 
complete the Old Testament in a similar manner, was an undertaking too vast and 
extensive for an unbeneficed clergyman. In consequence, therefore, of a memori¬ 
al by Mr. B., seconded by the recommendation of several dignitaries of the church, 
as well as professors and heads of colleges in the two universities, the British Par¬ 
liament engaged to defray the expenses of completing this noble undertaking , 
{See the Memorial and other Proceedings in the Literary Panorama, vol. i. N. S. 
465—478.); and Mr. Baber is now rapidly proceeding in his laborious task, 
e Pentateuch and Historical Books, with the notes belonging to them, are pub¬ 
lished. And the remaining text of the Old Testament, comprising the Psalms and » 
Prophetical Books, is completed, and will be published as fast as the notes, which 
are to accompany each portion of the text, can be printed off. The whole is exe¬ 
cuted in a splendid folio size, and in such a manner as to represent most faithfully 
every iota of the original manuscript. The better to preserve the identity of the 
original, instead of spreading out the contracted various readings, in the margin, 
by letters in full, (as Dr. Woide had done in his fac-simile of the Alexandrian ma¬ 
nuscript of the New Testament) fac-similes of such various readings, cut in wood, 
are inserted precisely in the places where they occur, filling up only the same 
space with the original. The tail pieces, or rude arabesque ornaments at the end 
of each book, are also represented by means of fac-similes in wood. The work 
will consist of four volumes in folio ; three comprising the text of the Old Testa 



^xxbgn- ereNeToxNocjare 

V^yTXXMeNOCTTXpAQYONOMxXV 
TCDIOUXNNHC OYTOCHA0GN 




Sect. II. <5 2 .] Containing the Old and New Testaments. 73 

English reader, the following extract is subjoined, comprising the first 
seven verses of Saint John s Gospel, rendered rather more literally 
than the idiom ol our language will admit, in order to convey an ex¬ 
act idea ol the original Greek (above given) of the Alexandrian 
manuscript. 


John i. 1 — 7 . 

InTHEBEGINNINGWASTHE WORD ANDTHEWORD WAS 

WITHGDANDGDWASTHEWORD* 
HEWASINTHEBEGINNINGWITHGD 
ALLWEREMADEBYHIMANDWITH 
OUTHIMAVASMADENOTONE THING 
THATWASMADEINHIMLIFEWAS 

andthelifewasthelightofmF 

ANDTIIELIGHTINDARKNESSSHIN 
ETHANDTHEDARKNESSDIDNOTITCOMPRE 
HEND- THEREWASAMNSE 

tV TFROMGODWHOSENAME WAS 
IOHNTHISPFLRSOiVCAME 
ASAWITNESSTHATHEMIGHTTESTI 
FYCONCERjNINGTHELIGHTTHATA 
LLMIGHTBELIEVETHROUGHHIM- 


II. The Codex Vaticanus, No. 1209, which Wetstein and 
Griesbach have both noted with the letter B., contests the palm of 
antiquity with the Alexandrian manuscript. No fac-simile of it has 
ever been published. The Roman edition of the Septuagint, print¬ 
ed in 1590, professes to exhibit the text of this manuscript; and in 
the preface to that edition it is stated to have been written before die 
year 387, i. e. towards the close of the fourth century: Montfaucon 
and Blanchini refer it to the fifth or sixth century, and Dupin to the 
seventh century. Professor Hug has endeavoured to show that it 
was written in the early part of the fourth century; but, from the 
omission of the Eusebian xcpaXaia and <n rXoi, Bishop Marsh con¬ 
cludes with great probability that it was written before the close of 
the fifth century. The Vatican manuscript is written on parchment 
or vellum, in uncial or capital letters, in three columns on each page. 


ment, and a fourth containing prolegomena and notes. The edition is limited to 
two hundred and fifty copies, and twelve are on vellum. They are such as reflect 
the highest credit on the printers, Messrs. R. and A. Taylor. — The reader who 
may be desirous of further information concerning the Alexandrian manuscript is 
referred to Dr. Grabe’s prolegomena to his edition of the Greek Septuagint, and 
also to the prolegomena of Dr. Woide already cited, and to those of Dr. Mill and 
Wetstein, prefixed to their editions of the New Testament. See also Michaelis’s 
Introduction to the New Testament, vol. ii. part i. pp. 180—200, and Bishop 
Marsh’s notes in part ii. pp. G48—660. Dr. Lardner has given the table of con 
tents of this manuscript in his Credibility of the Gospel History, part ii. chap. 147 
(Works, 8vo. vol. v. pp. 253—256 ; 4to. vol. iv. pp. 44—46.) 

VOL. II. 10 







74 


Account of Greek Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II. 

all of which are of the same size, except at the beginning of a book, 
and without any divisions of chapters, verses, or words, but with ac¬ 
cents and spirits. The shape of the letters, and colour of the ink, 
prove that it was written throughout by one and the same careful 
copyist. The abbreviations are few, being confined chiefly to those 

words which are in general abbreviated, such as 02, KC, 1C, XC, 
for @sog, Kugiog, Iqtfoug, X^igos, God , Lord , Jesus , Christ. Originally 
this manuscript contained the entire Greek Bible, including both the 
Old and New Testaments; in which respect it resembles none so 
much as the Codex Alexandrinus, though no two manuscripts vary 
more in their readings. The Old Testament wants the first forty- 
six chapters of Genesis, and thirty-two psalms, viz. from Psal. cv. to 
cxxxvii. inclusive ; and the New Testament wants the latter part of 
the epistle to the Hebrews, viz. all after chap. ix. verse 14, and also 
Saint Paul’s other epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, and the 
whole book of Revelation. It appears, however, that this last book, 
as well as the latter part of the epistle to the Hebrews, has been sup¬ 
plied by a modern hand in the fifteenth century, and, it is said, from 
some manuscript that had formerly belonged to Cardinal Bessarion. 
In many places the faded letters have also been retouched by a mod¬ 
em but careful hand : and when the person who made these amend¬ 
ments (whom Michaelis pronounces to have been a man of learning) 
found various readings in other manuscripts he has introduced them 
into the Codex Vaticanus, but has still preserved the original text; 
and in some few instances he has ventured to erase with a penknife. 
Various defects, both in orthography and language, indicate that this 
manuscript was executed by an Egyptian copyist. Instead of tfoXX^-j^, 
&ic. he has written tfuXX^/x-s^yj, Xyjjx-^so'^s, Xrjfjuj&yitfsrcu, which occurs 
only in Coptic or Graeco-Coptic MSS. He has also written sTtav 
for sfffov, as may be seen in the celebrated Rosetta inscription; slSav, 
sffstfav, sirfrjX^av, dvsiXaro, and SiS[Aagrvga.ro, as in the inscription of the 
Theban Memnon; and tugaxav and ysyovav, as the Alexandrians 
wrote according to the testimony of Sextus Empiricus. These pe¬ 
culiarities show that the Codex Vaticanus exhibits the Egyptian text, 
subsequent to the third century, according to the Alexandrine Re¬ 
cension of Griesbach, and the Hesychian Recension of Hug. 

It has been supposed that this manuscript was collated by the 
editors of the Complutensian Polyglott, and even that this edition was 
almost entirely taken from it: but Bishop Marsh has showm by actual 
comparison that this was not the case. 

The Vatican manuscript has been repeatedly collated by various 
eminent critics, from whose extracts Wetstein collected numerous 
various readings : but the latest and best collation is that by Professor 
Birch, of Copenhagen, in 1781 ; the results of which are noticed in 
another part of this work. Although the antiquity of the Vatican 
Manuscript is indisputable, it is by no means easy to determine be¬ 
tween its comparative value and that of the Alexandrian Manuscript ‘ T 
nor is there any absolute and universal standard by which their 
several excellencies may be estimated. With regard to the Old 


Sect. II. § 2.] Containing the Old and JYew Testaments. 75 

Testament, it any Greek manuscript were now extant, containing an 
exact copy of the several books as they were originally translated, 
such manuscript would be perfect, and consequently die most valua¬ 
ble. The nearer any copy comes to this perfection, the more valua¬ 
ble it must be, and vice versa. In its present state the Hebrew Text 
cannot determine fully the value of these MSS. in their relation to 
one another; and yet as that text receives great assistance from both, 
it proves that both deserve our highest regard. It is worthy of re¬ 
mark, that neither of them has the asterisks of Origen, though both 
of them were transcribed in the fifth century ; which Dr. Kennicott 
observes, 1 2 is one proof that they were not taken either mediately or 
immediately from the Hexapla. The Vatican and Alexandrian ma¬ 
nuscripts differ from each other in die Old Testament chiefly in this; 
— that, as they contain books, which have been corrected by diffe¬ 
rent persons, upon different principles ; and as they differ greatly in 
some places in their interpolations, — so they contain many words 
which were either derived from different Greek versions, or else 
were translated by one or both of the transcribers themselves from 
the Hebrew text, which was consulted by them at the time of 
transcribing. 

On the ground of its internal excellence, Michaelis preferred the 
Vadcan manuscript (for the New Testament) to the Codex Alexan- 
drinus. If however that manuscript be most respectable which conies 
the nearest to Origen’s Hexaplar copy of the Septuagint, the Alexan¬ 
drian manuscript seems to claim that merit in preference to its rival: 
but if it be thought a matter of superior honour to approach nearer 
the old Greek version, uncorrected by Origen, that merit seems to 
be due to the Vatican. 3 

The accompanying plate exhibits a specimen of the Vatican ma¬ 
nuscript from a fac-simile traced in the year 1704 for Dr. Grabe, 
editor of the celebrated edition of the Septuagint, which is noticed in 
a subsequent part of this work. The author has reason to believe 
diat it is the most faithful fac-simile, ever executed of this IMS. It 
was made by Signor Zacagni, at that time principal keeper of the 
Vatican library, and is now preserved among Dr. Grabe’s manu¬ 
scripts in the Bodleian library at Oxford. This fac-simile has been 
most carefully and accurately copied, under the direction of the Rev. 
Dr. Bandinel, the keeper of that noble repository of literature, to 
whom the author now offers his acknowledgments for his kind assis¬ 
tance on this occasion. The passage represented in our engraving, 
contains the first three verses of the first chapter of the prophet 
Ezekiel, of which the following is a literal English version : 

1 Diss. ii. pp. 413—415. 

2 Signor Zacagni’s Letter to Dr. Grabe,-dated Rome, Nov. 29, 1704, in Dr. 

KennicotFs Diss. ii. pp. 408—411. Michaelis, vol. ii. part i. pp. 341—350. Part 
ii. pp. 810—820. J. L. Hug, De Antiquitate Codicis Vaticani Commentatio. Fri- 
burg in Brisgau, 1810, 4to. 



76 


Account of Greek Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. H 


IEZERIEL 


N 


+ + + 

NOWITCAMETOPASSINTIIETHIR 


INTHE 


Jl TIETHYEARFOURTH 

MONTHONTHEFIFTHOFTHEMONth 

WHENIWASINTHEMIDST 

OFTHECAPTIVESBYT»E 

RIVERCHOBARAnd 

THEHEAYENSWEREOPENED 

ANDISAWTHEVISIONSOFGDONTHEFi 

FTHOFTHEMONTHTHIs 

WASTHEFIFTHYEAROFThe 

CAPTIVITYOFTHEKI 

NG JOACHIM ANDCA 

METHEWORDOFTHELDTOE 

ZEKIELTHESONOFBUZITHE 

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YTHERIVERCHo 

BARANDUPONMEWAS 

THEIIANDOFTHELDANDILOOKEDANDLO 

AWHIRLWNDCAMEOUTOF 

THENORTHANDAGREATCLOUD 

WITHIT 

No fac-simile edition (like that of the Alexandrian New Testament 
by Dr. Woide and of the Old Testament now printing by the Rev. 
H. H. Baber) has ever been executed of the precious Vatican manu¬ 
script. During the pontificate of Pius VI. the Abate Spoletti con¬ 
templated the publication of it, for which purpose he delivered a 
memorial to the Pope. No public permission was ever given : and 
though the Pontiff’s private judgment was not unfavourable to the 
undertaking, yet, as his indulgence would have been no security 
against the vengeance of the inquisition, Spoletti was obliged to aban¬ 
don his design. 1 It is, however, but just to add, that no obstacles 
were thrown in the way of the collation of manuscripts in the Vatican, 
for Dr. Holmes’s critical edition of the Septuagint version, of which 
some account will be found in a subsequent page. 


1 Michaelis, vol. ii. part i. p. 181. part ii. pp. 644, 645. 








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Sect. II. § 3.] Containing the Old and New Testaments. 


77 


t 


^ 3. ACCOUNT OF MANUSCRIPTS (ENTIRE OR IN PART) CONTAINING THE 
SEPTUAGINT OR GREEK VERSION OF T1IE OLD TESTAMENT. 

I. The Codex Cottonianus. — II. The Codex Sarravianus. — III. The 
Codex Colhevtinus. — IV. The Codex Ccesareus , Argenteus , or Ar- 
genteo-Purpureus. — V. The Codex Ambrosianus. — VI. The Codex 
Coislinianus. — VII. The Codex Basilio- Vaticanus. — VIII. The 
Codex Turicensis. 

It is not precisely known what number of manuscripts of the Greek 
version of the Old Testament are extant. The highest number of 
those collated by the late Rev. Dr. Holmes, for his splendid edition 
of this version is one hundred and thirty-five. Nine of them are 
described, as being written in uncial characters, and ;as having fur¬ 
nished him with the most important of the various readings, with 
which his first volume is enriched : besides these he has noticed 
sixty-three others, written in cursive or small characters, and which 
have likewise furnished him with various lections. Of these manu¬ 
scripts the following are more particularly worthy of notice, on ac¬ 
count of their rarity and value. 1 

I. The Codex Cottonianus is not only the most antient but the 
most correct manuscript that is extant. It was originally brought 
from Philippi by two Greek bishops, who presented it to King Henry 
VIII. whom they informed that tradition reported it to have been the 
identical copy, which had belonged <to the celebrated Origen, who 
lived in the former half of the third century. Queen Elizabeth gave 
it to Sir John Fortescue, her preceptor in Greek, who, desirous of 
preserving it for posterity, placed it in the Cottonian Library. This 
precious manuscript was almost destroyed by the calamitous fire 
which consumed Cotton House at Westminster, in the year 1731. 
Eighteen fragments are all that now remain, and of these, both the 
leaves, and consequently the writing in a just proportion, are contract¬ 
ed into a less compass ; so that what were large are now small capi¬ 
tals. These fragments are at present deposited in the British Mu¬ 
seum. 2 

In its original state, the Codex Cottonianus contained one hundred 
and sixty-five leaves, in the quarto size; it is written on vellum, in 
uncial characters, the line running along the whole width of the page, 
and each line consisting, in general, of twenty-seven, rarely of thirty 
letters. These letters are almost every where of the same length, 
excepting that at the end of a line they are occasionally somewhat 


1 Our descriptions are chiefly abridged from Dr. Holmes's Preefatio ad Penta- 
touchum, cap. ii. prefixed to the first volume of his critical edition of the Septua 
gint version, published at Oxford, in 1798, folio. 

2 Catalogus Bibliotheca? Cottonianae, p. 365. (folio, 1802.) Casley’s Catalogue 
of MSS. in the King’s Library, pp. viii. ix. 



78 


Account of Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II. 

less, and in some instances are interlined or written over the line. 
Like all other very antient manuscripts, it has no accents or spirits, 
nor any distinction of words, verses, or chapters. The words are, 
for the most part, written at full length, with the exception of the well 

known and frequent abbreviations of KC KN, 02 , ©N, for 

Kv£i os and Ki^iov, Lord , and Osog, Qsov, God, Certain consonants* 
vowels, and diphthongs are also interchanged. 1 The coherence of 
the Greek text is very close, except where it is divided by the inter¬ 
position of the very curious paintings or illuminations with which this 
manuscript is decorated. These pictures were two hundred and fifty 
in number, and consist of compositions within square frames, of one 
or of several figures, in general not exceeding two inches in height; 
and these frames, which are four inches square, are occasionally 
divided into two compartments. The heads are perhaps too large, 
but the attitudes and draperies have considerable merit: and they are 
by competent judges preferred to the miniatures that adorn the Vi- 
enna manuscript, which is noticed in p. 81. infra. Twenty-one frag¬ 
ments of these illuminations were engraved, in 1744, on two large 
folio plates, at the expense of the Society of Antiquaries of London. 
It is observed by Mr* Planta, the present principal librarian of the 
British Museum, that more fragments must have been preserved than 
the eighteen which now remain; because none of those engraved are 
now to be met with. 2 On an examination of the Codex Cottonianus, 
with a view to take a fac-simile of some one of its fragments for this 
work, they were found in a nearly pulverised and carbonised state, so 
that no accurate copy could be taken. The annexed engraving therefore 
is copied from that of the Antiquarian Society* 3 The subject on the 
right-hand of Plate 2. is Jacob delivering his son Benjamin to his 
brethren, that they may go a second time into Egypt and buy corn 
for himself and his family. The passage of Genesis, which it is in¬ 
tended to illustrate, is ch. xliii. 13, 14., of which the following is a 
representation in ordinary Greek characters : the words preserved 
being in capital letters. 

1 These permutations were a fruitful source of errors in manuscripts. Some in¬ 
stances of them are given infra , Chap. VIII. 

2 Catalogus Bibliothecae Cottoniapae, p. 365. 

3 Vetusta Monumenta, quae ad Rerum Britannicarum memoriam conservandam 
Societas Antiquariorum sumptu suo edenda curavit. Londini, 1747, folio, tom. i. 
pi. LXVII. Nos. VI. et VII. 









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Sect. II. § 3.] Containing the Septuagint Version. 


79 


KAITONAAEA^ONTMP.v Xaj&vs xai ava 
2TANTE2KATABHTEIIP02 tov av^w 

nON.OAE@2MOTAQH vfuv x a g ,v svav 
TIONTOTAN0PnnOX*KAI dtfotfTSiXai rov 

AAEA<3?ONYMf2NTON svot xai tov Bsvi 
AMEIN-EraMENrAPKA0a<jfS^rsxvw 
MAIHTEKNQMAI 


In English, thus: 


ALSOYOURBROTHER take, and a 
RISEGOAG AINUNTOthe ma 

N.ANDMAYGDGIVE you favour be 
FORETHEMANTHAT he may send back 
YOURBROTHER and Benj 
AMIN ASFORMEAS I have been be 
REAVEDOFCHILDRENIAM bereaved. 


The subject on the left-hand of the same plate is Joseph’s inter¬ 
view with his brethren in his own house, on their return into Egypt. 
It illustrates Genesis xliii. 30, 31., and is as follows: 


’ETo^a^S*] 6s tfuvstf 

TPE<f>ETOrAPTAENTEPA aurou 
TaAAEA^nATTOT-KAIEZH™ xXautfar 
EI2EA0nNAEELSTOTAMEIov, sxXautf 
ENEKEPKAINPFAMEN02T0 vrgofutov 
sHEA0fiNENEKPATEY2AT0*xai Ira'S 
TlagaSsrs agrovg. 


In English, thus : 

And Joseph was discomposed* 

FORhisBOWELSYEARNED 

TOWARDSHISBROTHER-ANDheSOUGht where to weep- 
ANDENTERINGINTOHISCHAMBer, he we 
PTTHERE ANDWHENHEHADWASHED his face, and 
cOMEFORTIIHERESTRAINED himself* and said 
set on bread. 


The larger Greek characters at the foot of Plate 1. are copied 
from the third plate of Mr. Astle’s work on the Origin of Writing : 
they exhibit the four first words of Gen. xiv. 17. of the same size as 
in the Codex Cottonianus Geneses, before the calamitous fire above 
noticed. The loss of the consumed parts of this precious manuscript 
would have been irreparable, had not extracts of its various readings 
been made by different learned merv, which have been preserved to 


GO 


Account of Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II. 

the present time. Thus the collations of it by Archbishop Usher and 
Patrick Young, in the middle of the seventeenth century, are print¬ 
ed in the sixth volume of Bishop Walton’s Polyglott Edition of 
the Bible. Archbishop Usher’s autograph collation is deposited in 
the Bodleian Library, among the other MSS. of that distinguished 
prelate. The principal various readings, noted by Dr. Gale, towards 
die close of the same century, are entered in the margin of an Aldine 
edition of the Greek Version, which subsequendy belonged to the 
late Dr. Kennicott. But the most valuable collation is that made in 
the year 1703, by Dr. Grabe, who was deeply skilled in palaeography, 
and bequeathed by him to the Bodleian Library, whence the late 
Rev. Dr. Owen published it at London, in 1778, in an 8vo. volume, 
entitled Collatio Codicis Cottoniani Geneseos cum Editione Romand, 
a viro clarissimo Joanne Ernesti Grabe jam olim facta ; nuncdemum 
summa curd edita ab Henrico Owen , M. D. S. R. S. — Dr. Holmes 
has chiefly followed Grabe’s extract of various readings, in his critical 
edition of the Septuagint, but he has occasionally availed himself of 
Archbishop Usher’s colladon. 1 

The Codex Cottonianus is the most antient manuscript of any part 
of the Old Testament that is extant. It is acknowledged to have been 
written towards the end of the fourth, or in the beginning of the fifth 
century; and it seldom agrees with any manuscript or printed edi¬ 
tion, except the Codex Alexandrinus, which has been described in 
pp. 66—73. of the present volume. There are according to Dr. 
Holmes, at least twenty instances in which this manuscript expresses 
the meaning of the original Hebrew more accurately than any other 
exemplars. 

II. III. The Codices Sarravianus (now in the Public Library 
of the Academy at Leyden), and Colbertinus (formerly numbered 
3084 among the Colbert MSS., but at present deposited in the Royal 
Library at Paris), are distinct parts of the same manuscript. The 
Codex Sarravianus is defective in those very leaves, viz. seven in Ex¬ 
odus, thirteen in Leviticus, and two in Numbers, which are found in 
the Colbertine manuscript; the writing of which, as well as the tex¬ 
ture of the vellum, and other peculiarities, agree so closely with those 
of the Codex Sarravianus, as to demonstrate their perfect identity. 
These manuscripts are neatly written on thin vellum, in uncial letters, 
with which some round characters are intermixed, the ink of which 
is beginning to turn yellow. The contractions or abbreviations, per¬ 
mutations of letters, kc. are the same which are found in the Codex 
Cottonianus. These two Codices, as they are termed, may be re¬ 
ferred to the fifth or sixth century. To some paragraphs of the book 
of Leviticus, titles or heads have been prefixed, evidently by a later 
hand. 


1 Another collation was made by the eminent critic, Crusius, who highly com¬ 
mended the Codex Cottonianus in two dissertations published by him at Gottingen 
in 1744 and 1745. Crusius's collation subsequently fell into the hands of Breitin- 
ger, the editor of the beautiful edition of the Septuagint published at Zurich in 
4730—1733. It is not at present known what has become of this collation. 



81 


Sect. II. ^ 3.J Containing the Septuagint Version. 

IV. The Codex Cjesareus (which is also frequently called the Co¬ 
dex Argenteus, and Codex Argenteo-Purpureus, because it is 
written in silver letters on purple vellum), is preserved in the Imperial 
Library at Vienna. The letters are beautiful but thick, partly round and 
partly square. In size, it approximates to the quarto form : it consists 
of twenty-six leaves only, the first twenty-four of which contain a frag¬ 
ment of the book of Genesis, viz. from chapter iii. 4. to chap. viii. 
24.: the two last contain a fragment of St. Luke’s Gospel, viz. chap- 
- ter xxiv. verses 21—49. In Wetstein’s critical edition of the Greek 
New Testament, these two leaves are denoted by the letter N. The 
first twenty-four loaves are ornamented with forty-eight curious mi¬ 
niature paintings, which Lambecius refers to the age of Constantine; 
but, from the shape of the letters, this manuscript is rather to be as¬ 
signed to the end of the fifth or the beginning of the sixth century. 
In these pictures, the divine prescience and providence are repre¬ 
sented by a hand proceeding out of a cloud : and they exhibit inte¬ 
resting specimens of the habits, customs, and amusements of those 
early times. 1 From the occurrence of the words xiruvag ( kitonas ) 
instead of (chitanas), and A8i[xsXsx (Abimelek) instead of A/3i- 

ja;Xs^ (Abmelech), Dr. Holmes is of opinion that this manuscript was 
written by dictation. Vowels, consonants, &c. are interchanged in 
the same manner as in the Codex Cottonianus, and similar abbrevia¬ 
tions are likewise found in it. In some of its readings the Codex 
Caesareus resembles the Alexandrian manuscript. In his letter to the 
Bishop of Durham, published in 1795, and containing a specimen of 
his proposed new edition of the Septuagint version with various lec¬ 
tions, 2 Dr. Holmes printed the entire text of this MS. which had been 
collated and revised for him by Professor Alter, of Vienna : and he 
also gave an engraved fac-simile, of the whole of its seventh page. 
From this fac-simile our specimen is copied in Plate 5. No. 2. It is 
the seventeenth verse of the fourteenth chapter of the book of Gene¬ 
sis, and runs thus in ordinary Greek characters. 


1 The whole forty-eight embellishments are engraven in the third volume of Lam- 
becius’s Commentariorum de augustissima bibliotheca Cresarea-Vindobonensi libri 
viii. (Vindobonae 1665—1679, folio, 8 vols.) They are also republished in Nesseli- 
us's Breviarum et Supplementum Commentariorum bibliothecae Caesareae-Vindo- 
bonensis (Vindobonae, (5 parts in 2 vols. folio), vol. 1. pp. 55—102: and again in 
the third book or volume of Kollarius’s second edition of Lambecius’s Commentarii 
(Vindobonae, 1766—1782, 8 vols. folio.) Montfaucon’s fac-simile of the type (Pa- 
laeographia Graeca, p. 194.) has been made familiar to English readers by a portion 
of it which has been copied by Mr. Astle (on the Origin of Writing, plate iii. p. 
70.) : but his engraver is said by Mr. Dibdin (Bibliographical Decameron, vol. i. p. 
xliv.) to have deviated from the original, and to have executed the fac-simile in too 
heavy a manner. Mr. D. has himself given a most beautiful fac-simile of one of 
the pictures of this MS. in the third volume of his Bibliographical and Antiquarian 
Tour in France and Germany. 

- Honorabili et admodum Iteverendo, Shute Barrington, LL. D. Episcopo Du- 
nelmensi, Epistola, complexa Genesin ex Codice Purpureo-Argenteo Caesareo- 
Vindobonensi expressam. et Testamenti Veteris Graeci, Versionis Septuaginta- 
viralis cum Variis Lectionibus denuo edendi, Specimen. Dedit Robertus Holmes, 
S. T. P. e Collcffio Novo, et nuperriine Publicus in Academia Oxoniensi Poetices 
Projector. Oxonii, MDCCXCV. folio. 

VOL. II. 1 1 



82 


Account of Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II. 

EsHAeENAE-BASIAEYZSOAOMftNEIZSYN 
ANTHEINAYTIiMETATOANASTPE'TAIAYTo 
AnOTHSKOnHST&NBASIAEttN-EESTHN 
KOIAAAATHNSAYH: 

In English, thus, as nearly as the idiom of our language will allow: 

Andtheringofsodomwentout-tome 

ETHIMAFTERHISRETUR* 
FROMTHESLAUGHTEROFTHEKINGSTOTHE 
VALLEYOFSAVE: 

V. The Codex Ambrosianus derives its name from the Ambro¬ 
sian Library at Milan, where it is preserved ; it is probably as old as 
the seventh century. This manuscript is a large square quarto (by 
Montfaucon erroneously termed a folio), written in three columns in a 
round uncial character. The accents and spirits however have evi¬ 
dently been added by a later hand. 

VI. The Codex Coislinianus originally belonged to M. Seguier, 

Chancellor of France in the middle of the seventeenth century, a 
munificent collector of biblical manuscripts, from whom it passed, by 
hereditary succession, to the Due de Coislin. From his library it 
was transferred into that of the monastery of Saint Germain-Des-Prez, 
and thence into the royal Library at Paris, where it now is. Accord¬ 
ing to Montfaucon, by whom it is particularly described, 1 it is in quar¬ 
to, and was written in a beautiful round uncial character, in the sixth, 
or at the latest in the seventh century. But the accents and spirits 
have been added by a comparatively recent hand. It consists of two 
hundred and twenty-six leaves of vellum, and formerly contained the 
octateuch (that is the five books of Moses, and those of Joshua, 
Judges, and Ruth), the two books of Samuel and the two books of 
Rings : but it is now considerably mutilated by the injuries of time. 
The copyist was totally ignorant of Hebrew, as is evident from the 
following inscription, which he has placed at the beginning of the 
book of Genesis : — itagu. Efigcaoig, 0 rfsg s<jriv sgfisvsvofisvov, Xo- 

yoi r,[isguv, — that is, in Hebrew, which being interpreted is 

(or means) the Words of Days, or the history of the days, i. e. the 
history of the six days’ work of creation. This word BagnireS ( Bare - 
seth) is no other than the Hebrew word flWOD (bcreshith) in the 
beginning, which is the first word in the book of Genesis. Mont¬ 
faucon further observed that this manuscript contained readings very 
similar to those of the Codex Alexandrians ; and his remark is con¬ 
firmed by Dr. Holmes, so far as respects the Pentateuch. 

VII. The Codex Basilio-Vaticanus is the last of the MSS. in 
uncial characters collated by Dr. H. It formerly belonged to a mo¬ 
nastery in Calabria, whence it was transferred by Pietro Memniti, su¬ 
perior of the monks of the order of Saint Basil at Rome into the li¬ 
brary of his monastery; and thence it passed into the papal library of 


1 Bibliotheca Coisliniana, olim Seguieriana, folio, Paris, 1732. 




Sect. II. § 4.] Containing the New Testament. 8$ 

the Vatican, where it is now numbered 2,106. It is written on vel¬ 
lum, in oblong leaning uncial characters; and according to Montfau- 
con was executed in the ninth century. Dr. Holmes considers it to 
be a manuscript of considerable value and importance, which, though 
in many respects it corresponds with other MSS. collated by him, 
yet contains some valuable lections which are no where else to be 
found. On this account it is to be regretted that the Codex Basilio- 
Vaticanus is imperfect both at the beginning and end. 

VIII. The Codex Turicensis is numbered 262 in Mr. Parson’s 
catalogue of MSS. collated for the book of Psalms, in his continu¬ 
ation of the magnificent edition of the Septuagint commenced by the 
late Rev. Dr. Holmes. It is a quarto manuscript of the book of 
Psalms, the writing of which proves it to have been executed at 
least in the eleventh century, if not much earlier ; and consists of two 
hundred and twenty-two leaves of extremely thin purple vellum - 7 
and the silver characters and golden initial letters are in many parts 
so decayed by the consuming hand of time, as to be with difficulty 
legible. The portions of the psalms wanting in this MS. are Psal. 
i. —xxv.; xxx. 1. — xxxvi. 20.; xli. 5. — xliii. 2.; Iviii. 13. — 
lix. 4.; lxiv. 11. lxxi. 4.; xcii. 3. —xciil. 7. and xcvi. 12.—xcvii. 8. 
Several of the antient ecclesiastical hymns, which form part of this 
MS., are also mutilated. It is, however, consolatory to know that 
those portions of the psalms which are deficient in the Codices, Alex- 
andrinus and Vaticanus, may be supplied from the Codex Turicen¬ 
sis : l and this circumstance, it should seem, occasioned the generally 
accurate traveller, Mr. Coxe (whose error has been implicitly copied 
by succeeding writers) to state that the MS. here described once 
formed part of the Codex Vaticanus. 2 


§ 4. ACCOUNT OP THE PRINCIPAL MANUSCRIPTS CONTAINING THE NEW 

TESTAMENT ENTIRE OR IN PART. 

I. The Codex Cottonianas (Titus C. XV., — II. The Codex Bjczce, or 
Cantabrigicnsis. — III. The Codex Ephrcmi. — IV. The Codex 
Claromontanus. — V. The Codex Argenteus. — VI. The Codex Re - 
scriptus of St. Matthew's Gospel in Trinity College , Dublin. — VII. 
The Codex Laudianus 3. — VIII. The Codex Boerncrianus. — IX. 
The Codex Cyprius. — X. The Codex Basileensis E. — XI. The 
Codex San-Germanensis .— XII. The Codex Augicnsis .—XIII. 
The Codex Harlcianus, 5598. — XIV. The Codex Regius or Stc- 
phani r \.— XV. The Codex Uffenbachianus .—XVI. The Codices 
Manncrs-Suttoniani .— XVII. The Codices Mosquenses. — XVIII. 
The Codex Brixiensis. — XIX. Other MSS. written in small cha¬ 
racters and deserving of especial notice, viz. 1. The Codex Basileensis , 

1 The preceding description of the Codex Turicensis is abridged from Professor 
Breitinger’s scarce tract, addressed to Cardinal Quirini, and entitled “ De antiquis- 
simo Turicensis Bibliothecae Graeco Psalmorum Libro, in Membrana purpurea 
titulis aureis ac litteris argenteis exarato Epistola. Turici. MDCCXLV III. - ' 4to. 

2 See Coxe’s Travels in Switzerland, in Pinkerton's Collection of Voyages and 
Travels, vol. vi. p. 672. 4to. 






84 


Account of the Principal Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. If. 

1. — 2. The Codex Corsendonccnsis. — 3. The Codex Montf ortianus, 

— 4. The Codex Regius, 50. — 5. The Codex Leicestrends. — 0. 

The Codex Vindobonensis. — 7. The Codex Ebnerianus . — XX. 

Notice of the Collations of the Barberini and Velesian Manuscripts . 

THE autographs, or manuscripts of the New Testament, which 
were written either by the apostles themselves, or by amanuenses 
under their immediate inspection, 1 have long since perished ; and 
we have no information whatever concerning their history. The 
pretended autograph of St. Mark’s Gospel at Venice is now known 
to be nothing more than a copy of the Latin version, 2 and no ex¬ 
isting manuscripts of the New Testament can be traced higher than 
the fourth century ; and most of them are of still later date. Some 
contain the whole of the New Testament; others comprise par¬ 
ticular books or fragments of books; and there are several which 
contain, not whole books arranged according to their usual order, but 
detached portions or lessons (avayvwtfsjg), appointed to be read on 
certain days in the public service of the Christian church ; from 
which again whole books have been put together. These are called 
Lectionaria , and are of two sorts: 1 . Evangelisteria , containing 
lessons from the four Gospels ; and, 2. Apostolus , comprising lessons 
from the Acts and Epistles, and sometimes only the Epistles them¬ 
selves. When a manuscript contains both parts, Michaelis says 
that it is called Apostolo-Evangelion. Forty-six Evangelisteria were 
collated by Griesbach for the four Gospels of his edition of the New 
Testament; and seven Lectionaria or Apostoli, for the Acts and 
Epistles. 3 Some manuscripts, again, have not only the Greek text, 
but are accompanied widi a version, which is either interlined, or in 
a parallel column : these are called Codices Bilingues. The great¬ 
est number is in Greek and Latin; and the Latin version is, in gene¬ 
ral, one of those which existed before the time of Jerome. As there 
are extant Syriac-Arabic and Gothic-Latin manuscripts, Michaelis 
thinks it probable that there formerly existed Greek-Syriac, Greek- 
Gothic, and other manuscripts of that kind, in which the original and 
some version were written together. 4 Where a transcriber, instead 
of copying from one and the same antient manuscript; selects from 
several those readings, which appear to him to be the best, the man¬ 
uscript so transcribed is termed a Codex Criticus. 

1 Saint Paul dictated most of his epistles to amanuenses; but, to prevent the 
circulation of spurious letters, he wrote the concluding benediction with his own 
hand. Compare Rom. xvi. 22. Gal. vi. 11. and 2 Thess. iii. 17,18. with 1 Cor. 
xvi. 21. 

2 'See Vol. IV. Part II. Ch. II. Sect. III. § V. infra. 

3 Griesbach, Proleg. ad. Nov. Test. tom. i. pp. cxix.—cxxii. In the second vo¬ 
lume of his Symbol® Critic® (pp. 3—30.) Dr. G. has described eleven important 
Evangelisteria, which had either been not collated before, or were newly examined 
and collated by himself. Michaelis, vol. ii. part i. pp. 161—163. part ii 639, 640. 
The Rev. T. F. Dibdin has described a superb Evangelisterium, and has given 
fac*similes of its ornaments, in the first volume of his Bibliographical Decameron, 
pp. xcii.—xciv. This precious manuscript is supposed to have been written at 
the close of the eleventh, or early in the thirteenth century. The illuminations 
are executed with singular beauty and delicacy. 

4 Introduction to the New Test., vol. ii. part i. p. 164. 



plate .m . 


ITA© gMEHLHS. 


/ 0/7/)e Codr/r Cot/umum/s Titus CXVj 

John XIV. 6. 

KereiAyTcpoit* 

6 rCD 61 M 6 lHO 

ax>ckmh\\h 

ejXKxm^cuH 

oyAjcepcexs. 

TTpOCTOI ltTPc\ 

6 lMHA, 16 MOr 


Of fie Codeaf //trr/eurt/m' 



W S-V*- .Mm JW» 

' - II f \ » 


/ 


rX 


n oyA-eiceui) 
fAKenwnoT| 

^MONOrfNHtyC 

OVVNflCTONKOA 

noNToynfffKfi 

NOfElhTHfATO- 


> 3 . Of*dc Codur Ci/prius. 


V^Af^RR^TVV’N-TH6ai(j)VVCK0Y fHnCMl ^ 

CABBATWN m chlVlAfUHHI \rjy aAHNH 


Havnn S 





/ Jf'fbe Codeov CoJonianiw ( 

John X/V. 

AereiAyT 

ercD 6 iM( 

AO C KM 

eiAKxm 

oyxicep 

TTjpOCTO 

6l M HA.16 

OvfAff^EKi 








85 


Sect. II. 4.] Containing the New Testament. 

Besides the Alexandrian and Vatican manuscripts which have been 
already described, 1 the following are the principal manuscripts of the 
Aev\ I estainent, ol every description, which are more peculiarly 
worthy of notice. 

t I. The Codex Cottonianus (Titus C. XV.), preserved in the 
Cottonian Library in the British Museum, is a most precious frag¬ 
ment of the four Gospels, written in silver letters on a faded purple 
ground. It is one ot the oldest (it not the most antient) manuscript 
ol any part of the New Testament that is extant; and contains, 

(I.) Part of Saint Matthew’s Gospel, beginning at Chapter XXVI. 
v. 57. and ending with v. 65. of the same Chapter. 

(~0 Part of the same Gospel, beginning at Chapter XXVII. v. 
and ending with v. 34. of the same Chapter. 

(3.) Part of Saint John’s Gospel, beginning at Chapter XIV. v. 2. 
and ending with v. 10. of the same Chapter. 

(4.) Part of the same Gospel, beginning at Chapter XV. r. 15. 
and ending with v. 22. of the same Chapter. 

In the accompanying Plate 3. No. 1. we have given a fac-simile 
of John xiv. 6. from this manuscript, of which the following is a re¬ 
presentation in ordinary Greek characters, with the corresponding 
literal English version. 


AErEIATTPOIs 

ErnEIMEIHO 

A02KAIIIAAH 

©IAKAIHZQH 

OTAISEPXETai 

nposTONrirPA 

EIMHaIEMOy 


SaITHUNTOIIIMJs 

lAMTIIEW 

AYANDTHETRU 

TIIANDTHELIFE 

NOMANCOMEth 

UNTOTHEFTHr 

BUTBYMe 


The words IH20T2 (Jesus) ©E02 (GW), KTPI02 (Lord), TI02 
(Son) and 2f2THP (Saviour), are written in letters of gold ; the three 
first with contractions similar to those in the Codex Alexandrinus, 
and Codex Bezae. This precious fragment is acknowledged to have 
been executed at the end of the fourth, or at the latest in the begin¬ 
ning of the fifth century. 

II. The Codex Bezje, also called the Codex Cantabrigiensis, 
is a Greek and Latin manuscript, containing the four gospels and 
the acts of the apostles. It is deposited in the public library of the 
university of Cambridge, to which it was presented by the celebrated 
Theodore Beza, in the year 1581. Of this manuscript, which is 
written on vellum, in quarto, without accents or marks of aspira¬ 
tion, or spaces between the words, the accompanying fac-simile will 
convey an idea. It represents the first three verses of the fifth 
chapter of Saint Matthew’s Gospel, which are copied from Dr. Kip- 


1 See pp. 66—73. of this volume for an account of the Alexandrian Manuscript 
and pp. 73—77. for that of the Vatican. 





86 


Account of the Principal Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II. 

lings fac-simile edition of the Codex Bezae, published at Cambridge 
in 1793, of which an account is given in p. 89. infra. We have 
placed the Latin under the Greek, in order to bring the whole within 
the compass of an octavo page. The following is a literal English 
version of this fac-simile. 


Matt. V. 1—3. 

ANDSEEINGTHEMULTITUDESHEWENTUPINTOAMOUNTAIN 

ANDWHENHE wassetdowncametohim 
HISDISCIPLESANDOPENINGHISMOUTH * 

HETAUGHTTHEMSAYING 

_t 

BLESSEDAiLETHEPOORINSPT:FORTHEIRSIS 

THEKINGDOMOFHEAVEN. 

Sixty-six leaves of this manuscript are much torn and mutilated, 
and ten of them have been supplied by a later transcriber. 

The Codex Bezae is noted with the letter D. by Wetstein and 
Griesbach. In the Greek it is defective, from the beginning to 
Matt. i. 20., and in the Latin to Matt. i. 12. In the Latin it has 
likewise the following chasms, viz. Matt. vi. 20. — ix. 2.; Matt, xxvii. 

1—12.; John i. 16. — ii. 26.; Acts viii. 29. —x. 14.; xxii. 10— 
20.; and from xxii. 29. to the end. The Gospels are arranged in 
the usual order of the Latin manuscripts, Matthew, John, Luke, 
Mark. It has a considerable number of corrections, some of which 
have been noticed by Dr. Griesbach ; and some of the pages, con¬ 
taining Matt. iii. S— 16. John xviii. 13. —xx. 13. and Mark xv. to 
the end, are written by a later hand, which Wetstein refers to the 
tenth century, but Griesbach to the twelfth. The Latin version is 
that which was in use before the time of Jerome, and is usually call¬ 
ed the Old Italic or Ante-Hieronymian version. In the margin of 
the Greek part of the manuscript there are inserted the Ammonian 
sections, evidently by a later hand; and the words 
Xsys, w5s cV^xs, are occasionally interspersed, indicating the beginning 
and end of the Avayvwtfjut-ara, or lessons read in the church. The 
jubjects discussed in the Gospels are sometimes written in the mar¬ 
gin, sometimes at the top of the page. But all these notations are 
manifestly the work of several persons and of different ages. The 
date of this manuscript has been much contested. Those critics who 
give it the least antiquity, assign it to the sixth or seventh century. 
Wetstein supposed it to be of the fifth century. Michaelis was of 
opinion, that of all the manuscripts now extant, this is the most an- 
tient. Dr. Kipling, the editor of the Cambridge fac-simile, thought 
it much older than the Alexandrian manuscript, and that it must have 
been written in the second century. On comparing it with Greek 
inscriptions of different ages, Bishop Marsh is of opinion that it can¬ 
not have been written later than the sixth century, and that it may 


t Contracted for Spirit. The Greek is ONI, for ONETMATI , and the Laliis 
Spu, for SPIRITD. 




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87 


Sect. II. § 4. ] Containing the New Testament. 

i 

have been written even two or three centuries earlier : and he finally 
considers it prior to all the manuscripts extant, except the Codex 
Vaticanus, and refers it to the fifth century, which perhaps is the 
true date, if an opinion may be hazarded where so much uncertainty 
prevails. 

Wetstein was of opinion, from eleven coincidences which he 
thought he had discovered, that this was the identical manuscript col¬ 
lated at Alexandria in 616, for the Philoxenian or later Syriac version 
of the New Testament; but this is a groundless supposition. It is 
however worthy of remark, that many of the readings by which the 
Codex Bezae is distinguished are found in the Syriac, Coptic, Sahi- 
dic, and in the margin of the Philoxenian-Syriac version. As the 
readings of this manuscript frequently agree with the Latin versions 
before the time of St. Jerome, and with the Vulgate or present Latin 
translation, Wetstein was of opinion that the Greek text was altered 
from the Latin version, or, in other words, that the writer of the Co¬ 
dex Bezae departed from the lections of the Greek manuscript or 
manuscripts whence he copied, and introduced in their stead, from 
some Latin version, readings which were warranted by no Greek ma¬ 
nuscript. This charge Sender, Michaelis, Griesbach, and Bishop 
Marsh have endeavoured to refute ; and their verdict has been gene¬ 
rally received. Matthaei, however, revived the charge of Wetstein, 
and considered the text as extremely corrupt, and suspected that 
some Latin monk, who was but indifferently skilled in Greek, wrote 
in the margin of his New Testament various passages from the Greek 
and Latin fathers, which seemed to refer to particular passages. He 
further thought that this monk had noted the differences occurring in 
some Greek and Latin manuscripts of the New Testament, and add¬ 
ed parallel passages of Scripture : and that from this farrago either 
the monk himself, or some other person, manufactured his text 
(whether foolishly or fraudulently is uncertain,) of which the Codex 
Bezae is a copy. But this suspicion of Matthaei has been little re¬ 
garded in Germany, where he incurred the antipathy of the most 
eminent biblical critics, by vilifying the sources of various readings 
from which he had it not in his power to draw, when he began to 
publish his edition of the New Testament; giving to the Codex Be¬ 
zae, the Codex Claromontanus (noticed in p. 90. infra,) and other 
manuscripts of unquestionable antiquity, the appellation of Editia 
Scurrilis. 1 Bishop Middleton, however, considers the judgment of 
Michaelis as approximating very near to the truth, and has given a 
collation of numerous passages of the received text with the Codex 
Bezae; and the result of his examination, which does not admit of 
abridgment, is, that the Codex Bezae, though a most venerable re¬ 
main of antiquity, is not to be considered, in a critical view, as of 
much authority. He accounts for the goodness of its readings, con¬ 
sidered with regard to the sense, by the natural supposition of the 
great antiquity of the manuscript, which was the basis of the Codex 


1 Bp. Marsh’s Lectures, part ii. pp. 30, 31 



ss 


Account of the principal Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II 

Bezae; but while its latinising is admitted, he contends that we have 
no reason to infer that its readings, considered in the same light, are 
therefore faulty. The learned prelate concludes with subscribing to 
the opinion of Matthaei somewhat modified. He believes that no 
fraud was intended ; but only that the critical possessor of the basis 
filled its margin with glosses and readings chiefly from the Latin, 
being a Christian of the Western Church ; and that the whole col¬ 
lection of Latin passages was translated into Greek, and substituted 
in the text by some one who had a high opinion of their value, and 
who was better skilled in calligraphy than in the Greek and Latin 
languages. 1 The arguments and evidences adduced by Bishop Mid¬ 
dleton, we believe, are by many, at least in England, considered so 
conclusive, that, though the antiquity of the manuscript is fully admit¬ 
ted, yet it must be deemed a latinising manuscript, and consequently 
is of comparatively little critical value. 

At the time Beza presented this manuscript to the university of 
Cambridge, it had been in his possession about nineteen years ; and 
in his letter to that learned body he says, that it was found in the 
monastery of Saint Irenaeus at Lyons, where it had lain concealed for 
a long time. But how it came there, and in what place it was writ¬ 
ten, are questions concerning which nothing certain is known. The 
most generally received opinion is, that it was written in the west 
of Europe. 

The Cambridge manuscript has been repeatedly collated by criti¬ 
cal editors of the New Testament. Robert Stephens made extracts 
from it, though with no great accuracy, under the title of Codex /3, 
for his edition of the Greek Testament, of 1550; as Beza also did 
for his own edition published in 1582. Since it was sent to the uni¬ 
versity of Cambridge, it has been more accurately collated by Junius, 
whose extracts were used by Curcellaeus and father Morin. A 
fourth and more accurate collation of it was made, at the instigation 
of Archbishop Usher, and the extracts were inserted in the sixth 
volume of the London Polyglott, edited by Bishop Walton. Dr. 
Mill collated it a fifth and sixth time ; but that his extracts are fre¬ 
quently defective, and sometimes erroneous, appears from comparing 
them with Wetstein’s New Testament, and from a new collation 
which was made, about the year 1733, by Mr. Dickenson of Saint 
John’s College; which is now preserved in the library of Jesus’ Col¬ 
lege, where it is marked O, 0, 2. Wetstein’s extracts are also very 
incorrect, as appears from comparing them with the manuscript itself. 2 

In concluding our account of this antient manuscript, it only re¬ 
mains to notice the splendid fac-simile of the Codex Bezae, published 
by the Rev. Dr. Kipling at Cambridge, under the patronage and at 
the expense of the university, in 2 vols. atlas folio. Its title is as 
follows : 


1 Bishop Middleton on the Greek Article, pp. G77—698. 

2 Millii Prolegomena, §§ 1268—1273. Griesbach, Symbol* Critic®, tom. i. pp 
iv.— txiv. Michaelis, vol. iii. part i. pp. 228—242, and part ii. pp. 679—721. 




Sect. II. § 4.] Containing the New Testament. 


\ 


89 


CODEX. THEODORI. BEZjE. CANTABRIGIENSIS. EVANGELIA. ET. ACTA. 
APOSTOLORUM. COMPLECTENS. QUADRATIS. LITERIS. GRvECO-LATINUS. 
ACADEMIA. AUSPICANTE. VENERAND.'E. HAS. VETUSTATIS. RELIQUIA8, 
SUMMA. QUA. FIDE. POTUIT. ADIJMBRAVIT. EXPRESSIT. EDIDIT. CODICIS, 
HISTORIAM. PRASFIXIT. NOTASQUE. ADJECIT. THOMAS KIPLING. S. T. P. 
COLL. DIV. JOAN. NUPER. SOCIUS. CANTABRIGIA3. E. PRELO. ACADEMICO. 
IMPENSIS. ACADEMICS. MDCCXCIII. 

This fac-simile is executed with the utmost typographical splen¬ 
dour. In a preface of twenty-eight pages, the learned editor dis¬ 
cusses the high antiquity of the manuscript; its nature and excel¬ 
lence ; its migrations; the various collations of it which have been 
made at different times ; and concludes with a very brief description 
of the manuscript itself, and an Index Capitum. To this succeeds 
the text of the manuscript, which is divided into two parts or volumes; 
the first ending with page 412. and the second containing pages 413 
to 828. Opposite to the modern supplement, which concludes the 
Gospels, on page 657. is the end of the Latin version of St. John’s 
third Epistle. Pages 829. to 854. contain Dr. Kipling’s notes. The 
impression of this fac-simile was limited to two hundred and fifty; 
and it usually sells for six or eight guineas, according to the condition 
and binding of the copies. Dr. Harwood regulated the text of the 
Gospels and Acts, in his edition of the Greek Testament, chiefly 
according to the readings of the Codex Bezae; which was so highly 
valued by the learned but eccentric divine, Whiston, that in his “ Pri¬ 
mitive New Testament in English,” (8vo. Stamford and London, 
1745,) he has translated the four Gospels and Acts literally from this 
manuscript. Dr. A. Clarke, in his commentary on the New Testament, 
has paid very particular attention to the readings of the Codex Bezae, 

Although the execution of this noble undertaking did not answer 
the expectations of some learned men, 1 in consequence of which it 
was held in comparatively little estimation for many years, yet its 
value is now more justly appreciated. “ A critic of the first celebrity, 
who would have gladly seized an opportunity of exposing Dr. Kip¬ 
ling, was unable to detect the smallest error in the text. Porson 
himself collated the printed copy with the original manuscript: and 
the only fault he could detect, was in a single letter of the margin, 
This fact must surely place the value of Dr. Kipling’s publication far 
beyond the reach of controversy.” 2 

III. The Codex Ephremi, or Codex Regius, 1905, (at present 
9,) by Wetstein and Griesbach noted with the letter C., is an in¬ 
valuable Codex Rescriptus, written on vellum, and is of very high 
antiquity. The first part of this manuscript contains several Greek 
works of Ephrem the Syrian, written over some more antient writings 
which had been erased, though the traces are still visible, and in most 


1 Dr. Kipling’s fac-simile was criticised, with great severity, in the Monthly 
Review, (N. S.) vol. xii. pp. 241—246. And his preface was attacked, in no very 
courteous manner, in a pamphlet entitled ‘ Remarks on Dr. Kipling’s Preface to 
Beza. Part the First. By Thomas Edwards, LL. D.’ 8vo. 1793. No second part 
ever appeared. 

2 British Critic (N- S.) vol xi. p. 619. 

yov ji. 12 



90 


Account of the principal Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II. 

places legible. These more antient writings were the entire Greek 
Bible. In the New Testament, there are very numerous chasms, 
which are specified by Wetstein, from whom they have been copied 
by Michaelis and Griesbach. The text is not divided into columns ; 
the uncial characters are larger than those of the Codex Alexandri- 
nus, without accents, and the words are not divided. There are large 
initial letters at the beginning of each section ; and the text is some¬ 
times divided into/articles, not much larger than our verses. A small 
cross indicates the end of a division 5 a full point below a letter is 
equivalent to a comma, and in the middle to a semicolon. The 
Gospels follow the divisions of Ammonius, and also have the ‘nrXor, a 
prima manu; the sections of the epistles sometimes agree with the 
avayvwtfsjs or lessons occurring in the MSS. which are known to have 
been written in Egypt. The titles and subscriptions to the several 
books are very brief, without any of the additions which are some¬ 
times found in the Codex Alexandrinus. The Codex Ephremi ex¬ 
hibits the text of the Alexandrine Recension in its greatest purity, 
and numerous other indications of its Egyptian origin. In this ma¬ 
nuscript the disputed verse, John v. 4., is written, not in the text, but 
as a marginal scholion. Wetstein conjectured, that this was one ol 
the manuscripts that were collated at Alexandria in 616 with the 
new Syriac version ; but of this there is no evidence. From a mar¬ 
ginal note to Heb. viii. 7. the same critic also argued, that it was 
written before the institution of the feast of the Virgin Mary; that is, 
before the year 542. But his arguments are not considered as 
wholly decisive by Michaelis, who only asserts its great antiquity in 
general terms. Bishop Marsh pronounces it to be at least as antient 
as the sevendi century : and professor Hug considers it to be even 
older than the Codex Alexandrinus. The readings of the Codex 
Ephremi, like those of all other very antient manuscripts, are in fa¬ 
vour of the Latin ; but there is no satisfactory’ evidence that it has 
been corrupted from the Latin version. It has been altered by a 
critical collator, who, according to Griesbach, must have lived many 
years after the time when the manuscript was written, and who pro¬ 
bably erased many of the antient readings. Kuster was the first who 
procured extracts from this manuscript for his edition of Dr. Mill’s 
Greek Testament. Wetstein has collated it with very sreat accura- 

» u 

cy; and the numerous readings he has quoted from it greatly en¬ 
hance the value of his edition . 1 

IV. The Codex Claromontanus, or Regius 2245, is a Greek- 
Latin manuscript of St. Paul’s Epistles, found in the monastery of 
Clermont, in the diocese of Beauvais, and used by Beza, together 
with the Codex Cantabrigiensis, in preparing his edition of the New 
Testament. It follows the Western Recension, and is noted D. by 
Wetstein and Griesb ach in the second volumes of their respective 

1 Wetstenii Nov. Test. tom. i. proleg. pp. 27—23. Griesbach’s Svmb. Crit. tom 
i. pp. i.—liv. and Nov. Test. tom. i. pp. ci. cii. Michaelis, vol. ii. part i. pp. 258 
—260. part ii. pp. 737, 738. Cellerier, Introduction au Nouv. Test. pp. 134, 135. 
See also the Palceographia Grseca of Montfaucon (pp. 213. 214.) who has given a 
fac-siniile of this manuscript. 



91 


Sect. II. § 4.] Containing the JYew Testament, 

editions of the Greek Testament. Sabatier supposes it to be written 
in the sixth century; Montfaucon places it in the seventh century ; 
and Griesbach thinks it was written in the sixth or seventh century. 
This manuscript is written on vellum in uncial characters, and with 
accents and marks of aspiration added by another hand, but of great 
antiquity. As it contains the Epistle to the Hebrews, which has 
been added by a later hand, it is supposed to have been written in 
the west of Europe. Dr. Mill contended that the Codex Claromon- 
tanus was the second part of the Codex Bezae ; but this opinion has 
been confuted by Wetstein, who has shown that the former is by no 
means connected with the latter, as appears from the difference of 
their form, their orthography, and the nature of the vellum on which 
they are written. Bishop Marsh adds, on the authority of a gentle¬ 
man who had examined both manuscripts, that the Codex Claromon- 
tanus contains only twenty-one lines in each page, while the Cam¬ 
bridge manuscript contains thirty-three lines in a page ; the abbrevia¬ 
tions in the two manuscripts are also different. The Codex Claro- 
montanus, like other Greek-Latin manuscripts, has been accused of 
having a Greek Text, that has been altered from the Latin ; but this 
charge has been satisfactorily refuted by Dr. Semler. The migra¬ 
tions of this manuscript are somewhat remarkable. From the hands 
ofBeza it went into the Putean library, which derived its name from 
the family of De Puy. Jacques Du Puy, who was librarian to the 
king of France, and died in 1656, bequeathed it, together with his 
other manuscripts, to the royal library at Paris, where it is now T pre¬ 
served, and at present is marked 107. According to the accounts of 
Wetstein and Sabatier, thirty-six leaves were cut out of it at the 
beginning of the last century (it is supposed by John Aymon, a noto¬ 
rious literary thief of that time,) and were sold in England ; but they 
were sent back by the Earl of Oxford in 1729. The manuscript 
therefore is once more complete, as the covering only is wanting in 
which the stolen sheets had been enclosed, which is kept in the 
British Museum, and filled with the tetters that passed on the occa¬ 
sion, as a monument of this infamous theft. 1 

V. The Codex Argenteus is a manuscript containing the four 
Gospels, in the Gothic version of Ulphilas, 2 which is preserved in the 
university of Upsal. It is written on vellum, and has received the 
name of Argenteus from its silver letters : it is of a quarto size, and 
the vellum leaves are stained with a violet colour ; and on this ground 
the tetters, which are all uncial or capitals, were afterwards painted 
in silver, except the initial characters and a few other passages, 
-which are in gold. The cover and back of the volume are of silver 
embossed. From the deep impression of the strokes, Michaelis has 
conjectured that the tetters were either imprinted with a warm iron, 
or cut with a graver, and afterwards coloured ; but Mr. Coxe, (with 
whom the late eminent traveller Dr. E. D. Clarke, seems to coin- 

1 Michaelis, vol. ii. part i. pp. 244—248. part ii. pp. 724—728. Griesbach, 
Symbolic Critic®, tom. i. pp.lv.—lxiv. 

2 See an account of this version infra , Chap- V. Sect. II. § II. No. 1, 



92 


Account of the principal Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II. 

cide,) after a very minute examination, was convinced that each let¬ 
ter was painted, and not formed in the manner supposed by Michaelis. 
Most of the silver letters have become green by time, but the golden 
letters are still in good preservation. We have no knowledge of this 
important manuscript prior to the discovery of it in the Abbey of 
Werden in Westphalia, whence it was taken to Prague. In the 
year 1648, when that city was stormed by the Swedes, it fell into 
the hands of a Swedish count, who presented it to his sovereign, 
queen Christina. After remaining some time in her library, during 
the confusion which preceded her abdication of the throne of Swe¬ 
den, it suddenly and unaccountably disappeared, and was again 
brought to light in the Netherlands. Some have supposed that the 
celebrated Isaac Vossius received it as a present from the Queen; 
others, that he brought it away by stealth. After his death, however, 
it was purchased for six hundred dollars by Count Magnus Gabriel 
de la Gardie, who presented it to the university of Upsal, where it at 
present remains. The following cut is a faithful fac-simile of the 
characters of the Codex Argenteus : it was traced from the manu¬ 
script itself for the late Dr. E. D. Clarke, and is the most correct 
fac-simile known to be extant. It corresponds with our version of 
Luke xviii. 17. Verily , I say unto you , Whosoever shall not re¬ 
ceive the kingdom of God as a little child , shall in no wise enter 
therein. It is worthy of remark, that, in the Codex Argenteus, the 
well known old Saxon or Gothic word Barn is used to signify the 
original word Ilai&ov, a little child. 

AM6N OEipA feVIS. SA6! H\ 

ANANIMRp ^ I n a A NPAKA£A 

Https SVS ft ARM. MI CIMRp 

Tn iZai: 

Concerning the age of this venerable manuscript critics are by no 
means agreed. Some of the zealous advocates for its antiquity have 
maintained that it is die very copy which Ulphilas wrote with his 
own hand. The librarian by whom it was exhibited to Dr. Clarke, 
stated it to have been completed about the end of the fourth century 
by a bishop of Thrace, in the Gothic language used at that time in 
Mcesia. This brings its age very nearly, if not quite, to the time 
when Ulphilas lived : but it is not likely — indeed it is utterly im¬ 
probable — that the only copy of the Gothic translation of the 
Gospels, which is now extant, should be precisely the original. 
What proves that this cannot be the identical MS. of Ulphilas, is the 
fact, that several various readings have been discovered in the mar¬ 
gin, a circumstance which clearly shows that it must have been writ¬ 
ten at a time when several transcripts had been already made. 

Some fragments of the Gothic version of St. Paul’s Epistle to the 


93 


Sect. II. § 4.] Containing the jYew Testament. 

Romans were discovered by M. Knittel, in the year 1756, in a Co¬ 
dex Rescriptus belonging to the library of the Duke of Brunswick at 
Wolfenbiittel: they were published by him in 1762, and reprinted in 
1763, in 4to. at Upsal, with notes by Ihre. The Brunswick manu¬ 
script contains the version of Ulphilas in one column, and a Latin 
translation in the other : it is on vellum, and is supposed to be of the 
sixth century. In the eighth or ninth century, the Origines Isidori 
Hispalensis were written over the translation of Ulphilas ; but the ink 
had become so exceedingly pale as not to admit of deciphering the 
original manuscript, without great difficulty. 1 

In the year 1817, a most important discovery was made among 
the Codices Rescripti, in the Ambrosian library at Milan, by signor 
Angleo Mai', who is at present keeper of the Manuscript-department 
of the Vatican library. While this indefatigable explorer of antient 
literature was examining two Codices Rescripti in the Ambrosian 
library, he was surprised with the discovery of some Gothic writing 
in one of them ; which on further investigation proved to be frag¬ 
ments of the books of Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah. The discovery, 
thus auspiciously made, stimulated him to further inquiries, which 
were rewarded with the discovery of four other Codices Rescripti 
containing portions of the Gothic version. He now associated in his 
researches, signor Carolo Ottavio Castillionei; and to their joint la¬ 
bours we are indebted for a specimen and account 2 of these manu¬ 
scripts from which the following particulars are abridged. 

The first of these five Gothic MSS. (which is noted S. 36.) con¬ 
sists of 204 quarto pages on vellum ; the later writing contains the 
homilies of Gregory the Great on the Prophecies of Ezekiel, which 
from their characters must have been executed before the eighth 
century. Beneath this, in a more antient Gothic hand, are contain¬ 
ed the Epistles of St. Paul to the Romans, 1st and 2d Corinthians, 
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st and 2d of Timothy, Titus, 
and Philemon, together with a fragment of the Gothic Calendar. 
The Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, and to Timo¬ 
thy, are very nearly entire, and form the chief part of this MS.: of 
the other Epistles, considerable fragments only remain. The titles 
of the Epistles may be traced at the heads of the pages where they 
commence. This MS. appears to have been written by two different 
copyists, one of whom wrote more beautifully and correctly than the 
other ; and various readings may be traced in some of the margins, 
written in a smaller hand. Entire leaves have been turned upside 
down by the rcscriber of this MS. A fac-simile specimen of this 

1 Michaelis, vol. ii. pp. 130—153. 631—635. Semler, pp. 70—72. Viser, Herme- 
neut. Nov. Test., vol. ii. part iii. pp. 56—58. Schoell, Histoire Abrege de la Li¬ 
terature Grecque, tom. ii. p. 131. Coxe’s Travels in Russia, &c. vol. iv. pp. 173 
—180. edit. 1802. Dr. E. D. Clarke’s Travels, vol. vi. pp. 183, 184. 4to. 

2 Ulphilae Partium Ineditarum, in Ambrosianis Palimpsestis ab Angelo Maio 
repertarum, Specimen, conjunctis curis ejusdem Maii et Caroli Octavii Castillionoei 
editum, Mediolani, R.egiis Typis, M. DCCC. XIX. 4to. This work is illustrated 
by two plates, the first containing fac-similes of the Codices Rescripti above de¬ 
scribed, (one of which is copied in the accompanying engraving, and the other, a 
fac-simile specimen of a Greek mathematical treatise, in which the names of Ar¬ 
chimedes and Apollonius are mentioned, and which signor Mat discovered under 
some Lombard Latin writing of great antiquity. 



94 


Account of the principal Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II. 

manuscript is given in the accompanying Plate 5. No. I. It repre¬ 
sents the commencement of Paul’s Epistles to the Ephesians, and 
may be thus rendered : The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians begin- 
neth. Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the will of God , 

to the saints who are at Ephesus. , 

The second MS. also, in quarto, and noted S. 45, contains 156 
pages of thinner vellum, the Latin writing on which is of the eighth 
or ninth century, and comprises Jerome’s exposition of Isaiah, len¬ 
der this has been discovered, (though with some difficulty, on ac¬ 
count of the thickness of the Latin characters and the blackness of 
the ink,) the Gothic version of Saint Paul’s two Epistles to the Co¬ 
rinthians, the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, the two 
Epistles to the Thessalonians and to Titus. What is deficient in the 
preceding MS. is found in this, which has some various readings pe¬ 
culiar to itself. 

In the third manuscript, noted G. 82. a quarto Latin volume, con¬ 
taining the plays of Plautus, and part of Seneca’s Tragedies of 
Medea and CEdipus, signor Mai discovered fragments of the Books 
of Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah. This discovery is peculiarly valu¬ 
able, as not the smallest portion of the Gothic version of the Old 
Testament was known to be in existence ; and, further, as it fur¬ 
nishes a complete refutation of the idle tale repeated by Gibbon after 
preceding writers, viz. that Ulphilas prudently suppressed the four 
Books of Kings, as they might tend to irritate the fierce and san¬ 
guinary spirit of his countrymen. 1 The date of the Latin writing of 
this MS. which Mai deciphered with great difficulty, is not specified ; 
but, on comparing his specimen of it with other engraved specimens, 
we are inclined to refer it to the eighth or ninth century. 

The fourth specimen (noted I. 61.) consists of a single sheet, in 
small quarto, containing four pages of part of Saint John’s Gospel 
in Latin, under which are found the very fragments of the twenty- 
fifth, twenty-sixth, and twenty-seventh chapters of Matthew’s Gos¬ 
pel, which are wanting in the celebrated manuscript of the Gothic 
Gospels preserved at Upsal, and usually known by the appellation 
of the Codex Argenteus. 

Th efifth and last manuscript, (noted G. 147.) which has preserved 
some remains of Gothic literature, is a volume of the proceedings of 
the Council of Chalcedon ; under the later writing have been disco¬ 
vered some fragments of antient authors, whose names signor Mai 
has not specified ; and also a fragment of a Gothic Homily, in which 
several passages of the Gospels are cited, and the style of which he 
thinks shows that it was translated from some one of the fathers of 
the Greek church. The characters of this MS. bear a close resem¬ 
blance to those of the Codex Argenteus, at Upsal, which was exe¬ 
cuted in the sixth century. 

The manuscripts above described are written in broad and thick 
characters, without any division of words or of chapters, but with con¬ 
tractions of proper names, similar to those found in antient Greek 
MSS. Some sections, however, have been discovered, which are 
indicated by numeral marks or larger spaces, and sometimes by large 
letters. Th e Gothic writing is referred to the sixth century. 

l Decline and Fall, vol. vi. p. 269. 








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95 


Sect. II. § 4.] Containing the JVew Testament. 


The portions of the Gothic version of the Old and New Testament, 
printed by signors Mai’ and Castillionei, are, I. Nehemiah, chap. v. 
verses 13—18. chap. vi. 14—19. and vii. 1—3. II. A "Fragment of 
Saint Matthew’s Gospel, containing chap. xxv. 38—46. xxvi. 1—3. 
65—75. and xxvii. 1.; this fragment contains the whole of the pas¬ 
sages which are wanting in the Upsal MS. of the four Gospels. 
III. Part of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians, chap. ii. 22—30. 
and iii. 1—16. IV. Saint Paul’s Epistle to Titus, chap. i. 1—16 
ii. 1.; and V. verses 11—23. of his Epistle to Philemon. The 
Gothic text is exhibited on the left hand page, and on the right 
hand page the editors have given a literal Latin translation of it, 
together with the Greek original. Those are succeeded by fragments 
of a Gothic Homily, and Calendar, with Latin translations, Gothic 
alphabet, and a glossary of new Gothic words which they have dis¬ 
covered in the passages which they have printed. 

VI. A very valuable Codex Rescriptus was discovered about 
twenty-five years since by the (late) Rev. Dr. Barrett, senior fellow 
of Trinity College, Dublin. While he was examining different books 
m the library of that college, he accidentally met with a very antient 
Greek manuscript, on certain leaves of which he observed a two-fold 
writing, one antient and the other comparatively recent transcribed 
over the former. The original writing on these leaves had been 
greatly defaced, either by the injuries of time, or by art; on close 
examination he found, that this antient writing consisted of the three 
following fragments: — the Prophet Isaiah, the Evangelist Saint 
Matthew, and certain orations of Gregory Nazianzen. The frag¬ 
ment, containing Saint Matthew’s Gospel, Dr. Barrett carefully tran¬ 
scribed ; and the whole has been accurately engraved in fac-simile 
by the order and at the expense of the University, thus presenting to 
the reader a perfect resemblance of the original. 1 The accompany¬ 
ing engraving is copied from Dr. B.’s first plate. It represents the 
18th and 19th verses of the first chapter of Saint Matthew’s Gospel, 
We have subjoined the same verses in ordinary Greek types, with a 
literal version in parallel columns. 


V. 18. TotaeTtxt HrENEmor 

TflZHNMNHSTEYOEI 
2H2TH2MHTP02AYT0 .. . 
MAPIASTiiiaSH^HPIN 
2YNEA0EINAYTOY2EY 
PHOHENrASTPIEXOTIA- 

EknNSAnor 

V. 19. Irsh^aeoanhpatthe 

AIKAIOSRNKAIMH0EA . . • 
AYTHNAEirMATEIXAI 
EBOYAH0HAA0PAAIIOAY 
2AIAYTHN. 


V. 18. Nowthebirtiiofjschtth 

USWAS'BEINGESPOU 4 

1 

SEDHISMOTHER 

marytojosePHbefore 

THEYCAMETOGETHERSHEWAS 

FOUNDWITIICHILD 

BYTHEHOLYSPT* 

V. 19. JosePHthenherhusband 

beingajustmanandnotwill ... 
tomakeherapublicexample 

WASMINDEDPRIVILYTOPUT 

HERAWAY. 


1 The title of this interesting (and comparatively little known) publication is as 
ibllows ; “ Evangelium Secundum Matthseum ex Codice Rescripto in Bibliotheca 




96 


Account of the Principal Manuscripts [Part I. Cli. II. 

Of the original writing of this manuscript, which Dr. Barrett calls 
the Codex Vetus , only sixty-four leaves remain, in a very mutilated 
state : each page contains one column; and the columns in general 
consist of twenty-one lines, and sometimes (though rarely) of twenty- 
two or twenty-three ; the lines are nearly of equal lengths, and con¬ 
sist, ordinarily, of eighteen or twenty square letters, written on vellum 
originally of a purple colour, but without any points. From these 
two circumstances, as well as from the division of the text, the or¬ 
thography, mode of pointing, abbreviations, and from some other 
considerations, Dr. Barrett, with great probability, fixes its age to the 
sixth century. This manuscript follows the Alexandrine Recension. 
The Codex Recens , or later writing (which contains several tracts of 
some Greek Fathers), he attributes to a scribe of the thirteenth cen¬ 
tury: about which time it became a general practice to erase antient 
writings, and insert others in their place. * 1 

VII. The Codex 2 Laudianus 3, as it is noted by Dr. Mill, but 
noted by the letter E by Wetstein, and *E by Griesbach, is a Greek- 
Latin manuscript of the Acts of the Apostles, in which the Latin 
text is one of those versions which differ from Jerome’s edition, 
having been altered from the particular Greek text of this manu¬ 
script. It is defective from chap. xxvi. 29. to xxviii. 26. 

' This manuscript is erroneously supposed to have been the identical 
book used by the venerable Bede in the seventh century, because it 
has all those irregular readings which, in his Commentaries on the 
Acts, he says were in his book; and no other manuscript is now 
found to have them. There is an extraordinary coincidence between 
it and the old Syriac version of the Acts of the Apostles. Wetstein 
conjectures, from an edict of a Sardinian prince, Flavius Pancratius, 
written at the end of this manuscript, and from several other circum¬ 
stances, that it was written in Sardinia in the seventh century. To 
this conjecture Michaelis is disposed to accede, though Dr. Woide 
supposed it to have been written in the East, because its orthogra¬ 
phy has several properties observable in the Codex Alexandrinus. 
But as these peculiarities are also found in other very antient manu¬ 
scripts, Bishop Marsh considers them as insufficient to warrant the 
inference, especially when we reflect on the great improbability that a 


Collegii SSje. Trinitatis juxta Dublin: Descriptum Opera et Studio Johannis 
Barrett, S. T. P. Soc. Sen. Trin. Coll. Dublin. Cui adjungitur Appendix Colla- 
tionem Codicis Montfortiani complectens. Dublini iEdibus Academicis excudebat 
R. E. Mercier, Academia? Typography. MDCCCI.” 4to. The Prolegomena fill 
fifty-two pages, and comprise, I. A description of the manuscript itself, with an 
account of its age, and the mode of collating it adopted by the learned editor ; and, 
2. An elaborate dissertation reconciling the apparent discrepancies between the 
genealogies of Jesus Christ as recorded by the Evangelists Matthew and Luke. 
The fragments of the Codex Rescriptus are then exhibited in sixty-four fac-simile 
plates, and are also represented in as many pages in the common Greek small type. 
This truly elegant volume concludes with a collation of the Codex Montfortianus 
with Wetstein s edition of the New Testament, which occupies thirty-five paces. 

1 Dr. Barrett’s Prolegomena, pp. 2—9. 

2 So called from Archbishop Laud, who gave this, among many other precious 
manuscripts, to the University of Oxford. It is now preserved in the Bodleian 
library. F. 82. No. 1119. 




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97 


Sect. II. § 4.] Containing the New Testament. 

Greek manuscript written in the East should be accompanied with a 
Latin translation. It will be seen from the annexed fac-simile, 1 which 
represents the chief part of Acts vii. 2., that this Latin translation, 
contrary to the usual arrangement of the Greek-Latin manuscripts, 
occupies the first column of the page. Only one word (or at the ut¬ 
most, two or three words, and that but seldom,) is written in a line, 
and in uncial or capital letters ; and they are so written that each 
Latin word is always opposite to the correspondent Greek word. 
Hence it is evident, that the manuscript was written for the use of a 
person who was not well skilled in both languages ; and as the Latin 
occupies the first column, this circumstance is an additional evidence 
that it was written in the West of Europe, where Latin only was spo¬ 
ken. For the satisfaction of the English reader, the verse in question 
is subjoined in common Roman and Greek capitals, with the corres¬ 
ponding literal English in a third column. 


Ad ille ait 

Oae E4>H 

And he said 

Uiri 

ANAPES 

MEN 

FRATRES 

AAEA4>OI 

BRETHREN 

ET PATRES 

KAI DATEPE2 

AND FATHERS 

AUDITE 

AKOT2ATE 

HEARKEN 

DECS 

0 02 

THE GD 

GLORIJE 

TH2 AOHHZ 

OF GLORY 

UISUS EST 

G4>0H 

APPEARED 

PATRI 

TftriPI 

UNTO THE FTHER 

NOSTRO 

HM&N 

OF US 

ABRAHAE. 

ABPAAM. 

ABRAHAM. 


With regard to the date of this manuscript; — Mr. Astle refers 
it to the beginning of the fifth century; Griesbach to the seventh or 
eighth ; and Mr. Hearne to the eighth century. But from the shape 
of the letters and other circumstances, Bishop Marsh pronounces it to 
be less antient than the Codex Bezae, which was written in the fifth 
century. Probably the end of the sixth or the former part of the 
seventh century may be assigned as the date of the Codex Laudi- 
anus 3. This manuscript is of great value: Michaelis pronounces 
it to be indispensable to every man who would examine the important 
question, whether the Codices Graeco-Latini have been corrupted 
from the Latin, and adds, that it was this manuscript which convinced 
' him that this charge is without foundation. 2 

■ ■ ■ ■ ■— . . ... ■ i i ■ ■ ■—■ — -- ■ ■ ■ ■ . ■■ i . ■■ ■■ - —i — . i -1. . ■ ■ ■ .i 

1 It is copied from Mr. Astle’s work on the Origin of Writing, Plate iv. 

2 Griesbach, Symb. Crit. tom. ii. pp. 181—183. Michaelis, vol. ii. part i. pp. 
269—274. part ii. pp. 747—748. Dr. Woide, Pnefat. ad Cod. Alexandr. pp. xxvi. 
—xxviii. § 76—81. Astle on the Origin of Writing, p. 76. 2d edit. The Greek 
and Latin text of the Codex Laudianus was printed at Oxford by the celebrated 
antiquary, Thomas Hearne, with a specimen of the original characters, with the 
following title. Acta Apostol.orum Grccco-Latinc , Literis Majusculis; c codicc 
Laudiano , characteribus uncialibus exarato, et in Bibliotheca Bodleiana adservato. 
Oxonii. E Theatro Sheldoniano , 1715, 8 vo. This is the scarcest of all Hearne's 
publications ; the impression was limited to one hundred and twenty copies, at ten 

VOL. II. 13 



98 


Account of the principal Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II. 

VIII. The Codex Boernerianus derives its name from Dr. C. F. 
Boerner, to whom it formerly belonged, and is now deposited in the 
royal library at Dresden. It is noted by the letter G. 2. by Wets- 
tein and Griesbach. It contains St. Paul’s Epistles, with the ex¬ 
ception of that to the Hebrews, which was formerly rejected by the 
church of Rome ; and is written in Greek and Latin, the Latin or old 
Ante-Hieronymian version being interlined between the Greek, and 
written over the text, of which it is a translation. Semler supposed 
that the Latin was written since the Greek ; but Professor Matthaei, 
who published a copy of this manuscript, suggests that the uni¬ 
formity of the handwriting, and similarity in the colour of the ink, 
evince that both the Greek and Latin texts proceeded from the same 
transcriber. It frequently agrees with the Codex Claromontanus (de¬ 
scribed in pp. 90, 91. supra), and with the Codex Augiensis, of which 
a notice is given in p. 101. infra. The time when this manuscript 
was written has not been determined with precision. That it is an- 
tient, appears (says Michaelis) from the form of the characters, and 
the absence of accents and marks of aspiration. It seems to have 
been written in an age when the transition was making from unical to 
small characters ; and from the correspondence of the letters r. s. and 
t. in the Latin version to that form which is found in the Anglo- 
Saxon alphabet, Bishop Marsh infers, that this manuscript was 
written in the west of Europe, and probably between the eighth and 
tenth centuries. Kuster, who first collated this manuscript, sup¬ 
posed it to be British; Doederlein, Irish. The learned reviewer of 
Matthad’s edition of this manuscript, in the Jena Literary Gazette, 
decides that it could only be written in Germany or France ; because 
in the margin many passages are noted contra yoSSnfxuXxov, apparently 
because they are contradictory to the opinion of Gottschalk, a cele¬ 
brated monk, who disputed concerning predestination in the ninth 
century, but w^hose tenets excited little attention except in those two 
countries. The miter in question thinks it probable that this manu¬ 
script was written by Johannes Scotus, who lived at the court of 
Charles the Bald, king of France, and was the most celebrated oppo¬ 
nent of Gottschalk. The manuscript, however, could not have been 
written later than the ninth century, for in the beginning of the tenth, 
Gottschalk’s dispute had lost all its importance. Griesbach accord¬ 
ingly refers the Codex Boernerianus to the ninth or tenth century. 
There is a transcript of this MS. in the library of Trinity College, 
Cambridge, among the books and manuscripts that were left by Dr. 
Bentley, who probably procured it for his intended edition of the 
Greek Testament.,. Professor Matthaei published a copy of this ma¬ 
nuscript at Meissen in Saxony, in 1791, in quarto (which was reprint¬ 
ed at the same place in ISIS, also in quarto), with the following title : 
— XIII. Epistolarum Pauli Codex Greecus cum Versione Latina 
VAcre vulgo Ante-Hyeronymiana , olim Boernerianus , nunc Biblio- 

shiUings each. A copy was sold at the sale of the Rev. Dr. Heath’s library, in 
1810, for the sum of thirteen pounds two shillings: it now adorns the very valuable 
library of the Writers to his Majesty’s Signet at Edinburgh. 



Sect. II. § 4.] Containing the New Testament. 91) 

theca Electoralis Dresdensis , summa fide et diligentia , transcript us 
et editus a C. F. Matthai. The transcript is said to be executed 
with great accuracy, and is illustrated with two plates. 1 

IX. The Codex Cyprius, or Colbertinus, 5149, noted K in the 
first volumn of Wetstein’s and Griesbach’s editions of the Greek 
Testament, is a copy of the four Gospels, originally brought from 
the island of Cyprus; and now deposited in the Royal Library at 
Paris, where it is at present numbered 33. This manuscript was 
first collated by Father Simon, 2 whose extracts of various readings 
were inserted by Dr. Mill in his critical edition of the New Testa¬ 
ment. 3 Wetstein charged this manuscript with latinising, but with¬ 
out sufficient evidence. Michaelis deemed it to be of great value, 
and expressed a wish for a more accurate collation of it. That wish 
was not realised until the year 1819, when Dr. J. M. A. Scholz, 
of Heidelberg, being at Paris, subjected this manuscript to a very 
rigorous critical examination, the results of which he communicated 
to the public in his Cura Critica in Historiam Textus Evangeliorum 
(4to. Heidelbergae, 1820) : from this work the following particulars 
are abridged. 

This manuscript is written on vellum, in an oblong quarto size, 
and in excellent preservation. The uncial characters are not round, 
as in most antient manuscripts, but leaning; they exhibit evident 
marks of haste and sometimes of carelessness in the transcriber* and 
they present the same abbreviations as occur in the Alexandrian, 
Vatican, and other manuscripts. In a few instances, accents are 
absent, but frequently they are incorrectly placed ; the spirits (asper 
and lenis) are often interchanged ; and the permutations of vowels 
and consonants are very numerous. Thus we meet with xoaxgvwsvu 
for xsxgvjXfASvu (Matt. xiii. 44.) ; s\$si for sXSi? (Mark iv. 22.) ; ga(3(3st 
for (Matt, xxiii. 7. xxvi. 25. 49, &ic.); oxo^op/yjro for uxoSowro 

(Luke iv. 29.); 'toutw for rouro (Luke viii. 9.); AuSSam for @a(55aiov; 
£xa<5su<5ov for sxaSsu<Jov (Matt. xxv. 5.) ; Na^a^sS for (Mark 

i. 9.) Sic. From the confused and irregular manner in which the 
accents and spirits are placed, Dr. Scholz conjectures that the Codex 
Cyprius was transcribed from a more antient copy that was nearly 
destitute of those distinctions. Some of the permutations are un¬ 
questionably errors of the transcriber, but the greater part of them, he 
is of opinion, must be referred to the orthography and pronunciation 
which (it is well known) were peculiar to the Alexandrians. To this 
manuscript are prefixed a synaxarium or epitome of the lives of the 
Saints, who are venerated by the Greek church, and a menologium 
or martyrology, together with the canons of Eusebius : to each of 
the three last Gospels is also prefixed an index of the xspaXaia or 
larger chapters. The numbers of the Ammonian sections and larg- 


1 Kuster’s preface to his edition erf Mill’s Greek Testament, sub jinein. Michaelis, 
vol. ii. part i. pp. 225—227. part di. pp. 672—677. Jena Algemeine Litteratur 
Zeitung, as abridged in the Analytical Review for 1793, vol. 17. p. 231. 

2 Histoire Critique du Texte du Nouveau Testament, ch. r. p. 104. 

3 Nov. Test. Milli et Kusteri Prolegom. p. 162. 



100 


Account of the principal Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II. 

er chapters, 1 are marked in the inner margin; and the numbers of 
the other chapters, together with their titles, are placed either at the 
top or at the bottom of the page. The Gospel of St. Matthew com¬ 
prises 359 Ammonian sections, and 68 chapters; that ol St. Mark, 
241 sections and 48 chapters; that of St. Luke, 342 sections and 
83 chapters; and the Gospel of St. John, 232 sections, and 19 chap¬ 
ters. The celebrated passage in John viii. 1—11, concerning the 
woman who had been taken in adultery, constitutes a distinct chap¬ 
ter. From the occasional notation of certain days, on which particu 
lar portions w r ere to be read, as well as from the prefixing of the 
synaxariam and menologium, Dr. Scholz considers this manuscript as 
laving originally been written, and constantly used, for ecclesiastical 
purposes. 

A considerable difference of opinion prevails, respecting the age 
of the Codex Cyprius. Simon referred it to the tenth century : Dr. 
Mill thought it still later ; Montfaucon assigned it to the eighth cen¬ 
tury, and with his opinion Dr. Scholz coincides, from the general 
resemblance of the writing to that of other manuscripts of the same 
date. Specimens of its characters have been given by Montfaucon, 2 
Blanchini, 3 and Dr. Scholz. 4 Our fac-simile in Plate 3. No. 3. 5 is 
copied from the last-mentioned writer: it contains part of the first 
verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, in En¬ 
glish thus: 

INTHEENDOFTHESABBATH’ASITBEGANTODAWNTOWARDSTHEFIRSTIX/Sr 

OFTHEWEEK'CAMEMARYMAGDALENE 

This manuscript is of considerable importance in a critical point of 
view, particularly as it affords great weight to the readings of the best 
and most antient MSS.,antient versions, and the fathers. 6 From the 
peculiarity of lections in this manuscript which (Dr. Scholz show T s) 
was never removed from Cyprus where it was written, until the 
eighteenth century, he is of opinion that it constitutes a distinct re¬ 
cension or text of the New Testament. 7 

The Codex Basileensis B. VI. 21, noted by Dr. Mill, B. 1., 


1 See an account of these divisions in Chap. IV. Sect. II. infra. 

2 Palceographia Grseca, p. 232. 

3 Evangeliarium Quadruplex, Part I. p. 492. plate 3. from that page. 

4 At the end of his Curse Criticse in Historiam Textus Evangeliorum. In pp 
80—90, Dr. Scholz has given the first entire collation ever published, of the Vari¬ 
ous Readings contained in the Codex Cyprius. 

5 This plate faces page 85. supra. * 

G Dr. Scholz (Cur. Crit. pp. 63—65.) has given several instances of such readings, 
one only of which we have room to notice. In John vii. 8. the Codex Cyprius 
reads ovk avafiaivu), which in later manuscripts is altered to oviru ava(3aivu>, because 
the celebrated antagonist of Christianity, Porphyry, had used it as a ground of ob¬ 
jection. With the Codex Cyprius agree the Cambridge Manuscript, the Codices 
Regii, 14, (33 of Griesbach's notation,) and 55 (17 of Griesbach), several of the 
Moscow manuscripts cited by Matthtei, the Memphitic and Ethiopic versions, to¬ 
gether with several of the Ante-hieronymian versions, and, among the fathers, 
Jerome, Augustine, Cyril, Chrysostom, and Epiphanius. This reading alone proves 
that the Codex Cyprius has not been altered from the Latin, as Wetstein asserted 
without any authority. 

7 See an account of the Cyprian Recension in p. 56. of this volume. 



Sect II. § 4.] Containing the New Testaments. 10! 

by Bengel, Bas. a, and by Wetstein and Griesbach, E., is a manu - 
script of the four Gospels, written in uncial letters, in the eighth or 
(more probably) ninth century. It is mutilated in Luke i. G9. —ii. 
4., iii. 4—15., xii. 58. — xiii. 12., xv. S—20; and xxiv. 47. to the 
end of the Gospels : but the chasms in Luke i. 69. —ii. 4., xii. 58. 
— xiii. 12., and xv. 8—20. have been filled up by a later hand. 
This manuscript was not used by Erasmus; but was collated by 
Samuel Battier for Dr. Mill, who highly valued it; by Iselin, for 
Bengel’s edition of the New Testament; and by Wetstein, who has 
given its readings in his edition. 1 

XI. The Codex San-Germanensis (noted E. 2. in the second 
volume of Wetstein’s edition of the New Testament,) is a Greek- 
Latin manuscript of St. Paul’s Epistles, written in the seventh cen¬ 
tury, in uncial letters, and with accents and marks of aspiration, a 
prima manu. It has been generally supposed to be a mere copy of 
the Codex Claromontanus (described in pp. 90, 91. supra) ; but 
this opinion is questioned by Dr. Sender, in his critical examination 
of this manuscript, who has produced many examples, from which it 
appears that if the transcriber of rt actually had the Clermont MS. 
before him, he must at least have selected various readings from 
other manuscripts. Bishop Marsh, therefore, considers the San- 
Germanensis as a kind of Codex* Elections, in writing which the 
Clermont MS. was principally but not at aH times consulted. The 
manuscript now under consideration takes its name from the monas¬ 
tery of St. Germain-des-Prez, in Paris, in whose library it is preserv¬ 
ed. Dr. Mill first procured extracts from it, for his edition of the 
New Testament, where it is noted by the abbreviation Ger. for Ger- 
manensis. By Wetstein, it is noted E. 2., and by Griesbach E. 

According to Montfaucon, there is also extant another more an- 
tient Codex San-Germanensis of St. Paul’s Epistles, which has never 
been collated. It is a fragment, containing only thirteen leaves; and 
is supposed to be as antient as the fifth century. 2 

XII. The Codex Augiensis is a Greek-Latin manuscript of St 
Paul’s Epistles; it derives its name from the monastery of Augia 
major, at Rheinau, to which it belonged in the fifteenth century. 
After passing through various hands, it was purchased by the cele¬ 
brated critic, Dr. Richard Bentley, in 171S ; and in 1787, on the 
death of the younger Bentley, it was deposited in the library of Tri¬ 
nity College, Cambridge. This manuscript is defective from the be¬ 
ginning to Rom. iii. 8., and the epistle to the Hebrews is found only 
in the Latin version. Michaelis assigns it to the ninth century, which 
(Bishop Marsh remarks) is the utmost that can be allowed to its anti¬ 
quity. The Greek text is written in uncial letters without accents, 
and die Latin in Anglo-Saxon characters : it has been collated by 

l Marsh’s Michaelis, Vol. ii. Part i. pp. 217, 218. 

- Michaelis, Vol. ii. Part i. p. 314. Part ii. pp. 784, 785.; Montfaucon’s Biblio¬ 
theca Bibliothecarum, tom. ii. p. 1041. In his Palaeographia Graeca, he has given 
a fac-simile of the Greek and Latin characters of the Codex San-Germanensis 
Another fac-simile of them is given by Blanchini, in liis Evangoliariuin Quadru 
plex, Vol. i. in the last of the Plates annexed to p. 533. 



102 


Account of the principal Manuscripts [Parti. Ch. II. 


Wetstein, who has noted the Codex Augiensis with the letter F in the 
second part of his edition of the New Testament. In many respects 
it coincides with the Codex Boernerianus, and belongs to the West¬ 
ern Recension. The words Xg&og (Christ), and LjCous (Jesus), are 

not abbreviated by XC and IC, as in the common manuscripts, but 

by XPC and IHC, as in the Codex Bezse. 1 2 

XIII. The Codex Harleianus No. 559S, is a most splendid 
Evangeliarum, or collection of lessons from the four Gospels, unknown 
to Dr. Griesbach; it is written on vellum, in uncial Greek letters, 
which are gilt on the first leaf, and coloured and ornamented through¬ 
out the rest of the book. It consists of seven hundred and forty-eight 
pages; and according to an inscription on the last page, was writ¬ 
ten by one Constantine, a presbyter, a. d. 995. To several of the 
longer sections, titles are prefixed in larger characters. The pas¬ 
sages of the Gospels are noted in the margin, as they occur, by a 
later hand, and between pages 726 and 729, there are inserted ten 
leaves of paper, containing the series of Lessons or Extracts from 
the Gospels, which are supposed to have been written by Dr. Coveli. 
who was chaplain to the British Embassy at Constantinople a. d. 
1670—1677, and was a diligent collector of MSS. In plate 3. No- 
2 j is given a fac-simile 9 of the third page of this precious manuscript 
It represents the eighteenth verse of the first chapter of Saint John's 
Gospel. We have annexed the same passage in ordinary Greek 
•'ypes, together with a literal English Version, in parallel columns. 


©NOTAEI2EQ 

PAKEIinnOTE* 

'OMONOrENH2T2 

'OQNEI2TONKOA 

noNTornp^EKEi 

N OSEHHITES ATO. 


GDNOMANHATHSE 

ENATANYTIME. 

THEONLYBEGOTTENSN 

WHOISINTHEBO 

SOMOFTHEFHRH 

EHATHMADEHIMKNOWN, 


The lines of this venerable MS. are not all of equal length, some 
containing ten, others ten or more letters in each line. The same 

contractions of ©2 for ©sog (God), IIP for Uar^ (Father), T2 for 
Yiog (a son), &c. which occur in all the most antient Greek manu¬ 
scripts, are also to be seen in this evangeliarum. As it has never yet 
been collated, it is highly worthy of the attention of future editors of 
the New Testament. 

XIV. The Codex Regius, 2861, at present 62 v\, (or the eighth 
of the manuscripts collated by Robert Stephens,) is a quarto manu¬ 
script, on vellum, of the ninth century, and written in uncial letters of 
an oblong form. The accents are frequently wanting, and are ofter 
wrongly placed, even when they are inserted, from which circumstance 


1 Michaelis* V-ol. ii. Part i. pp. 210, 211. Part ii. pp. 6G4, 665. 

2 This plate faces page 85. supra. 










103 


Sect. II. § 4.] Containing the JYew Testament . 

Griesbach thinks that this manuscript was transcribed from another 
very antient one, which had no accents. Each page is divided into 
two columns, and the words follow, for the most part, without any in¬ 
tervals between them. The iota subscriptum, and postcriptum are 
uniformly wanting : the usual abbreviations occur, and the letters AT 
and OT are sometimes written with contractions as in the Codex Co- 
islinianus 1 (a manuscript of the eighth century); and not seldom a 
letter is dropped in the middle of a word : — Thus, we read in it *«- 
gafi'h'r] for cra^a/SoXT), xX^srat for xX^tfevai, xargupsvos for xaraeu^mg, 
&c. &lc. Errors in orthography appear in every page, and also per¬ 
mutations of vowels and consonants. This manuscript contains the 
four Gospels, with the following chasms, viz. Matt. iv. 21. — v. 14. 
and xxviii. 17. to the end of the Gospel; Mark x. 17—30. and xv. 
10—20.; and John xxi. 15. to the end. The <rwXoi and the Ammo- 
nian sections with reference to die canons of Eusebius are written in 
the Codex Regius a prima manu. It is noted L. by Wetstein, and 
also by Griesbach, 1 who has given a very complete and accurate col¬ 
lation of its various readings in his Symbol® Critic®. This manu¬ 
script harmonises with the Alexandrine or Western Recension. 

XV. The Codex Uffenbachianus 2, (1 of Bengel’s notation, and 
No. 53 of Wetstein’s and Griesbach’s catalogues of Manuscripts,) is a 
fragment of the Epistle to the Hebre\vs, consisting of two leaves: it 
is at present preserved in the public library at Hamburgh. Having 
been very imperfectly described by Maius, Wetstein, and Bengel, 
Dr. H. P. C. Henke rendered an important service to biblical litera¬ 
ture by subjecting it to a minute critical examination, the result of 
which he published at Helmstadt, in 1800, in a quarto tract, with a 
fac-simile of the writing, entitled Codicis Uffenbachiani , qui Ejnstolc? 
ad Hebraos fragmenta continet , Recensus Criticus . 2 According to 
diis writer, the Codex Uffenbachianus originally consisted of one ter- 
nion, or six leaves, of which the four middle ones are lost. It is 
wholly written in red uncial characters, slightly differing from the 
square form observable in the most antient manuscripts. The ac¬ 
cents and notes of aspiration are carefully marked, but the iota sub¬ 
scriptum no where occurs : nor are any stops or minor marks of dis¬ 
tinction to be seen, except the full stop, which is promiscuously placed 
at the bottom, in the middle, or at the top of a page, to serve as a 
comma, a colon, or a full point. The note of interrogation occurs 
only once, viz. in Heb. iii. 17. after the word sgyfi w; but there are 
scarcely any abbreviations, besides those which we have already no¬ 
ticed as existing in the Alexandrian and other antient manuscripts. 
It is remarkable, that the first verse of the second chapter is wanting 
in this manuscript, which is characterised by some peculiar readings. 
M. von Uffenbach, who was its first known possessor, referred it to 
the seventh or eighth century. Wetstein asserted it to have been 

1 Griesbach’s Symbol® Critic®, tom. i. pp. lxvi.—cxli. Micliaelis, Vol. ii. Part 
i. pp. 304—300. Part ii. pp. 778, 779. 

2 Dr. Henke’s publication and fac-simile are reprinted by Pott and Ptuperti, in 
their Syllogue Commentationem Theologicarum, vol. ii. pp. 1—32. Helmstadt, 
1801; from°which our account of the Codex Uffenbachianus is abridged. 



$04 


Account of the principal Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II. 

'written in the eleventh century ; but, on comparing it with the speci¬ 
mens of manuscripts engraved by Montfaucon and Blanchini, we are 
of opinion with Dr. Henke, that it was executed in the ninth century. 
In its readings, the Codex Uffenbachianus sometimes approximates to 
the Alexandrine, and sometimes to the Western Recension. 

XVI. The Codices Manners-Suttoniani are a choice collec¬ 
tion of manuscripts, in the archiepiscopal library at Lambeth, which 
have been purchased, and presented to that library by his Grace the 
present Archbishop. They are principally the collection, made by 
the late Rev. J. D. Carlyle, Professor of Arabic in the university of 
Cambridge, during his travels in the East, with a view to a critical 
edition of the New Testament, with various readings; which how¬ 
ever was never undertaken, in consequence of his lamented de¬ 
cease. Of these manuscripts (which are chiefly of the New Testa¬ 
ment, and are numbered from 1175 to 1209), the following are par¬ 
ticularly worthy of notice, on account of the harvest of various lections 
which they may be expected to afford. 

1. No. 1175 is a manuscript of the four Gospels, written on vel¬ 
lum, in quarto, towards the end of the eleventh or at the beginning 
of the twelfth century. The two first verses of the first chapter of 
Saint Matthew’s Gospel are wanting. At the end of this manu¬ 
script, on a single leaf, there are part of the last verse of the seventh 
chapter of Saint John’s Gospel, and the first eleven verses of the 
eighth chapter. 

2. No. 1176 is another manuscript of the four Gospels, on vellum, 
in quarto, written in the twelfth century. On the first leaf there are 
some figures painted and gilt, which have nearly disappeared from 
age. This is followed by the chapters of the four Gospels. 

3. No. 1177 is a manuscript of the four Gospels on vellum, of the 
twelfth century, which is very much mutilated in the beginning. 

4. No. 1178 contains the four Gospels, most beautifully written on 
vellum, in quarto, in the tenth century. The first seven verses and 
part of the eighth verse of the first chapter of Saint Matthew’s Gos¬ 
pel is wanting. 

5. No. 1179 contains the four Gospels, mutilated at the beginning 
and end. It is on vellum, in quarto, of the twelfth century. 

6. No. 1180 is a quarto manuscript of the four Gospels, written in 
the fourteenth century. 

7—11. Nos. 1181 to 1185 are manuscripts, containing the Acts 
of the Apostles, the Catholic Epistles, and the whole of Saint Paul’s 
Epistles. They are all written in quarto and on paper. Nos. 1181 
and 1183 are of the fourteenth century : No. 1182 is of the twelfth 
century. The conclusion of Saint John’s First Epistle, and the sub¬ 
sequent part of this manuscript, to the end, have been added by a 
later hand. Nos. 1184 and 1185 are of the fifteenth century. The 
former is mutilated in the commencement, and begins with Acts vi. 
10. T>] (focpiu xai Ted tfvsu(xa<n u sXaXsi, — the wisdom and the spirit by 

which he spaJce. The two last leaves of this manuscript are written 
by a later hand. No. 1185 is mutilated at the end. 

12. No. 1186 is a quarto manuscript on vellum, written in the 
eleventh century, and contains the Epistles of Saint Paul and the 


105 


Sect. II. <§> 4.] Containing the New Testament. 

Apocalypse. It is unfortunately mutilated at the beginning and end. 

It commences with Rom. xvi. 15. na v (that is, OXupwrav) xa i rovg 

tfuv ao<rojj tfavrug aymg, — ... .pas (that is, Olympas) and all the saints 
which are with them: and it ends with the words, etfi <rw $£ovw Xsyovrsg 
Aawv, — on the throne , saying , Amen. Rev. xix. 4. The Rev. II. J. 
Todd has given a fac-simile of this precious manuscript in his cata¬ 
logue of the manuscripts in the archiepiscopal library at Lambeth. 

13—15. Nos. 1187—1189 are lectionaries from the four Gospels, 
written on vellum in the thirteenth century. 

10. No. 1190 is a manuscript on vellum, written with singular 
neatness, in the thirteenth century. Formerly it contained the Acts 
of the Apostles and the Catholic Epistles, together with the whole 
of Saint Paul’s Epistles. It is sadly mutilated and torn, both in the 
middle and at the end. 

17. No. 1191 is a lectionary, from the Acts of the Apostles and 
the Epistles. It is on vellum, in quarto, of the thirteenth century. 
It is mutilated both at the beginning and end. All the preceding 
manuscripts were brought by Professor Carlyle from the Greek 
islands. 

18—21. Nos. 1191, 1194, 1195, and 1196, are lectionaries from 
the Acts of the Apostles and Epistles. They are on vellum, in quar¬ 
to, and were written in the thirteenth century. No. 1191 is muti¬ 
lated at the beginning and end; and No. 1194 at the end. The 
writing of this last manuscript is singularly neat, and many of the 
letters are gilt. No. 1195 is also mutilated at the beginning, and 
No. 1196 at the end. 

22. No. 1192 is a very beautiful manuscript of the four Gospels, 
in quarto, written on vellum, in the thirteenth century. 

23. No. 1193 is a lectionary from the four Gospels, also written 
on vellum, in the thirteenth century. It is mutilated at the end. 
The six last manuscripts, Nos. 1191—1196 were brought from Sy¬ 
ria. 1 

XVII. The Codices Mosq,uenses, or Moscow manuscripts, are 
fifty-five in number. They were discovered by M. Matthsi, while 
he was a professor in that city, principally in the library belonging 
to the Holy Synod; and were collated by him with great accuracy. 
The principal various readings, derived from them, are printed in 
his edition of the Greek Testament, of which some account will be 
found in a subsequent chapter. Though these MSS. are not of the 
highest antiquity, yet they are far from being modern, since some 
of them were written in the eighth, several in the tenth or eleventh, 
and many in the twelfth, century. As the Russian is a daughter of 
the Greek church, Michaelis remarks that the Moscow manuscripts 
very frequently contain the readings of the Byzantine recension, 
though he has observed many readings that were usual not only in 
the west of Europe, but also in Egypt. Of the Codices Mosquen- 

1 Catalogue of tho MSS. in the Archiepiscopal Library, at Lambeth, by the Rev. 
H. J. Todd. pp. 261, 262, folio, London, 1312. From the circumstance of the Co- 
dices Manners-Suttoniani being brought partly from Greece, and partly from Syria, 
it is probable that, whenever they may be collated, it will be found that those from 
the former country will be found to harmonise with the Byzantine Recension ; and 
those from the latter, with the Palestine Recension. 

VOL. II. 14 



106 


Account of the principal Manuscripts. [Part I. Ch. II. 

ses, there are three, which Matthaei designates by the letters V, H, 
and B, and to which he gives a high character for antiquity, correct¬ 
ness, and agreement: they are all written in uncial characters. The 
manuscript V. contains the four Gospels; from John vii. 39. to the 
end is the writing of the twelfth or thirteenth century : the preceding 
part is of the eighth century. It is written with accents, and is regu¬ 
larly pointed throughout. B. is an Evangeliarium or collection of 
the four Gospels, of the same date: H. is also an Evangeliarium, 
and in the judgment of Matthasi, the most antierit manuscript known 
to be extant in Europe. V. and H. were principally followed by 
him in forming the text of his edition of the New Testament . 1 

XVIII. The Codex Brixiensis or Brixianus is a precious 
manuscript of the Old Italic (Latin Version) executed in the eighth 
century, preserved at Brescia, in Lombardy. It is an oblong 
quarto, written in uncial characters, on purple vellum, which in the 
lapse of time has faded to a bluish tinge. The letters were written 
with ink, and subsequently silvered over. The initial words of each 
Gospel have been traced with gold, vestiges of which are still 
visible. The letters O. and V., T. and D., are frequently inter¬ 
changed, and especially the letters B. and V. To the Gospels are 
prefixed the Eusebian Canons . 2 The Codex Brixiensis is very 
frequently referred to by Mr. Nolan in his ‘Inquiry into the in¬ 
tegrity of the Greek Vulgate or received text of the New Testament,’ 
on account of its antiquity and importance, in vindicating the integ¬ 
rity of that text. It is printed by Blanchini in his Evangeliarium 
Quadruplex. * 

XIX. Besides the preceding manuscripts, which (with few ex¬ 
ceptions) are written in square or unical characters, there are many 
others written in small letters , which are quoted by Griesbach and other 
critics, by Arabic numerals, 1, 2, 3, &c.; and which, though not 
equal in point of antiquity with several of those in uncial letters, are 
nevertheless of great value and importance, and frequently exhibit 
readings not inferior to those contained in the foregoing manuscripts. 
Of this description are the following, viz. 

1 . The Codex Basileensis (noted by Bengel Bas. 7 , and by 
Wetstein and Griesbach 1 , throughout their editions) contains the 
whole of the New Testament, except the Revelation, and is written 
on vellum with accents. On account of the subscriptions and 
pictures which are found in it (one of which appears to be a portrait 
of the emperor Leo, surnamed the Wise, and his son Constantine 
Porphyrogennetus,) Wetstein conjectures that it was written in their 
time, that is, in the tenth century. Michaelis and Griesbach have 
.acceded to this opinion. Erasmus, who made use of it for his 

1 Michaelis, Vol. ii. Part i. pp. 238, 289. Part ii. pp. 763—767. In Beck’s Mo- 
uogrammata Iiermeneutiees Librorum Novi Testamenti (pp. 67—71. 98.) and 
Griesbach’s second edition of the Greek Testament (pp. cxxiii—cxxvi.), there are 
lists of the Moscow manuscripts. Prof. Matthaei has also given notices of them 
with occasional fac-sim&es, in the different volumes of his edition of the Greek 
Testament. 

2 Blanchini Evangeliarium Quadruplex, tom. i. Prolegomena, pp. 1—40. 




107 


Sect. II. § 4.] Containing the JYeiv Testament. 

edition of the Greek Testament, supposed it to be a latinising manu¬ 
script, and his supposition was subsequently adopted by Wetstein; 
but Michaelis has vindicated it from this charge, and asserts that it is 
entitled to very great esteem. 

2. The Codex Corsendoncensis, which is in the imperial library 
at Vienna, is noted 3 by Wetstein and Griesbach. It was used by 
Erasmus for his second edition, and contains the whole of the New 
Testament, except the book of Revelation. It appears to have been 
written in the twelfth century, and by an ignorant transcriber, who 
has inserted marginal notes into the text. Wetstein charges it with 
being altered from the Latin. 

3. The Codex Montfortianus or Montfortii, also called 
Dublinensis (G1 of Griesbach), is a manuscript containing the 
whole of the New Testament, preserved in the library of Trinity 
College, Dublin, to which it was presented by Archbishop Usher. 
It derives its name of Montfortianus from having belonged to Dr. 
Montfort, previously to coming into Usher’s possession. It has 
acquired much celebrity as being the only manuscript which has the 
much contested clause in 1 John v. 7, 8, and is the same which was 
cited by Erasmus under the title of Codex Brittannicus , who insert¬ 
ed the disputed passage in the third edition of his Greek Testament 
on its authority. It is written in small Greek characters on thick 
glazed paper, in duodecimo, and without folios. Dr. A. Clarke (to 
whom we are indebted for the fac-simile which is given in a subse¬ 
quent part of this work 1 ) is of opinion that it was most probably writ¬ 
ten in the thirteenth century, from the similarity of its writing to that 
of other manuscripts of the same time. He has no doubt but it ex¬ 
isted before the invention of printing, and is inclined to think it the 
work of an unknown bold critic, who formed a text from one or 
more manuscripts in conjunction with the Latin Vulgate, and who 
was by no means sparing of his own conjectural emendations, as it 
possesses various readings which exist in no manuscript yet discover¬ 
ed. But how far the writer has in any place faithfully copied the 
text of any particular antient manuscript, is more than can be deter¬ 
mined. In the early part of the last century Mr. Martin claimed for 
this manuscript so early a date as the eleventh century : but Bishop 
Marsh, after Griesbach, contends that it is at least as modern as the 
fifteenth or sixteenth century. The Codex Montfortianus, he ob¬ 
serves, “ made its appearance about the year 1520 : and that the 
manuscript had just been written, when it first appeared, is highly 
probable, because it appeared at a critical juncture, and its appear¬ 
ance answered a particular purpose. 2 But whether written for the 


1 See Vol. IV. Part II. Chap. IV. Sect. V. § 6. infra. 

“ Erasmus had published two editions of the Greek Testament, one in 1516, 
the other in 1519, both of which were without the words, that begin ^ with tv 
ovpavu) and end with tv tv yv, in the disputed clause in 1 John v. 7, 8. This omis¬ 
sion as it was called by those who paid more deference to the Latin translation 
than to the Greek original, exposed Erasmus to much censure, though in fact the 
complaint was for non-addition. Erasmus therefore very properly answered, ad- 
dendi de meo quod Greeds deest, provinciam non suscoperam. He promised, 




108 


Account of the principal Manuscripts . [Part I. Ch. II. 


occasion or not, it could not have been written very long before the 
sixteenth century; for this manuscript has the Latin chapters, 
though the xstpaXata of Eusebius are likewise noted. Now the Latin 
chapters were foreign to the usage of the Greek Church, before the 
introduction of printed editions, in which the Latin chapters were 
adopted, as well for the Greek as for the Latin Testament. What¬ 
ever Greek manuscripts therefore were written with Latin Chapters, 
were written in the West of Europe, where the Latin Chapters were 
in use. They were written by the Greeks, or by the descendants 
of those Greeks, who fled into the West of Europe, after the taking 
of Constantinople, and who then began to divide their manuscripts 
according to the usage of the country, in which they fixed their 
abode . * 1 The Dublin manuscript therefore, if not written for the 
purpose to which it was applied in the third edition of Erasmus , 2 
could hardly have been written more than fifty years before. And 
how widely those critics have erred in their conjectures, who have 
supposed that it was written so early as the twelfth century, appears 
from the fact that the Latin Chapters were not invented till the thir¬ 
teenth century . 3 But the influence of the Church of Rome in the 
composition of the Dublin manuscript, is most conspicuous in the text 
of that manuscript, which is a servile imitation of the Latin Vulgate. 
It will be sufficient to mention how it follows the Vulgate at the place 
in question. It not only agrees with the Vulgate, in the insertion of 
the seventh verse : it follows the Vulgate also at the end of the 
sixth verse, having x£ l( * ro S, where all other Greek manuscripts have 
■irvsufM: and in the eighth verse it omits the final clause, which had 
never been omitted in the Greek manuscripts, and was not omitted 
even in the Latin manuscripts before the thirteenth century . 4 Such 
is tlie character of that solitary manuscript, which is opposed to 
the united evidence of all former manuscripts, including the Codex 
Vaticanus, and the Codex Alexandrinus .” 5 Upon the whole, it 
does not appear that the date of the Codex Montfortianus can be 


however, that though he could not insert in a Greek edition what he had never 
found in a Greek manuscript, he would insert the passage in his next edition, if in 
the mean time a Greek MS. could be discovered, which had the passage. In less 
than a year after that deplaration. Erasmus was informed, that there was a Greek 
MS. in England which contained the passage. At the same time a copy of the 
passage, as contained in that MS. was communicated to Erasmus : and Erasmus, 
as he had promised, inserted that copy in his next edition, which was published in 
1522.” 


1 “ There are three Greek manuscripts with the Latin Chapters in the Univer¬ 
sity Library at Cambridge, marked Hh. 6. 12. Kk. 5. 35. and LI. 2. 13. That 
which is marked LI. 2. 13. and is evidently the oldest of the three, was written at 
Paris by Jerom of Sparta, for the use and at the expense of a person called Bodet, 
as appears from the subscription to it. Now Jerom of Sparta died at the beginning 
of the sixteenth century.” 

2 “ The third edition of Erasmus has 1 John v. 7. precisely in the words of the 
Dublin MS.” 

3 See Part I. Chap. IV. Sect. II. § 1. infra. 

4 “ Here there is an additional proof, respecting the age of the Dublin MS.” 

5 Bishop Marsh’s Lectures, Part VI. pp. 23—26. See also his letters to Mr. 
Archdeacon Travis, (Leipsic, 1795, 8vo.) Pref. pp. xvii. xviii. xxiii. in the notes 
Michaelis vol. ii. Part i. pp. 284—-287. Part ii. pp. 755—759. Dr. A. Clarke’s Suc¬ 
cession of Sacred Literature, pp. 86—92. 



109 


Sect. II. § 4.] Containing the JVew Testament. 

earlier than the close of the fifteenth century. The uncollated 
parts of this manuscript were collated by the late Rev. Dr. Barrett, 
ot Irinity College, Dublin, with Wetstein’s edition of the Greek Tes¬ 
tament ; beginning with Rom. ii. and ending with the Apocalypse, 
including also a collation of the Acts ot the Apostles, from chap. xxii. 
27. to chap, xxviii. 2. This collation, comprising thirty-five pages, 
forms the third part of his fac-simile edition of the Codex Rescriptus 
of St. Matthew’s Gospel noticed in pp. 95, 9G. supra. 

4. The Codex Regius, formerly 2244, 2 at present 50, (noted 
Paris. 6 by Kuster, 13 by Wetstein, and *13 by Griesbach), is a 
manuscript of the four Gospels in the royal library at Paris. Though 
not more antient, probably, than the thirteenth century, it is pro¬ 
nounced by Michaelis to be of very great importance: it has the 
following chasms, which were first discovered by Griesbach, viz. 
Matt. i. 1. —ii. 21.; xxvi. 33—53.; xxvii. 26. —xxviii. 10.; Mark i. 
2 . to the end of the chapter; and John xxi. 2. to the end of the 
Gospel. The various readings from this manuscript given by Kuster 
and Wetstein are very inaccurate. Matt. xiii. xiv. and xv. were the 
only three chapters actually collated by Griesbach, who expresses a 
wish that the whole manuscript might be completely and exactly 
collated, especially the latter chapters of the Gospels of Luke and 
John. In consequence of this manuscript harmonising in a very emi¬ 
nent manner with the quotations of Origen, he refers it to the Alexan¬ 
drine edition, though he says it has a certain mixture of the Western. 1 

5. The Codex Leicestrensis derives its name from being the 
property of the Corporation of Leicester : 2 it is a manuscript of the 
whole New Testament, written by a modern hand, partly on paper 
and partly on vellum, chiefly the former, and is referred by Wetstein 
and Griesbach to the fourteenth century. It is noted by Dr. Mill by 
the letter L., in the first part of Wetstein’s New Testament Codex, 
69 ; in the second, 37; in the third, 31 ; and in the fourth, 14; and 
by Griesbach, 69. The book of Acts is inserted between the Epistle 
to the Hebrews and that of Saint James. This manuscript is defec¬ 
tive from the beginning as far as Matt, xviii. 15., and has also the 
following chasms, viz. Acts x. 45. — xiv. 7. Jude 7. to the end of 
that Epistle, and it concludes with part of Rev. xix. It has many 
peculiar readings; and in those which are not confined to it, this ma¬ 
nuscript chiefly agrees with D. or the Codex Cantabrigiensis : it also 

1 Michaelis, vol. i. part i. pp. 302, 303. — Griesbach’s Symbol® Critic®, vol. i. 
pp. cliv.—clxiv. Nov. Test. vol. i. p. cv. 

2 In a critique on the second edition of this work, in the Eclectic Review for 
January, 1822, (vol. xvii. N. S. p. 83.), it is stated, that when the writer of that 
article made inquiry respecting the Codex Leicestrensis, it was no longer to be 
found in the Library of the Town Hall at Leicester. Anxious for the interest of 
sacred literature, to ascertain the real fact, the author of the present work re¬ 
quested Mr. Combe (an eminent bookseller at that place, to whom he thus gladly 
makes his acknowledgments,) to make the requisite investigation. The result of 
Mr. Combe’s critical researches is, that the Codex Leicestrensis is still carefully 
preserved. Mr. C. further collated the author’s account of it (which had been 
drawn up from the notices of Wetstein and Michaelis,) with the manuscript itself, 
and this collation has enabled him to make the description above given more com¬ 
plete as well as more correct. 



no 


Account of the principal Manuscripts [Part I. Ch. II. 

harmonises in a very eminent manner with the Old Syriac version, 
and, what further proves its value, several readings, which Dr. Mill 
found in it alone, have been confirmed by other manuscripts that be¬ 
long to totally different countries. The Codex Leicestrensis was 
first collated by him, and afterwards more accurately by Mr. Jackson, 
the learned editor of Novatian’s works, whose extracts were used by 
Wetstein. There is another and still more accurate transcript of Mr. 
J.’s collation in his copy of Mill’s edition of the Greek Testament, 
which is now preserved in the library ot Jesus College, Cambridge, 
where it is marked O, 0, l. 1 

6 . The Codex Vindobonensis, Lambecii 31 (124 of Griesbachj, 
is a manuscript of the four Gospels, written in the eleventh or twelfth 
century : it has been collated by Treschow, Birch, and Alter. It is 
of very great importance, and agrees with the Codex Cantabrigiensis 
in not less than eighty unusual readings; with the Codex Ephremi 
in upwards of thirty-five : with the Codex Regius 2861, or Stephani 
y], in fifty ; with the Codex Basileensis in more than fifty, and has 
several which are found in that manuscript alone ; with the Codex 
Regius 2244, 2 in sixty unusual readings ; and with the Codex Col- 
bertinus 2844, in twenty-two. 2 

7. The Codex Ebnerianus is a very neat manuscript of the 
New Testament in quarto, formerly in the possession of Hieronymus 
Ebner Von Eschenbach of that city, from whom its appellation is de¬ 
rived : it is now the property of the University of Oxford, and is de¬ 
posited among the other precious manuscripts preserved in the Bod¬ 
leian library. The Codex Ebnerianus, contains 425 leaves of vellum, 
and was written in the year 1391. The whole of the New Testament 
is comprised in this volume, excepting the Book of Revelation : each 
page contains 27 lines, at equal distances, excepting those in which 
the different books commence, or which are decorated with illumina¬ 
tions. Besides the New Testament, the Eusebian Canons are 
introduced, together with the lessons for particular festivals, and a 
menologium used in the Greek church, he. The book is bound in 
massy silver covers, in the centre of which the Redeemer of the 
World is represented sitting on a throne, and in the act of pronounc¬ 
ing a blessing. Above his head is the following inscription, in square 
letters, exhibiting the style in which the capitals are written: *— 
Astftfo-ra suXoyrjtfov <rov <5ouXov tfou sXor^JOVov Is^ovufxov IouXdXjJoov xai <rr)v oixiav 
ccurov. “ Lord, bless the least of thy servants, Hieronymus Guliel- 
mus, and his family.” Of the style of writing adopted in the body 
of the Manuscript, the annexed engraving will afford a correct idea, 1 


1 Michaelis, vol. ii. part i. pp. 355—357. part ii. pp. 749, 750. Bp. Marsh adds, 
“ This copy of Mill's Greek Testament, with Jackson’s marginal readings, is a 
treasure of sacred criticism, which deserves to be communicated to the public. It 
contains the result of all his labours in that branch of literature ; it supplies many 
of the defects of Mill, and corrects many of his errors : and, besides quotations 
from manuscripts and antient versions, it contains a copious collection of readings 
from many of the fathers, which have hitherto been very imperfectly collated, or 
wholly neglected. Ibid. p. 750. 

2 Ibid. vol. ii. part ii. p. 870. 
















J 

V 

V 












Ill 


Sect. II. § 4.] Containing the JYeiv Testament. 

and at the same time exemplify the abbreviations frequent in Greek 
manuscripts of the 12th and 13th centuries. Our specimen com¬ 
prises the ten first verses of the first chapter of Saint John’s Gospel: 
the abbreviations, though very numerous, being uniformly the same, 
do not interpose any material difficulty to the easy perusal of the 
manuscript. Wetstein, though he has admitted it into his catalogue, 
has made use of it only in the eighteenth chapter of Saint John’s 
Gospel; Michaelis has classed it among the uncollated manuscripts 
of the New Testament. 1 It is to be hoped that some learned mem¬ 
ber of the University of Oxford will publish a collation of the various 
readings which may be found in this manuscript. 

XX. The limits assigned to this work forbid any further detail 
respecting the other manuscripts of the New Testament. Referring 
the reader therefore to the elaborate volumes of Michaelis, who has 
given a catalogue raisonne of two hundred and ninety-two manu¬ 
scripts, to which his annotator Bishop Marsh has added one hundred 
and seventy-seven , 2 we proceed briefly to notice two collations of 
manuscripts, which in the seventeenth century produced a warm 
contest between biblical critics of different denominations. 

1 . In 1673, Pierre Poussines (Petrus Possinus), a learned Jesuit, 
published 3 extracts from twenty-two manuscripts, which, he said, 
were in the library of Cardinal Barberini at Rome, and had been 
collated by order of Pope Urban VIII., by John Matthaus Caryophi- 
lus. Dr. Mill inserted these extracts among his various readings ; 
but as it was not known for a long time what had become of the Bar¬ 
berini manuscripts, and as the readings of the Barberini collation are 
for the most part in favour of the Latin Vulgate version, Wetstein, 
Sender, and other Protestant divines, accused Poussines of a literary 
fraud. Of this, however, he was acquitted by Isaac Vossius, who 
found the manuscript of Caryophilus in the -Barberini Library ; and 

■ See Wetstein’s N. T. Proleg. p. 58. Bishop Marsh’s Michaelis, vol. ii. part i. 
p. 258. De Murr’s Memorabilia Bibliothecae Norimb. part ii. pp. 100 — 131. where 
the Codex Ebnerianus is minutely described and illustrated with thirteen plates of 
illuminations, &c. which are very curious in an antiquarian point of view. Our ' 
engraving is copied from one of De Murr’s fac*similes. 

2 Michaelis, vol. ii. part i. pp. 185— 36J. part ii. pp. 649 — 835. Professor Beck, 
in his Monogrammata Hermeneutices Librorum Novi Foederis (part i. pp. 42 — 100) 
has given a catalogue of all the manuscripts (394 in number) which are certainly 
known to have been collated, exclusive of Lectionajria Euchologia, or prayer books 
of the Greek church, and Menologia or Martyrologies. In pp. 91—93. he has spe¬ 
cified, by numbers referring to his own catalogue, what manuscripts are written 
in uncial letters ; what contain the entire New Testament, and how many contain 
the greater part, or particular books of the New Testament. It seems to be pre¬ 
cisely that sort of catalogue which Michaelis recommends biblical students to 
make, in order that they may be enabled (when consulting Mill or Wetstein) to 
judge of the proportion of manuscripts which are in favour of a reading to those 
which decide against it. The total number of manuscripts collated by Griesbach 
for his edition of the New Testament, was three hundred and, fifty-five. Pie has 
given a list of them in his Prolegomena, tom. i. pp. cL—exxvi. and also critical 
accounts of the most important manuscripts in the two volumes of his Symbol® 
Critic®. 

3 At the end of his Catena Patrum Graecorum in Marcum. Poussines prefixed 
to these extracts the title of Collationcs Graici Contextus omnium Librorum Novi 
Testamenti juxta editionem Antverpiensem regiam , cum xxii. Antiquis Codicibus 
Manuscriptis. Ex Bibliotheca Barberini. 




112 


Account of the principal Manuscripts, fyc. [Part I. Ch. II. 

the imputation against the veracity of that eminent Greek scholar has 
been completely destroyed by M. Birch, a learned Danish divine, 
who recognised in the Vatican Library six of the manuscripts from 
which Caryophilus had made extracts. 1 

2 . Another Jesuit, John Louis De la Cerda, inserted in his Adver¬ 
saria Sacra, which appeared at Lyons in 1696, a collation of sixteen 
manuscripts (eight of which were borrowed from the library of the 
king of Spain) which had been made by Pedro Faxardo, Marquis of 
Velez. From these manuscripts, the marquis inserted various read¬ 
ings in his copy of the Greek Testament, but without specifying what 
manuscripts in particular, or even how many in general, were in 
favour of each quoted reading. The remarkable agreement between 
the Velesian readings and those of the Vulgate excited the suspicions 
of Mariana (who communicated them to De la Cerda) that Velez had 
made use only of interpolated manuscripts, that had been corrected 
agreeably to the Latin Vulgate, subsequently to the council of Flo¬ 
rence. However this may be, the collation of Velez will never be 
of any utility in the criticism of the New Testament, unless the iden¬ 
tical manuscripts, which he made use of, should hereafter be disco¬ 
vered in any Spanish library. But this discovery must be considered 
as hopeless after the laborious and careful researches made by Bishop 
Marsh, relative to the collation of Velez, who (he has proved to de¬ 
monstration), did not collate one single Greek or Latin manuscript, 
but took his various lections from Robert Stephen’s edition of the 
Latin Vulgate, published at Paris in 1540: that the object which the 
marquis had in view, in framing this collection of readings, was to 
support, not the Vulgate in general, but the text of this edition in 
particular, wherever it varied from the text of Stephen’s Greek Tes¬ 
tament printed in 1550; and that with this view he translated into 
Greek the readings of the former, which varied from the latter, ex¬ 
cept where Stephen’s Greek margin supplied him with the readings 
which he wanted, where he had only to transcribe, and not to trans¬ 
late. 2 

1 Michaelis, vol. ii. part i. pp. 212—21G. part ii. pp. 666, 667. Birch, Quatuor 
Evangelia, Prolegom. p. 36. Ejusdem, Vari® Lectiones ad Text. iv. Evangel. 
Proleg. p. xlii. Hafni®, 1801, 8vo. 

2 Michaelis, vol. ii. part i. pp. 351—354. part ii. pp. 824, 825. Mr. (now Bishop) 
Marsh’s Letters to Archdeacon Travis, p. 67, and the Appendix to that work, (pp. 
253—344.) in which a minute detail of the Velesian readings is given, as also in 
Christian Benedict Michaelis’s Tractatio Critica de Variis Lectionibus Novi Tes- 
itamenti, §§ 87—89. (pp. 96—101.) 4to. Hal® Magdeburgic®, 1749. 



III. Sect. I.] Principal Editions of the Hebrew Bible. 


113 


CHAPTER HI. 

ON THE EDITIONS OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT. 

‘ SECTION I. 

A CRITICAL NOTICE OF THE PRINCIPAL EDITIONS OF THE 

HEBREW BIBLE. 

Bishop WALTON , 1 Carpzov , 2 and particularly Le Long, have 
treated at great length on the various editions of the Hebrew Scrip¬ 
tures. These have been divided by De Rossi and others into Ma- 
soretic and Non-Masoretic editions, — a distinction, the utility of 
which is not perceived. In the present section, Dr. Masch’s im¬ 
proved edition of Le Long’s Bibliotheca Sacra 3 has been chiefly fol¬ 
lowed. According to that eminent bibliographer, the various im¬ 
pressions of the Hebrew Bible may be divided into the four following 
classes, viz. 

i. Editiones Principes , or those first printed. 

ii. Editions, whose text has been literally adopted in subsequent 
impressions. 

iii. Editions, whose text is accompanied with rabbinical commen¬ 
taries. 

iv. Polyglotts, or editions of the Bible with versions in several lan¬ 
guages. 

v. Editions, which are furnished with critical apparatus. 

i. Editiones Principes . 

1 . Psalterium Hebraicum, cum commentario Kimchii. Anno 237. 
(1477 ) 4to. 

The^rsi printed Hebrew book. It is of extreme rarity, and is printed with a 
square Hebrew type, approaching that of the German Jews. The text is without 
points, except in the four first psalms, which are clumsily pointed. The commen¬ 
tary of Rabhi Kimchi is subjoined to each verse of the text in the rabbinical cha¬ 
racter, and is much more complete than in the subsequent editions, as it contains 
all those passages which were afterwards omitted, as being hostile to Christianity. 

2. Biblia Hebraica, cum punctis. Soncino, 14S8, folio. 

The first edition of the entire Hebrew Bible ever printed. It is at present of 
such extreme rarity, that only nine copies of it are known to be in existence. One 
of these is in the library of Exeter College, Oxford. At the end of the Pen¬ 
tateuch there is a long Hebrew subscription, indicating the name of the editor 
(Abraham Ben Chajim,) the place where it was printed, and the date of the edi¬ 
tion. This very scarce volume consists, according to Maseli, of 373 (but Brunet 
says 380) folios, printed with points and accents, and also with signatures and catch¬ 
words. The initial letters of each book are larger than the others, and are orna¬ 
mented. Dr. Kennicott states, that there are not fewer than twelve thousand verbal 

1 Prolegom. cap. iv. De Bibliorum Editionibus praecipuis. 

2 Critica Sacra, pars i. cap. 0. pp. 387—428. 

3 Bibliotheca Sacra, post. cl. cl. V. V. Jacobi Le Long et C. F. Boerneri iteratax 
curas ordine disposita, emendata, suppleta, continuata ab Andrea Gottlieb Masch 
Halce, 4to. 1778—85—90. 4 vols. with Supplement. The account of Hebrew edi¬ 
tions is in the first volume, pp. 1—18(>. 331—424. De Bure’s Bibliographic In¬ 
structive, tom. i. (Paris 17G3,) and Brunet’s Manuel du Libraire, et de l’Amateur 
de Livres, (4 vols. 8vo. Paris 1820. 3d edit.) have also been consulted occasionally 

VOL. II. 15 




114 


Notice of the principal Editions [Part I. Ch. 

■differences between this edition and that of Vander Hooght; his assertion is ques¬ 
tioned by Masch. The researches of biblical critics have not succeeded in ascer¬ 
taining what manuscripts were used for this Hebrew Bible. It is, however, ac¬ 
knowledged that these two very antient editions are equal in value to manuscripts. 

ii. Editiones Primarice , or those which have been adopted as the bases 

of subsequent impressions . 

1. Biblia Hebraica, 8vo. Brixiae, 1494. 

This edition was conducted by Gerson, the son of Rabbi Moses. It is also of 
"extreme rarity, and is printed in long lines, except part of the Psalms, which is 
in two columns. The identical copy of this edition, from which Luther made his 
German translation, is said to be preserved in the Royal Library at Berlin. This 
edition was the basis of, 1. The Complutensian Polyglott; 2. Bomberg’s first 
Rabbinical Bible, Venice, 1518, in 4 vols. folio ; 3. Daniel Bomberg’s 4to. Hebrew 
Bible, Venice, 1518; 4. His second Hebrew Bible, 4to. Venice, 1521; and, 5. Se¬ 
bastian Munster’s Hebrew Bible, Basil, 1536, in 2 vols. 4to. 

2. Another primary edition is the Biblia Hebraica Bombergiana 
II. folio, Venice, 1525, 1526, folio. 

This was edited by Rabbi Jacob Ben Chajim, who had the reputation of being 
profoundly learned in the Masora, and other branches of Jewish erudition. He 
pointed the text according to the Masoretic system. This edition is the basis of 
all the modern pointed copies. 

iii. Editions of the Bible with Rabbinical Commentaries. 

Besides the Biblia Rabbinica I. et II. just mentioned, we may no¬ 
tice in this class the two following editions, viz. 

1. Biblia Hebraica, cum utraque Masora, Targum, necnon com- 
mentariis Rabbinorum, studio et cum praefatione R. Jacob F. Chajim, 
Venetiis, 1547—1549, 4 tomes in 2 vols. folio. 

This is the second of Rabbi Jacob Ben Chajim’s editions ; and according to M, 
Brunet, is preferable to the preceding, as well as to another edition executed in 
1568, also from the press of Daniel Bomberg. 

2. Biblia Hebraea, cum utraque Masora et Targum, item cum com- 
mentariis Rabbinorum, studio Joannis Buxtorfii, patris; adjeeta est 
ejusdem Tiberias, sive commentarius masoreticus. Basileae, 1618, 

1619, 1620, 4 tomes in 2 vols. folio. 

This great work was executed at the expense of Lewis Koenig, an opulent 
bookseller at Basle ; on account of the additional matter which it contains, it is 
held in great esteem by Hebrew scholars, many of whom prefer it to the Hebrew 
Bibles printed by Bomberg. Buxtorfs Biblia Rabbinica contains the commenta¬ 
ries of the celebrated Jewish Rabbins, Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, Levi Ben Ger¬ 
son, and Saadias Haggaon. An Appendix is subjoined, containing, besides the 
Jerusalem Targum, the great Masora corrected and amended by Buxtorf, the va¬ 
rious lections of the Rabbis Ben Ascher and Ben Naphtali. Buxtorf also annexed 
the points to the Chaldee paraphrase. The Tiberias , published by Buxtorf in 

1620, was intended to illustrate the Masora and other additions to his great Bible, 

iv. Polyglott Bibles. 

The honour of having projected the first plan of a Polyglott Bible 
is due to the illustrious printer, Aldus Manutius the elder ; but of this 
projected work only one sheet was ever printed, in collateral columns 
of Hebrew, Greek and Latin, in the year 1501. A copy of it (per¬ 
haps the only one that is extant) is preserved among the manuscripts 
in the Royal Library at Paris, No. 3064. The text of the typogra¬ 
phy is exceedingly beautiful. 1 

In 1516 there was printed at Genoa, by Peter Paul Forms (in 
dEdibus Nicolai Justiniani Pauli) the Pentaglott Psalter of Augustin 


1 Rcnouard, Annales de rimprimerie des Aides, tom. ii. pp. 27, 28. 




115 


III. Sect. I.] Of the Hebrew Bible. 

Jtistiniani Bishop of Nebo. It was in Hebrew, Arabic, Chaldee, 
and Greek, with the Latin Version, Glosses, and Scholia. In 1518 
John Potken published the Psalter in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and 
Ethiopic, at Cologne. But the first Polyglott edition of the entire 
Hebrew Bible was that printed at Alcala in Spain, viz. 

Biblia Sacra Polyglotta, complectentia Vetus Testamentum, He- 
braico, Graeco, et Latino Idiomate ; Novum Testamentum Grcecum, 
et Latinum ; et Vocabularium Hebraicum et Chaldaicum Veteris 
Testamenti, cum Grammatica Hebraica, nec non Dictionario Graeco ; 
Studio, Opera, et Impensis Cardinalis Francisci Ximenes de Cisne¬ 
ros. Industria Arnaldi Gulielmi de Brocario artis impressorie ma- 
gistri. Compluti, folio. 1514, 1515. 1517. 6 vols. 

The printing of this splendid and celebrated work, usually called the Complu- 
tcnsian Polyglott, was commenced in 1502; though completed in 1517, it was not 
published until 1522, and it cost the munificent Cardinal Zimenes 50,000 ducats. 
The editors were iElius Antonius Nebrissensis, Demetrius Ducas, Ferdinandus 
Pincianus, Lopez de Stunica, Alfonsus de Zamora, Paulus Coronellus, and Johan¬ 
nes de Vergera, a physician of Alcala or Complutum. The last three were con¬ 
verted Jews. This Polyglott is usually divided into six volumes. The first four 
comprise the Old Testament, with the Hebrew, Latin, and Greek in three distinct 
columns, the Chaldee paraphrase being at the bottom of the page with a Latin 
interpretation ; and the margin is filled with Hebrew and Chaldee radicals. The 
fifth volume contains the Greek Testament, with the Vulgate Latin version in a 
parallel column ; in the margin, there is a kind of concordance, referring to simi¬ 
lar passages in the Old and New Testaments. And at the end of this volume, there 
are, 1. A single leaf containing some Greek and Latin verses ; 2. Interpretationcs 
Hebraorum, Chaldceorum Gracorumque Nominum Novi Testamenti, on ten leaves : 
and 3. Introductio quam brevis adGrcecas litteras, &c. on thirty-nine leaves. The 
sixth volume contains, 1. A separate title ; 2. Vocabularium Hebraicum totius 
Veteris Testamenti, cum omnibus dictionibus Chaldais, in eodem Veteri Testa - 
mento contentis, on one hundred and seventy-two leaves ; 3. An Alphabetical In¬ 
dex, on eight leaves, of the Latin words occurring in different parts of the work ; 
4. Interpretationcs Hebraicorum, Chaldaicorum Gracorumque nominum, Veteris 
ac Novi Testamenti, secundum Ordincm Mphabcti; 5. Two leaves entitled A 'omina 
quee sequuntur, sunt ilia, qua in utroque Testamento vicio Scriptorum sunt aliter 
Scripta quam in Hebrcco et Grceco, et in aliquibus Bibliis nostris antiquis, &c. 6. Fif¬ 
teen leaves entitled Introductiones artis Grammatica Hebraica et prirno de modo 
legendi, et pronuntiandi. These several pieces are sometimes placed in a different 
order from that above indicated. It is not known what is become of the manu¬ 
scripts that were consulted for this edition. The impression was limited to 600 
copies ; three were struck off on vellum. One of these was deposited in the 
Royal Library at Madrid ; and another in the Royal Library at Turin. The third 
(which is supposed to have been reserved for Cardinal Ximenes), after passing 
through various hands, was purchased at the Pinelli sale, in 1789,for the late Count 
M’Carthy of Thoulouse, for four hundred and eighty-three pounds. On the sale 
of this gentleman’s library at Paris, in 1817, it was bought by George Hibbert, 
Esq. for 16,100 francs, or six hundred and seventy-six pounds three shillings and 
four pence. Copies of the Complutensian Polyglott, on paper, are in the Libra¬ 
ries of the British Museum and Sion College, and also in several of the College 
Libraries in the two Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. 

2. Biblia Sacra ITebraiee, Chaldaice, Graece, et Latine, Philippi 
II. Regis Cathol. Pietate et Studio ad Sacrosanctae Ecclesiae Usum, 
Christophorus Plantinus excudebat. Antwerpiae, 1569—1572, 8 vols. 
folio. 

Five hundred copies only were printed of this magnificent work ; the greater 
part of which being lost in a voyage to Spain, the Antwerp Polyglott has become 
of extreme rarity. It was printed in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Chaldee ; and 
contains, besides the whole of the Complutensian Polyglott, a Chaldee paraphrase 
of part of the Old Testament, which Cardinal Ximenes had deposited in the Pub¬ 
lic Library at Alcala, having particular reasons for not publishing it. This edition 
also has a Syriac version of the New Testament, and the Latin translation of Santes 


I1G Notice of the principal Editions [Part I. Ch. 

Pagninus, as reformed by Arias Montanus, the principal editor of this noble un¬ 
dertaking. The sixth, seventh, and eighth volumes are filled with lexicons and 
grammars of the various languages in which the Scriptures are printed, together 
with indexes, and a treatise on sabred antiquities. The Hebrew text is said to be 
compiled from the Complutensian and Bomberg editions. 

3. Biblia. 1. Hebraica. 2. Samaritana. 3. Chaldaica. 4. Graeca. 
5. Syriac a. 6. Latina. 7. Arabica. Lntetiae Parisiorum, exeudebat 
Antonins Vitre. 1628—1645. 10 vols. large folio. 

This edition, which is extremely magnificent, contains all that is inserted in the 
Complutensian and Antwerp Polyglotts, with the addition of a Syriac and Arabic 
version of the greatest part of the Old, and the entire New Testament. The 
Samaritan Pentateuch, with a Samaritan version, was printed for the first time in 
this Polyglott, the expenses of which ruined the editor, M. Le Jay. His learned 
associates were Philippus Aquinas, Jacobus Morinus, Abraham Echellensis, Ga¬ 
briel Sionita, &c. The Hebrew texft is that of the Antwerp Polyglott. There are 
extant copies of Le Jay’s edition of the Polyglott Bible, under the following title, 
viz. Biblia Mexandrina Heptaglotta auspiciis S. D. Mexandri VII. anno sessionis 
ejus xii. feliciter inckoali. Lutetian Parisiorum prostant apud Joannem Jansonium 
a Waesberge , Johannem Jacobi Chipper , Elisaium Weirstraet , 1666. 

4. Biblia Sacra Polyglotta, complectentia Textus Originates, He- 
braicum cum Pentateucho Samaritano, Chaldaicum, Graecum, Ver- 
sionumque antiquarum Samaritanae, Graeca LXXII Interpretum, 
Chaldaicae, Syriacae, Arabicae, JEthiopicae, Vulgatae Latinae, quicquid 
comparari poterat.... Edidit Brianus Walton, S. T. D. Imprimebat 
Thomas Roycroft. Londini, 1657, 6 vols. large folio. 

Though less magnificent than the Paris Polyglott, this of Bishop Walton is, in all 
other respects, preferable ; being more ample and more commodious. Nine lan¬ 
guages are used in it, though no one book of the Bible is printed in so many. In 
the New Testament, the four Gospels are in six languages ; the other books, only 
in jive ; tlxose of Judith and the Maccabees, only in three. The Septuagint ver¬ 
sion is printed from the -edition printed at Rome in 1587, which exhibits the text of 
the Vatican manuscript. The Latin is the Vulgate of Clement VIII. The Chaldee 
paraphrase is more complete than in any former publication. The London Poly¬ 
glott also has an interlineary Latin version of the Hebrew text; and some parts 
of the Bible are printed in Ethiopic and Persian, none of which are found in any 
preceding Polyglott. 

The first volume, besides very learned and useful Prolegomena, contains the 
Pentateuch. Every sheet exhibits, at one view, 1st, The Hebrew Text, with 
Montanus’s Latin version, very correctly printed: 2. The same verses in the 
Vulgate Latin : 3. The Greek version of the Septuagint, according to the Va¬ 
tican MS. with a literal Latin Translation by Flaminus Nobilis, and the vari¬ 
ous readings of the Alexandrian MS. added at the bottom of the column: 4. 
The Syriac version, with a collateral Latin translation : 5. The Targum, or Chal¬ 
dee Paraphrase, of Onkelos, with a Latin translation : 6. The Hebrreo-Samaritan 
text, which is nearly the same with the unpointed Hebrew, only the character is 
different; and the Samaritan version, which differs vastly from the other as to the 
language, though the sense is pretty nearly the same ; and therefore one Latin 
translation (with a few notes added at the bottom of the column,) serves for both : 
7. The Arabic version, with a collateral Latin translation, •which in general agrees 
with the Septuagint. 

This first volume contains, or should contain, a portrait of Bishop Walton, en¬ 
graved by Lombart; and a frontispiece, together with three plates relating to 
Solomon's temple, all engraved by Hollar. There axe also two plates containing 
sections of Jerusalem, &c. and a chart of the Holy Land. These are inserted in 
Capellus’s Treatise on the temple. That part of the Prolegomena, in this volume, 
which was written by Bishop Walton, was commodiously printed in octavo, at 
Leipsic, in 1777, by Prefessor Dathe. It is a treasure of sacred criticism. 

The second volume comprises the historical books in the same languages as are 
above enumerated, with the exception of the Samaritan (which is confined to the 
Pentateuch) and of the Targum of Rabbi Joseph (surnamed the blind) on the Books 
of Chronicles, which was not discovered till after the Polyglott was in the press 
It has since been published in a separate form, as is noticed in page 118. 


117 


III. Sect. I.] Of the Hebrew Bible. 

The third volume comprehends all the poetic and prophetic books from Job to 
Malachi, in the same languages as before, only that there is an Ethiopic version 
of the book of Psalms, which is so near akin to the Septuagint, that the same 
Latin translation serves for both, with a few exceptions, which are noted in the 
margin. 

The fourth contains all the Apocryphal Books, in Greek, Latin, Syriac, and 
Arabic, with a two-fold Hebrew text of the book of Tobit; the first from Paul 
Fagius, the second from Sebastian Munster. After the Apocrypha there is a 
three-fold Tarcrum of the Pentateuch : the first is in Chaldee, and is ascribed to 
Jonathan ben Uzziel: the second is in Chaldee also : it takes in only select parts 
of the Law, and is commonly called the Jerusalem Targum : the third is in Per¬ 
sic, the work of one Jacob Tawus, or Toosee, and seems to be a pretty literal ver¬ 
sion of the Hebrew text. Each of these has a collateral Latin translation. The 
two first, though they contain many fables, are exceedingly useful, because 
they explain many words and customs, the meaning of which is to be found no 
where else ; and the latter will be found very useful to a student in the Persian 
language, though it contains many obsolete phrases, and the language is by no 
means in the pure Shirazian dialect. 

The fifth volume includes ali the books of the New Testament. The various 
languages are here exhibited at one view, as in the others. The Greek text stands 
at the head, with Montanus’s interlineary Latin translation ; the Syriac next; the 
Persic third; the Vulgate fourth ; the Arabic fifth ; and the Ethiopic sixth. Each 
of the oriental versions has a collateral Latin translation. The Persic version 
only takes in the four Gospels ; and for this, the Pars Altera, or Persian Diction¬ 
ary, in Castell’s Lexicon, was peculiarly calculated. 

The sixth volume is composed of various readings and critical remarks on all 
the preceding versions, and concludes with an explanation of all the proper names, 
both Hebrew and Greek, in the Old and New Testaments. The characters used 
for the several oriental versions are clear and good ; the Hebrew is rather the 
worst. The simple reading of a text in .the several versions often throws more 
light on the meaning of the sacred writer, than the best commentators which can 
be met with. This work sells at from twenty-five pounds to seventy guineas, ac¬ 
cording to the difference of condition. Many copies are ruled with red lines, 
which is a great help in reading, because it distinguishes the different texts better, 
and such copies ordinarily sell for three or four guineas more than the others. 

In executing this great and splendid work, Bishop Walton was assisted by Dr. 
Edmund Castell, Dr. Tho. Hyde, Dr. Pocock, Dr. Lightfoot, Mr. Alexander Hu- 
ish, Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Samuel Clarke, Louis de Dieu, and other eminently 
learned men.l It was begun in October 1653, and completed in 1657; the first 
volume was finished in September 1654 ; the second in July 1655; the third in 
July 1656 ; and the fourth, fifth, and sixth, in 1657, three years before the Resto¬ 
ration. (The Parisian Polyglott was seventeen years in the press !) 

This work was published by subscription, under the patronage of Oliver Crom¬ 
well, who permitted the paper to be imported duty-free ; but the Proctector dying 
before it was finished, Bishop Walton cancelled two leaves of the preface, in which 
he had made honourable mention of his patron, and others were printed containing 
compliments to Charles II. and some pretty severe invectives against republicans. 
Hence has arisen the distinction of republican and loyal copies. The former are 
the most valued. Dr. A. Clarke and Mr. Butler have both pointed out (especially 
the former) the variations between these two editions. For a long time, it was 
disputed among bibliographers, whether any dedication was ever prefixed to the 
London Polyglott. There is, however, a dedication in one of the copies in the 
Royal Library at Paris, and another was discovered a few years since, which was 
reprinted by the late Mr. Lunn, in large folio, to bind up with other copies of the 
Polyglott; it is also reprinted in the Classical Journal, vol. iv. pp. 355—361. In 
the first volume of Pott’s and Ruperti’s Sylloge Commentationum Theologicarum, 


1 Concerning these, as well as the literary history of the London Polyglott, the 
reader will find much and very interesting information in the Rev. H. J. Todd’s 
Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the Right Rev. Brian Walton, D. D., Lord 
Bishop of Chester, editor of the, London Polyglott Bible. With notices of his 
coadjutors in that illustrious work ; of the cultivation of oriental learning, in this 
country, preceding and during their time ; and of the authorised English version 
of the Bible, to a projected revision of which, Dr. Walton and some of his assist¬ 
ants m the Polyglott were appointed. To which is added, Dr. Walton’s own vin¬ 
dication of the London Polj’glott. London, 1821, in 2 vols. 8vo. 



J18 


Notice of the principal Editions [Part I. Ch. 

(pp. 100—137.) there is a collation of the Greek and other versions, as printed in 
the London Polyglott, with the Hebrew text of the Prophet Micah, accompanied 
with some explanations by Professor Paulus. 1 2 To complete the London Polyglott, 
the following publications should be added, viz. 

1. Paraphrasis Chaldaica in librum priorem et posteriorem chronicorum. Auc- 
tore Rabbi Joscpho, rectorc Academics in Syria. Nunc demum a manuscripto Can- 
tabrigiensi descripta, ac cum versione Latina in lucem missarn, a Davide Wilkins. 
■Amstelcedami, 4to. 1715. The manuscript from which this work was taken, was 
written a. d. 1477 : it was discovered by Dr. Samuel Clarke in the university of 
Cambridge ; and, besides the Chaldee Paraphrase on the Books of Chronicles, 
contained the Books of Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, with a 
targum or paraphrase on each. It is elegantly printed, the Chaldee text being on 
the right hand page, and the Latin translation on the left. The Chaldee has the 
vowel points ; and both the text and version are divided into verses. This work 
is now of extreme rarity. 

2. Dr. Castell’s Lexicon Heptaglotton ; of which an account is given infra, in 
the Appendix, No. III. Sect. I. 

The purchaser of the London Polyglott should ?dso procure Dr. John Owen’s 
Considerations on the Polyglott , 8vo. 1(358 : Bishop Walton’s Reply, entitled The 
Considcrator considered, &c. 8vo. 1659 : and (a work of much more importance 
than either) Walton’s Introductio ad lectionem Linguarum Orientalium, Hebra- 
icce, Chaldaica, Samaritance, Syriacce, Arabicce, Per sices JEtkiopicce, Armenicce, 
Coptics, 4/-c. 18mo. London, 1615. 1 This little tract,’ says Dr. Adam Clarke, ‘ is 
really well written, and must have been very useful at the time it was published. 
It does not contain grammars of the different languages mentioned in the title, 
but only the different alphabets, and directions how to read them. At the end of 
his exposition of the alphabet of each language, is a specimen in the proper cha¬ 
racter, each line of which is included between two others ; the first of which is a 
literal Latin version of the original, and the second, the letters of the original 
expressed by Italics. Short as these examples are, they are of great utility to a 
learner. This little work is of considerable importance, as the harbinger of this 
inestimable Polyglott.’2 

Bishop Walton’s Polyglott having long been extremely scarce and dear, it has 
been the wish of biblical students for many years, that it should be reprinted. In 
1797, the Rev. Josiah Pratt issued from the press, A Prospectus, with specimens , 
of a Ncto Polyglott Bible in Quarto, for the use of English Students, and in 1799, 
another Prospectus, with specimens, of an Octavo Polyglott Bible ; but, for want 
of encouragement, the design of the estimable editor has not been carried into ex¬ 
ecution. A similar fate has attended The Plan and Specimen of BIB LI A PO- 
LYGLOTTA BRITANNICA, or an enlarged and improved edition of the London 
Polyglott Bible, with Cast ell's Heptaglott Lexicon, which were published and cir¬ 
culated by the Rev. Adam Clarke, LL. D. F. S. A. in 1811. The reader may see 
them reprinted in the Classical Journal (where, however, no notice is taken of the 
author of the plan), vol. iv. pp. 493—497. 

5. Biblia Sacra Quadrilinguia Veteris Testamenti Hebraici, cum 
Versione e regione positis, utpote versione Grseca LXX Interpretum 
ex codice manuscripto Alexaudrino, a J. Ern. Grabio primum evul- 
gata — Item versione Latina Sebast. Sehimidii noviter revisa et tex- 
tui Hebrseo accuratius accommodata et Germanica beati Lutheri, ex 
ultima beati viri revisione et editione 1544—45 expressa, adjectis 
textui ILebraeo Notis Masorethicis et Grseca? Versioni Lectionibus 
Codicis Vaticani; notis philologicis et exegeticis aliis, ut et summa- 
riis capitum ac locis parallelis iocupletissimis ornata. Accurante M 
Christ. Reineccio. Lipsise, 1750, 3 vols. folio. 

The comparative cheapness of this neatly and accurately printed work renders 
it a valuable substitute for the preceding larger Polyglotts. Dr. A. Clarke, who 
has read over the whole of the Hebrew and Chaldee text, with the exception of 

1 For -a more particular account of the London Polyglott, we refer the reader to 
Dr. Clarke’s 'Bibliographical Dictionary, vol. i. pp. 248—270 ; vol. ii. pp. 1—12; 
Mr. Butler’s Horse Biblicse, vol. i. pp. 138—149 ; and Mr. Dibdin’s Introduction 
to the Knowledge of the Editions ot the Greek and Latin Classics, vol. i. pp. 13- 
27, from which publications the above account is abridged. 

2 Bibliographical Dictionary, vol. ii. p. 11. 



ill. Sect. I.] Of the Hebrew Bible. 119 

part of the Pentateuch, pronounces it to be one of the most correct extant. Un¬ 
happily it is not often seen in commerce. 

6. Biblia Sacra Polyglotta, Textus Archetypos Versionesque prae- 
cipuas ab Ecclesia antiquitus receptas complectentia. 4to. et 8vo. 
Londini, 1821. 

The great rarity and consequent high price of all former Polyglotts, which ren¬ 
der them for the most part inaccessible to biblical students, induced Mr. Batrster 
the publisher, to undertake this beautiful and (what to biblical students is of the 
utmost importance) cheap edition, which forms one volume in quarto, or four vo¬ 
lumes in small octavo. It comprises the original Hebrew text of the Old Testa¬ 
ment, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Septuagint Greek version of the Old Testa¬ 
ment, the Vulgate Latin, and the authorised English versions of the entire Bible, 
the original Greek text of the New Testament, and the venerable Peschito or 
Old Syriac version of it. The types, from which this Polyglott is printed, are en¬ 
tirely new, and, together with the paper, of singular beauty. The Hebrew text is 
printed from the celebrated edition of Vander Hooght (noticed in p. 121) ; the 
Samaritan Pentateuch is given from Dr. Kennicott’s edition of the Hebrew Bible, 
and is added by way of Appendix. The Septuagint is printed from Bos’s edition 
of the Vatican text ; and at the end of the Old Testament there are given the 
various readings of the Hebrew and Samaritan Pentateuchs, together with the Ma- 
soretic notes, termed Keri and Ketib, the various lections of the Alexandrian ma¬ 
nuscript as edited by l)r. Grabe, and the Apocryphal chapters of the book of Es¬ 
ther. (See a notice of them infra , Vol. IV. Part I. Chap. VIII. § V.) The New 
Testament is printed from Mill’s edition of the Textus lleceptus, with the whole 
of the important readings given by Griesbach in his edition of 1805 (noticed in the 
following section.) The Peschito or Old Syriac version is printed from Widman- 
stadt’s edition, published at Vienna in 1555, collated with the very accurate edition 
lately executed under the auspices of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The 
Apocalypse, and such of the Epistles as are not found in the Peschito, are given 
from the Philoxenian or new Syriac version. The Apocalypse is printed from Louis 
De Dieu’s edition from the Elzevir press (Lug. Bat. 1627,) and the Epistles from the 
edition of the celebrated orientalist, Dr. Pocock. (Lug. Bat. 1680.) The text 
of the Latin Vulgate version is taken from the edition of Pope Clement VIIL 
The authorised English version is accompanied with marginal renderings and a 
new and very valuable selection of parallel texts. Peculiar attention has been 
paid to ensure the general accuracy of every branch of this Polyglott edition of 
the Bible, which is confided to gentlemen of acknowledged learning and industry ; 
and prolegomena are preparing by the Rev. Samuel Lee, M. A. Professor of Arabic 
in the university of Cambridge. 

This work is neatly and correctly printed in the following forms : — First, in 
one volume quarto , presenting the original with the above-mentioned versions at 
one view except the Samaritan text of the Pentateuch, which forms an Appendix , 
Secondly, in octavo volumes, each being a complete work, which may be sepa¬ 
rately purchased in succession, as occasion may require ; and which, together, 
forms a complete Polyglott Bible in four small volumes. Thirdly, a number of 
copies is printed, combining the original texts with one or other of the respective 
versions ; and others containing similar combinations of the versions only. This 
arrangement is adopted for the convenience of biblical students, to whom it thus 
offers the Holy Scriptures in a portable form, and containing such versions only 
as the nature of their studies may require. A Scripture Harmony, or concord¬ 
ance of 500,000 parallel passages, is printed in various sizes, agreeing page for 
page with the Polyglott. We have been thus particular in giving the above de¬ 
scription of this publication, on account of its intrinsic value and utility. The 
Hebrew of the quarto copies is pointed. The octavo copies may be procured, 
with the Hebrew, pointed or not, at the option of the purchasers.! 


1 The publisher of the valuable Polyglott Bible above noticed, in 1819 issued 
from the press an octoglott edition of the Liturgy of the Anglican church, in one 
quarto volume, which may justly be pronounced one of the finest specimens of ty¬ 
pography that ever issued from the British press. The eight languages, printed 
in this edition, are the English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Antient Greek, 
Modern Greek, and Latin. The English text is given from a copy of the Oxford 
Edition of the Common Prayer Book. The French version is modern, and is well 
known to most readers of that language, having frequently been printed, and re¬ 
ceived with general approbation. The Psalms are printed from the Basle Edition 



120 


Notice of the principal Editions [Part I. Ch. 

Several editions of the Bible are extant, in two or three languages, 
called Diglotts and Triglotts , as well as Polyglott editions ol parti¬ 
cular parts of the Scriptures. For an account of these, we are com¬ 
pelled to refer the reader to the Bibliotheca Sacra of Le Long and 
Masch, and the Bibliographical Dictionary of Dr. Clarke, already 
cited. A complete account of all these Polyglott editions is a de¬ 
sideratum in English literature. 

Of the Diglotts or editions in two languages, the following are 
chiefly worthy of notice, viz. 

1. Biblia Sacra Hebraica, cum interlineari interpretatione Latina 
Xantis Pagnini: accessit Bibliorum pars, quae Hebraice non reperi- 
tur, item Novum Testamentum, Greece, cum Vulgata Interpretatione 
Latina Studio Benedicti Ariae Montani. Antwerpiae, 157*2, 1584. 
Genevae, 1609, 1619, (with a new title only.) Lipsiae, 1657, folio. 

The edition of 1572 forms the sixth volume of the Antwerp Polyglott (p. 115. 
supra,) as it is the first, so it is the best edition. The octavo editions, ex officind 
Plantiniand Raphelengii (Lugduni Batavorum ), 1599 or 1610—1613, in nine vo¬ 
lumes, are of very little value. In the folio editions above noticed, the Latin word 
is placed above the Hebrew and Greek words, to which they belong. The Latin 
version of Xantes or Santes Pagninus is corrected by Montanus, and his learned 
coadjutors, Raphelenge, and others. 

2. Biblia Hebraica, i. e. Vetus Testamentum, seu Hagiographia 
Canonici Veteris nempe Testamenti Libri, que originario nobis eti- 
amnum ore leguntur, ex Hebraico in Latinum ad litteram versi, ad- 
jecta editione Vulgata Hebraice et Latine, cura et studio Ludovici 
de Biel, e Societate Jesu. Viennee, 1743. 4 vols. 8vo. 

This is an elegant edition, little known in this country, but in many respects 
highly valuable. It contains the Hebrew, and two Latin versions,—that of the 
Vulgate edition in 1592, and that of Arias Montanus. It is ornamented with vig¬ 
nettes, and the initial letters, which are well engraved on copper, represent some 
fact of sacred history, to which the immediate subject is applicable. 

3. The Old Testament, English and Hebrew, with remarks, criti¬ 
cal and grammatical, on the Hebrew, and corrections of the English. 
By Anselm Bayley, LL. D. London, 1774. 4 vols. 8vo. 

The Hebrew text is printed in long lines on the left hand page ; and the author¬ 
ised English version, on the right hand page, divided into two columns. The crit¬ 
ical notes, which are very few, are placed under the English text. The Hebrew 
text is accompanied, throughout, with the Keri and Ketib ; but all the accents, 
<&c. are omitted, except the athnach, which answers to our colon, and the soph 


of Ostervald’s Bible. The Italian is taken from the edition of A. Montucci and L. 
Valletti, published in 1796, but revised throughout, and its orthography corrected. 
The Psalms are copied from the Bible of Diodati. The German translation, by 
the Rev. Dr. KUper (Chaplain of his Majesty’s German Chapel, St. James’s), is 
entirely new, except the Psalms, which are taken from Luther’s German Version 
of the Scriptures. The Spanish, by the Rev. Blanco White, is for the most part 
new. The Psalms are printed from Padre Scio’s great Spanish Bible, published at 
Madrid in 1807, in sixteen volumes. The translation into the Antient Greek lan¬ 
guage is that executed by Dr. Duport (a. d. 1665), who was Regius Professor of 
Greek in the University of Cambridge. The Psalms are from the Septuagint. 
The Modern Greek is an entirely new translation by Mr. A. Calbo, a learned native 
Greek, of the island of Zante. And the Latin version is nearly a reprint of the 
edition which was first printed by W. Bowyer in 1720, with some alterations and 
additions by the present editor (John Carey, LL. D.), sometimes taken from the 
translations of Mr. Thomas Parsel, the fourth edition of which was published in 
1727. The Psalms are from the Vulgate. 

The utility of this work is considerably increased by its being capable of being 
procured (like the Polyglott Bible above described) either in single or in combined 
portions, containing any one or more languages, at the option of the purchasers. 



121 


01. Sect. I.] Of the Hebrew Bible. 

pashuk, which is placed at the end of each verse in the Bible. At the end of each 
book is given an epilogue, containing a summary view of the history, transactions, 
&c. recorded therein. The work is ornamented with a frontispiece, representing 
Moses receiving the tables of the law on Mount Sinai, and two useful maps ; — one 
of the journeying of the Israelites, in which each station is numbered ; and ano¬ 
ther of their settlement in the promised land. The letter press of the Hebrew is 
very unequally distributed over the pages ; some are long and others short; some 
are wide, and others narrow. On some pages not fewer than thirty-seven lines 
are crowded together, while others contain only twenty-three. In other respects, 
Dr. A. Clarke pronounces it to be a pretty correct work ; but, besides the errata 
noticed by the editor, he adds, that the reader will find the sentence — thou shall 
visit thy habitation, left out of the English text, in Job v. 24. — Biblioor. Die. 
vol. 1. p‘. 274. 

v. Editions with critical notes and apparatus. 

1. The first edition of the Hebrew Bible, printed by Bomberg, and 
edited by Felix Pratensis (Venice, 1518), contains the various lec¬ 
tions of the Eastern and Western recensions ; which are also to be 
found in Buxtorf’s Biblia Rabbinica. 

2. Biblia Hebraica, cum Latina Versione Sebastiani Munsteri. 
Basilete, folio, 1534, 1535. 

The Hebrew type of this edition resembles the characters of the German Jews : 
the Latin version of Munster is placed by the side of the Hebrew text. Though 
the editor has not indicated what manuscripts he used, he is supposed to have 
formed his text upon the edition printed at Brescia in 1494, or the still more early 
one of 1488. His prolegomena contain much useful critical matter ; and his notes 
are subjoined to each chapter. 

3. Biblia Sacra Hebrsea correcta, et collata cum antiquissimis ex- 
emplaribus manuscriptis et hactenus impressis. Amstelodami. Typis 
et sumptibus Joscphi Athiae. 1661. 8vo. 

An extremely rare edition of a most beautifully executed Hebrew Bible. The 
impression of 1G67, edited by Leusden, is said to be the most correct. So highly 
were the labours of the printer, Athias, appreciated, that the States General of 
Holland conferred on him a gold chain with a gold medal appendant, as a mark of 
their approbation. 

4. Biblia Hebraica, cum notis Hebraicis et Lemmatibus Latinis, 
ex recensione Dan. Ern. Jablonski, cum ejus Prsefatione Latina. 
Berolini, 1699, large 8vo, sometimes called 4to. 

De Rossi considers this to be one of the most correct and important editions of 
the Hebrew Bible ever printed. It is extremely scarce. Jablonski published 
another edition of the Hebrew Bible in 1712 at Berlin, without points, in large 
12 mo. ; and subjoined to it Leusden’s Catalogue of 2294 select verses, containing 
all the words occurring in the Old Testament. There is also a Berlin edition of 
the Hebrew Bible without points, in 1711,24mo. from the press of Jablonski, who 
has prefixed a short preface. It was begun under the editorial care of S. G. 
Starcke, and finished, on his death, by Jablonski. Masch pronounces it to be both 
useless and worthless. 

5. Biblia Hebraica, edente Everardo Van der Hooght. Amstel. 
et Ultraject. 8vo, 2 vols. 1705. 

A work of singular beauty and rarity. The Hebrew text is printed, after Athi- 
as's second edition, with marginal notes pointing out the contents of each section. 
The characters, especially the vowel points, are uncommonly clear and distinct. 
At the end, Van der Hooght has given the various lections between the editions of 
Bomberg, Plantin, Athias, and others. Van der Hooght’s edition was reprinted 
at London in 2 vols. 8vo, 1811, 1812, under the editorship of Mr. Frey, which has 
by no means answered the expectations entertained of its correctness ; and also at 
Philadelphia, with a large and clear type, in two octavo volumes, in 1814, but 
without points. This is the first Hebrew Bible printed in North America. 

6. Biblia Hebraica ex aliquot Manuscriptis et compluribus impres- 
sis codicibus; item Masora tarn edita quam manuscripta, aliisque 
Hebrseorum criticis diligenter recensita. Cura ac studio D. Jo. 

VOL. II. 


/ 


122 Notice of the principal Editions [Part I. CJi. 

Henr. Michaelis. 1720, 2 vole, large 8vo. There are also copies in 
4to. 

This edition has always been held in the highest estimation. The text is print¬ 
ed from Jablonski’s Hebrew Bible (Berlin, 1699); and there were collated for this 
edition five manuscripts in the library of Erfurt, and nineteen of the best printed 
editions. A selection of various readings, and parallel passages both real and 
verbal, is subjoined, together with brief notes on the most difficult texts of the Old 
Testament. Michaelis has prefixed learned prolegomena to this edition. 

7. Biblia Hebraica cum notis criticis, et Versione Latina ad notas 
criticas facta. Accedunt Libri Greeci, qui Deutero-canonici vocan- 
tur, in tres Classes distributi. Autore Carolo Francisco Houbigant. 
Lutetiae Parisiorum, 1753, 4 vols. folio. 

The text of this edition is that of Van der Hooght, without points ; and in the 
margin of the Pentateuch Houbigant has added various lections from the Samari¬ 
tan Pentateuch. He collated twelve manuscripts, of which however he is said not 
to have made all the use he might have done. Houbigant has also printed a new 
Latin version of his own, expressive of such a text as his critical emendations ap¬ 
peared to justify and recommend. The book is most beautifully printed, but has 
not answered the high expectations that were entertained of it. See Bishop 
Marsh’s criticism on it, in his Divinity Lectures, part ii. pp. 101 —104. The Pro¬ 
legomena and critical notes were printed separately, at Frankfort, in 1777, in two 
Volumes, 4to. 

8. Yetus Testamentum Hebraicum cum variis Lectionibus. Edidil 
Benjaminus Kennicott, S. T. P. Oxonii, 1776, 1780. 2 vols. folio. 

This splendid work was preceded by two dissertations on the state of the He¬ 
brew text, published in 1753 and 1759 ; the object of which was to show the neces¬ 
sity of the same extensive collation of Hebrew manuscripts as had already been 
undertaken for the Greek manuscripts. The utility of the proposed collation 
being generally admitted, a very liberal subscription was made to defray the ex¬ 
pense of the collation, amounting on the whole to nearly ten thousand pounds, 
and the name of his late majesty headed the list of subscribers. Various persons 
were employed, both at home and abroad : but of the foreign literati the principal 
was Professor Bruns of the University of Helmstadt, who not only collated He¬ 
brew manuscripts in Germany, but went for that purpose into Italy and Switzer¬ 
land. The business of collation continued from 1760 to 1769 inclusive, durino* 
which period Dr. Kennicott published annually an account of the progress which 
was made. More than six hundred Hebrew manuscripts, and sixteen manuscripts 
of the Samaritan Pentateuch, were discovered in different libraries in Eno-Iandand 
on the Continent: many of which were wholly collated, and others consulted in 
important passages. Several years of course elapsed, after the collations were 
finished, before the materials could be arranged and digested for publication. The 
variations contained in nearly seven hundred bundles of papers, being at length 
digested (including the collations made by professor Bruns) ; and the whole when 
put together, being corrected by the original collations, and then fairty transcribed 
into thirty folio volumes, the work was put to press in 1773. In 1776, the first 
volume of Dr. Kennicott’s Hebrew Bible was delivered to the public, and in 1780 
the second volume. It was printed at the Clarendon Press : and the University 
of Oxford has the honour of having produced the first critical edition upon a large 
scale, both of the Greek Testament and of the Hebrew Bible — an honour which 
it is still maintaining by a similar edition, hitherto indeed unfinished, of the Greek 
version, commenced by the late Rev. Dr. Holmes and now continuing under the 
editorial care of the Rev. Dr. Parsons. 

11 The text of Kennicott’s edition was printed from that of Van der Hooght. 
with which the Hebrew manuscripts, by Kennicott’s direction, were all collated! 
But, as variations in the points were disregarded in the collation, the points were 
not added in the text. The various readings, as in the critical editions of the Greek 
Testament, were printed at the bottom of the page, with references to the corres¬ 
pondent readings of the text. In the Pentateuch the deviations of the Samaritan 
text were printed in a column parallel to the Hebrew ; and the variations observ¬ 
able in the Samaritan manuscripts, which differ from each other as well as the 
Hebrew, are likewise noted with references to the Samaritan printed text. To 
this collation of manuscripts was added a collation of the most distinguished edi 
lions of the Hebrew Bible, in the same manner as Wetstein has noted the varia 


123 


III. Sect. I.] Of the Hebrew Bible . 

tions observable in the principal editions of the Greek Testament. Nor did Ken- 
nicott confine his collation to manuscripts and editions. He further considered, 
that, as the quotations from the Greek Testament in the works of ecclesiastical 
writers afford another source of various readings, so the quotations from the He¬ 
brew Bible in the works of Jewish writers are likewise subjects of critical inquiry. 
For this purpose he had recourse to the most distinguished among the rabbinical 
writings, but particularly to the Talmud, the text of which is as antient as the 
third century. In the quotation of his authorities he designates them by numbers 
from 1 to 692, including manuscripts, editions, and rabbinical writings, which 
numbers are explained in the Dissertatio Generalis annexed to the second volume. 

“ This Dissertatio Generalis , which corresponds to what are called Prolegomena 
in other critical editions, contains, not only an account of the manuscripts and other 
authorities collated for this edition, but also a review of the Hebrew text divided 
into periods, and beginning with the formation of the Hebrew canon after the re¬ 
turn of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. Though inquiries of this de¬ 
scription unavoidably contain matters of doubtful disputation, though the opinions 
of Kennicott have been frequently questioned, and sometimes justly questioned, 
his Dissertatio Generalis is a work of great interest to every biblical scholar. Ken¬ 
nicott was a disciple of Capellus, both in respect to the integrity of the Hebrew 
text, and in respect to the preference of the Samaritan Pentateuch : but he avoid¬ 
ed the extreme, into which Morinus and Houbigant had fallen. And though he 
possessed not the rabbinical learning of the two Buxtorfs, his merits were greater, 
than some of his contemporaries, as well in England as on the continent, were 
willing to allow.” Bishop Marsh's Divinity Lectures, part ii. pp. 105—108. For 
a very copious account of Dr. Kennicott’s edition of the Hebrew Bible, see the 
Monthly Review (O. S.), vol. lv. pp. 92—100. vol. lxiv. pp. 173—182. 321—328. 
vol. lxv. pp. 121—131. 

To Dr. Kennicott’s Hebrew Bible, M. De Rossi published an important supple¬ 
ment at Parma (1784—1787,) in four volumes 4to. entitled Varice Lectiones Ve~ 
teris Tcstamenti, ex immensa MSS. editorumque codicum congerie exhausta , ct ad 
Samaritanum Textum , ad vetustissimas Versiones, ad accuratiores Sacrce Critical 
fontes ac leges examinatce. This work and Dr. Kennieott’s edition form one com¬ 
plete set of collations. Four hundred and seventy nine manuscripts were collated 
for M. De Rossi’s elaborate work, besides two hundred and eighty-eight printed 
editions, some of which were totally unknown before, and others very imperfectly 
known. He also consulted several Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Latin manu¬ 
scripts, together with a considerable number of rabbinical commentaries. Vol. I. 
contains the Prolegomena of De Rossi, and the various readings of the books of 
Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus. Vol. II. contains those of the books of Numbers, 
Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. Vol. III. comprehends Isaiah, 
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the twelve minor Prophets, with the Song of Solomon, Ruth, 
Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther: and in Vol. IV. are the various readings 
of the books of Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles. 
A supplemental volume was published at Parma, in 1799, entitled Scholia Critica 
in Vetus Testamcntum, seu Supplementum ad Varias Sacri Textus Lectiones, 4to, 
This volume contains the results of M. De Rossi’s further collations. His Prole¬ 
gomena are a treasure of biblical criticism. The critical labours of this eminent 
philologer ascertain (as Dr. Kennicott’s valuable and judicious labours had before 
done), instead of invalidating, the integrity of the sacred text, in matters of the 
greatest importance ; as all the manuscripts, notwithstanding the diversity of their 
dates, and of the places where they were transcribed, agree with respect to that 
which constitutes the proper essence and substance of divine revelation, viz. its 
doctrines, moral precepts, and historical relations. M. De Rossi charges the va¬ 
riations not merely on the copyists, but on the ignorance and temerity of the cri¬ 
tics, who have in all ages been too ambitious of dictating to their authors : and 
who, instead of correcting the pretended errors of others, frequently substitute in 
their place real errors of their own. 

Of the immense mass of various readings which the collations of Dr. Kennicott 
and M. De Rossi exhibit, multitudes are insignificant ; consisting frequently of 
the omission or addition of a single letter in a word, as a vau, &c. u But they are 
not therefore useless. All of this class contribute powerfully to establish the au¬ 
thenticity of the sacred text in general by their concurrence ; while they occasion¬ 
ally afford valuable emendations of the sacred text in several important passages, 
supporting by their evidence the various readings suggested by the antient versions 
derived from manuscripts of an earlier date.” (Dr. Hales’s Analysis of Chrono- 
logy, vol. ii. book i. p. xiv.) In the first volume of Dr. Masch’s edition of Le Long’s 


124 


Notice of the principal Editions [Part I. Ch. 

Bibliotheca Sacra, there is a valuable collection of various readings made from the 
Masoretic and Non-Masoretic printed copies of the Hebrew Bible. See pp. xl.— 
cxviii. 

9. Biblia Hebraica, olim aChristiano Reineccio edita, nunc denuo 
cum variis lectionibus, ex ingenti codicum copia a B. Kennicotto et 
J. B. De Rossi collatorum, ediderunt J. C. Doederlein et J. H. 
Meissner. Lipsim, 1793, 8vo. 

This edition was undertaken by the celebrated Dr. Doederlein and Professor 
Meissner, in order to supply those lovers of Hebrew literature who may not be 
able to consult the expensive volumes of Kennicott and De Rossi. They have 
selected the principal various readings of those eminent collators, but Professor 
Jahn asserts that the text is very incorrect. The fine paper copies are beautiful 
and convenient books ; but those on common paper are scarcely legible. They 
are usually bound in two volumes. In 1818 a second edition of this valuable He¬ 
brew Bible was published at Halle, with a new preface by Dr. Knappe, entitled : 
Biblica Hebraica olim a Christ. Reineccio evulgata, post ad fidem recensionis 
Masoreticce , cum variis lectionibus ex ingenti codd. mss. copia a Benj. Kennicotto 
et I. B. De Rossi collatorum edita, cur. J. C. Doederleinio et /. H. Meissnero. 
Quorum editioni ante hos XXV. annos e bibliopoli Lipsiensi emissce, nunc emtio - 
nis jure inlibr. Orphanotrophei Halcnsis translate ; accessit G. Chr. Knappn 
pra>jatio de editionibus Bibliorum Halensibus, 8 vo. Halce, Libraria Orphanotro¬ 
phei. According to the Journal General de la Litterature Etrangere (Jan. 1819.), 
the above noticed edition of 1793 consisted of ten thousand copies; the unsold 
stock of which were disposed of to the trustees or governors of the Orphan House 
at Halle, by whom the title page was altered to the date of 1818, and a new pre¬ 
face was added by Professor Knappe relative to the editions of the Bible published 
at Halle. 

10. Biblia Hebraica. Digessit et graviores Lectionum varietates 
adjecit Johannes Jahn. Viennae, 1806, 4 vols. 8vo. 

Professor Jahn has long been distinguished for his successful cultivation of Ori¬ 
ental literature. In this edition the text is very distinctly printed, the principal 
Hebrew points are retained; and the poetical parts of the Old Testament are me¬ 
trically arranged : it is conveniently divided into four vols ; of which 

Vol. I. contains the Pentateuch. — Vol. II. contains the Historical Books of 
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Ezra, Esther, and Nehemiah. — Vol. III. 
comprises the Prophetical Books thus arranged ; — Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah, 
Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, Obadiah, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel. 
Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah, Jonah, Malachi. — Vol. IV. contains the Psalms. 
Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes. 

The Books of Chronicles are scattered through the first and second volumes; 
being placed in a second column against their parallel passages, in the other his¬ 
torical Books. 

Each Book is judiciously divided into greater or less sections, to which is pre¬ 
fixed a short analysis of their contents. The division into chapters is preserved, 
and their numbers are noted at the heads of the sections. The numbers of the 
verses are also marked in the margin. The Masoretic Notes, which are generally 
added in the margin of the Hebrew Bibles, arc retained, with the exception of a 
very few, which relate to the accents, and mark the middle of a book. They are 
all expressed at full length, and many of them are also accompanied with a Latin 
version. 

The Jewish criticisms, which are in some editions added at the end of each 
book, are omitted by Professor Jahn, as being of no use to the Christian reader. 
To the text are subjoined the more important various readings : and in some more 
difficult places, all the variations that could be found are carefully given. These 
various readings are taken from the collations of Bishop Walton, Grabe, Montfau- 
con, Dr. Kennicott, De Rossi, and Dr. Holmes. The text is that of Vander 
Hooght, from which the editor has departed only in nine or ten places, in which 
many other editions had preceded him, and which are supported by numerous and 
very weighty authorities. There are copies on fine paper in 8vo., which are very 
beautiful, and also a few copies in 4to. 

11. Biblia Hebraica, or the Hebrew Scriptures of the Old Testa¬ 
ment, without points, after the text of Kennicott, with the chief va¬ 
rious readings, selected from his collation of Hebrew manuscripts, 


m 


Ml. Sect. I.] Of the Hebrew Bible. 

from that of De Rossi, and from the antient versions; accompanied 
with English notes, critical, philological, and explanatory, selected 
from the most approved antient and modern English and foreign bi¬ 
blical critics. By B. Boothroyd. [now D, D.] Pontefract and Lon¬ 
don, 1816, 2 vols. 4to. 

This is perhaps the cheapest Hebrew Bible, with critical apparatus, that is extant: 
it was published originally in parts, the first of which appeared in 1810. It is pecu¬ 
liarly interesting to the Hebrew scholar and critic, as it contains, in a condensed 
form, the substance of the most valuable and expensive works. An eminent critic 
lias observed, u Mr. Boothroyd has evidently spared neither expense nor labour to 
furnish the student with interesting extracts, which are calculated to assist him as 
well in interpreting as in obtaining a critical acquaintance with the original text. 
A good philological note is frequently of more importance towards the elucidation 
of a difficult passage than a long theological comment, wliieh is often little better 
than a detail of contrary opinions. There is evidently some hazard of adopting 
fanciful and conjectural corrections in so extensive an undertaking as this, which 
is principally compiled from preceding authors of almost every description. 
Against this danger the sobriety of the editor’s judgment has been a powerful pro¬ 
tection ; and as his avowed object was the solid instruction of the purchasers of 
his book, he has, in a commendable manner, accomplished his purpose.” (Electic 
Review, vol. vii. p. 34. New Series.) The type is very clear; and the poetical 
parts of the Hebrew Scriptures are printed in hemistichs, according to the ar¬ 
rangement proposed by Bishop Lowth, and adopted by Archbishop Newcome, 
There are copies in royal 4to. 

12. Biblia Hebraica secundum editionem Everardi Vander Hooght, 
denuo recognita et emendata a Juda D’Allemand, Linguae Sanctae 
Doctore. Editio longe accuratissima. Londini, 1822. 8vo. 

This edition is stereotyped : it is printed after Vander Hooght’s text; in pre¬ 
paring which for the press, the learned editor, Mr. D’Allemand, states that he dis¬ 
covered not fewer than two hundred errata. These lie has carefully corrected, and 
by repeated and most attentive revision he has perhaps done all that human indus¬ 
try can accomplish, in order to produce an accurate edition of the Hebrew Bible. 
In addition to the care previously bestowed by the editor, every page was revised 
lour times, after the stereotype plates were cast, by persons familiar with the He¬ 
brew language. Vander Hooght’s historical summaries of the contents of each 
chapter are omitted, in order that the expense of the book may not be unnecessa¬ 
rily increased. The various readings and Masoretic notes are very neatly and 
clearly exhibited at the foot of each page. Upon the whole, this edition (espe¬ 
cially the fine paper copies) may safely be pronounced the most beautiful, as 
well as the cheapest edition of the Hebrew Scriptures ever published. 

13. Biblia Hebraica. Textum recognovit, insigniorem Lectionis 
varietatem, Argumentorumque notationes adjecit G. Gesenius. Lip- 
siae, 8vo. 

This critical edition of the Hebrew Bible by Professor Gesenius was announced 
in the catalogue of books published at the Leipsic Easter fair, 1823, but it has not 
vet made its appearance. 

Of the minor editions, containing the Hebrew text only, without 
any critical apparatus, the following have been recommended to bi¬ 
blical students, viz. 

]. The most useful Hebrew Bible, for any person who is mode¬ 
rately acquainted with Latin, is that of Benedictus Arias Montanus, 
with an interlineary Latin translation, printed by Christopher Plan- 
tin at Antwerp, 1572, 1584, folio. See it noticed p. 115. supra. 

2. Biblia Hebraica, accurante M. Christiana Reineceio. Lipsiae 
1725, 1729, 1756. 

These are neat and accurate editions. Masch mentions another edition dated 
1729, in quarto, in which the books are arranged according to the order adopted 
in the editions of the German translation of the Bible. 

3. Biblia Hebraica manualia ad optimas quasque editiones recen* 
sita, atque cum brevi lectionum Masorethicarum Kettriban et Krijah 



126 Notice of the principal Editions [Part I. Ch. 

resolutione ac explicatione. Edita a Johanne Simonis. Halse, 1752, 
1767, 8vo. 

The second edition of 1767 is the best. The text of both is that of Vander 
Hooght. There is a short yet full Hebrew and Latin Lexicon at the end of both 
editions, which have the additional merit of being portable, cheap, and useful. 

4. Biblia Hebraica sine punctis. Amstelodami, 1701, small 8vo. 
This is usually though incorrectly called Leusden’s Hebrew Bible. The real 

editor was Maresius; Leusden wrote a preface to the Hebrew Bible printed at 
Amsterdam, 1694, 8vo. which abounds with errors. With the edition of 1701 is 
frequently bound up a neat and accurate edition of the Greek Testament, printed 
by Wetstein at Amsterdam, 1740, in small 8vo. 

5. Victorini Bythneri Lyra Davidis regis, sive Analysis Critico- 
Practica Psalmorum: qua Voces Ebrseae explicantur, ac consensus 
Textus Sacri cum Paraphrasi Chaldaica ac Septuaginta Viroruin 
Interpretatione Groeca monstratur. Londini, 1650, 1664, 1679, 4to.; 
Tiguri, 1664, 1670, 8vo. ; Glasguse (in aedibus academicis) et Lon- 
dini, 1823. 8vo. 

Bythner’s Lyra Prophetica has long been known, as perhaps the most valuable 
help to the critical and grammatical study of the Book of Psalms. The late re¬ 
print, at the university press of Glasgow is very beautiful. 

e- o’bnn iso- The Book of Psalms, without Points ; cor¬ 
rected from the edition of Vander Hooght, with a Key, Grammar, 
Literal English Version, and Lexicon upon an improved plan. By 
John Reid, M. D. Glasgow, 1821. 8vo. 


SECTION II. 

A CRITICAL NOTICE OF THE PRINCIPAL EDITIONS OF THE 

GREEK TESTAMENT. 

BESIDES the works of Le Long and Masch, the history of the 
various editions of the Greek Testament is treated at considerable 
length by Pritius, 1 by Dr. Mill and Wetstein in the prolegomena to 
their critical editions of it, by Michaelis and his learned annotator 
Jhsliop Marsh, 2 Dr. Griesbach, 3 Professors Beck 4 , and Harles, 5 by 
Mr. Butler, 6 and by Dr. Clarke. 7 To their labours, which have been 
consulted for this section, the reader is once for all referred, who is 
desirous of studying this important branch of the literary history of the 
sacred writings. 

The following table exhibits the four principal Standard-Text-Edi- 
tions of the Greek Testament, together with the principal editions 
which are founded upon them. 8 

1. Erasmus. 1516-19-22-27-35. 

/ - ---——.— s 

Mdus. Fol. Gr. 1518. — Gerbelii. Qto. Gr. 1521. — Cephalcevs. Oct. Gr. 1524.— 
Rebdius. Oct. 1524. Gr. 1531-35. — CoIitkeus. Oct. Gr. 1534. — Platteri. Oct 
Gr. 1538-40-43. 


1 Introd. ad Lect. Nov. Test. pp. 403—423. 

2 Introduction to the New Test. vol. ii. part i. pp. 429—494 ; part ii. pp. 844— 
885. Bishop Marsh’s Divinity Lectures, part i. pp. 98—110 ; part ii. pp. 1—46. 

Nov. Test. vol. i. prolegom. pp. iii.—xxxix. 

4 Monogrammata Hermeneutices Novi Testamenti, pp. 110—115. 

5 Brevior Notitia Literaturce Grrecee, pp. 656—664 ; and also vol. iv. of his im¬ 
proved edition of Fabricius’s Bibliotheca Grseca, pp. 839—856. 

6 Horoe Biblicro, vol. i. pp. 150—169. 

7 Bibliographical Dictionary, vol. vi. pp. 168—203. 

8 The above table is taken from Masch and Boerner’s edition of Le Long’s Bi 







127 


III. Sect. II.] Of the Greek Testament. 

2. COMPLUTENSIAN. 1514. 

'-*— -■> 

Plantin. Oct. Gr. 1564-73-74-90-91-1601-12. Fol. Gr. et Lat. 1572. Oct. 1574-83. 

Fol. 1584.— Geneva. Gr. 1609. 24mo., 1619, 1620. Qto .— Goldhagcn. ( Mentz .) 

1753. Oct. 

3. Robt. Stephens. 1546-49-50. 

-*- s 

Oponnus. Duod. Gr. 1552.— Wechel, Fol. Gr. 1597. Duod. 1600. Fol. 1601. Duod. 

1629.— Imp. Nicholai Dulcis. Fol. Gr. 1687.— Edit. Regia. Fol. Gr. 1642.— 

Crispin. Duod. Gr. 15o3-63-1604. Duod. Gr. ct Lat. 1612-22.— Froschoveri. 

Oct. Gr. 1559-66.— Brylinger. Oct. Gr. 1563.— Voegelii. jDct. Gr. 1564.— Vig- 

nonii. Duod. Gr. 1584-87-1613-15.— Bezce. Fol. Gr. et Lat. 1565-82-89-98- 

1642.— Millii. Fol. Gr. 1707.— Kusteri. Fol. Gr. 1710-23.— Birchii. Gr. 1788. 

Fol. et Qto .—Hardy. Oct. Gr. 1768,1776, 1819.— Valpy. Oct. Gr. 1816. 

4. Elzevir. 1624-33, &c. 

-*-----, 

Boecleri. Oct. Gr. 1645 .—CurcelLei. Oct. Gr. 1658-75-85-99.— Felli. Oct. Gr. 

1675.— Konigii. Oct. Gr. 1697-1702.— Gregorii. Fol. Gr. 1703.— G. D. T.M.D. 

Oct. Gr. 1711-35.— Wetstcnii. Fol. Gr. 1715. 

The editions of Bengel, Bowyer, Griesbach, Alter, and Harwood, are not form¬ 
ed on the text of either of the above editions. 

Of the various editions of the Greek Testament, which have issued 
lrom the press, the following more particularly claim the notice of the 
biblical student. 

1. Novum Instrumetu omne diligenter ab Erasmo Roterodamo 

recognitum et emendatum. Basileae, 1516, folio. Gr. Lat. edit, 

princeps. 

Erasmus had the distinguished honour of giving to the world the first edition of 
the entire New Testament. * 1 It was reprinted in 1519, 1522, 1527, and 1535. 

The first edition is of extreme rarity, and was executed with great haste, in the 
short space of five months. Some of the manuscripts which he consulted are pre¬ 
served in the public library at Basle, but none of them are of very great antiquity. 
For the first edition he had only one mutilated manuscript of the Apocalypse, (since 
totally lost); he therefore filled up the chasms with his own Greek translations 
from the Latin Vulgate. The publication of this edition, in which he omitted the 
controverted clause in 1 John v. 7. because it was not in any of his manuscripts, 
involved him in a literary contest with the divines of Louvain, and with Stunica, 
the most learned of the Complutensian editors. 2 The editions of 1516, 1519, and 
1522, were published before he saw the Complutensian Polyglott, from which he 
corrected the edition of 1527, particularly in the Apocalypse. Erasmus’s editions 
were repeatedly printed after his death, particularly at Basle, Frankfort, and Leip- 
sic. All his editions are much esteemed, notwithstanding their faults, and in some 
respects they are considered as equal to manuscripts. In the first edition Dr. 
Mill discovered about 500 vitiated passages, and about one hundred genuine ones ; 
a copy, on vellum , is in the Cathedral Library at York. Mr. Nolan has satisfacto¬ 
rily vindicated the character of Erasmus, as a sound critic and editor of the New 
Testament, from the charges of Dr. Griesbach. Inquiry into the Integrity of the 
Greek Vulgate, pp. 410—419. 

2. Novum Testamentum, Greece et Latine. Compluti, 1514. 

This forms the fifth volume of the Complutensian Polyglott already noticed, 
(p. 115. supra)', though it bears the date of 1514, yet as it was not allowed to be 
sold generally until 1522, before which time Erasmus had printed three editions of 

bliotheca Sacra, and from Mr. Dibdin’s Introduction to the Knowledge of the 
Classics, vol. i. p. 55. 

1 The first portion ever printed was executed by Aldus Manutius at Venice, in 
1504. A copy is in the Royal Library of Wirtemburg at Stutgard. The whole of 
St. John’s Gospel was published at Tubingen, in 1514. 

2 In his disputes with Stunica, Erasmus professed his readiness to insert this 
verse if it were found in a single manuscript. Though Stunica could not produce 
one, yet as it was afterwards discovered in fhe Codex Britannicus (i. e. Montforti- 
anus, see pp. 107, 108. supra), a manuscript of no great antiquity, Erasmus felt 
himself bound to insert it, and accordingly admitted it into his third edition of 1522. 










us 


Notice of the Principal Editions [Part I. Ch. 

the New Testament, it is in fact entitled only to the second place in our list. The 
•Greek text of this edition is printed without spirits, but the vowels are frequently 
accented. The characters seem to have been cut in imitation of those found in 
manuscripts of the twelfth century ; and were probably taken from some manu¬ 
scripts of that age, which were consulted by the Complutensian editors. The 
Complutensian edition contains the celebrated text relative to the heavenly wit¬ 
nesses in 1 John v. 7, 8. of which we have given an engraved fac-simile, infra, 
Vol. IV. Part II. Ch. V. Sect. V. § VI. Wetstein, Semler, and other Protestant, 
critics charged the editors with having altered the text, in order to make it com- 
formable to the Latin Vulgate ; but this charge has been refuted by Goeze and 
Griesbach. Their vindication is pronounced satisfactory by Michaelis (who con¬ 
siders the Apocalypse to be the best edited part of the Complutensian Greek Tes¬ 
tament) ; and also by his annotator, Bishop Marsh, who states that this charge, in 
general , is not true. For though he is of opinion, that in some few single pas¬ 
sages,— as in Matt. x. 25. and 1 John v. 7. — they follow the Vulgate in opposi¬ 
tion to all the Greek manuscripts, he has ascertained, from actual collation, that 
there are more than two hundred passages in the Catholic Epistles, in which the 
Complutensian Greek text differs from the text of the Vulgate, as printed in the 
Complutensian edition. 

The manuscripts used for this edition are characterised as being very antient 
and very correct, but this assertion is contradicted by internal evidence. The 
manuscripts themselves, which were deposited in the library at Alcala, are no 
longer in existence f and it is a most remarkable fact, that “ wherever modern 
Greek manuscripts, manuscripts written in the thirteenth, fourteenth, or fifteenth 
centuries, differ from the most antient Greek manuscripts, and from the quotations 
of the early Greek fathers, in such characteristic readings the Complutensian 
Greek Testament almost invariably agrees with the modern, in opposition to the 
antient manuscripts. There cannot be a doubt, therefore, that the Complutensian 
text was formed from modern manuscripts alone.” (Bishop Marsh’s Divinity Lec¬ 
tures, part i. p. 95.) The researches of the Danish professor Birch have shown 
that the Complutensian editors have made no use whatever of the Codex Vatica- 
nus, though they boasted of valuable manuscripts being sent to them from the 
Vatican library. 

3. Simonis Colinaei.— ’H Kaiv^ Aia&rjxr). ’Ev \evrsria. <rwv 

*ra£a <rw Sipuvj KoXjvouw, SsxS[x/3^iov fxrjvos Ssvrsgov (pSivovroj, s<rsi cwro <rr,c 
Sso/ovict£ a. <p. X. d, (Paris, 1534, 8vo.) 

An edition of singular rarity, beauty, and correctness. Colinaeus was a very 
careful printer. He has been unjustly charged with partiality in following sonic 
unknown manuscripts; but from this accusation he has been fully exonerated by 
Dr. Mill and Wetstein. 

4. Novum Testameutum, Greece.. Lutetiae, ex officina Roberti 
Stephani Typographi, Typis Regiis. 1546. 12mo. 1549,12mo. 1550, 
folio. 

The first of these editions is usually called the 0 mirificam Edition, from the 
introductory sentence of the preface 0 mirificam regis nostri optimi et preestan- 
tissimi principis liberalitatem. It has always been admired for the neatness of 
its typography, as well as for its correctness, only twelve errata (it is said) having 
been discovered in it. Robert Stephens compiled this edition chiefly from the 

1 Great anxiety prevailed in the literary world, in the course of the last century, 
to examine the manuscripts from which the Complutensian Polyglott was com¬ 
posed. Professor Moldemhawer, who was in Spain in 1784, went to Alcala for the 
express purpose of discovering those manuscripts, and there learnt, to his inex¬ 
pressible chagrin, that about 35 years before, they had been sold by a very illiterate 
•librarian, who wanted room for some new books, como membranas inutiles (as use¬ 
less parchments), to one Toryo, a dealer in fire-works, as materials for making 
rockets ! Martinez, a man of learning, and particularly skilled in the Greek lan¬ 
guage, hearing of the circumstance soon after they were sold, hastened to rescue 
these treasures from destruction. He arrived time enough to save a few scattered 
leaves, which are stated to be now preserved in the library at Alcala. It does not, 
however, appear that Moldenhawer saw these fragments. “ Oh!” says Michaelis, 
with becoming indignation, “ that I had it in my power to immortalise both libra¬ 
rian and rocket maker ! The author of this inexcusable act — this prodigy of bar¬ 
barism — was the greatest barbarian of the present (18th) century, and happy only 
in being unknown.” Michaelis, vol. ii. pp. 440, 441. 



129 


11 [. Sect. II.] Of the Greek Testament. 

Complutensian, and the fifth edition of Erasmus, and from fifteen antient manu¬ 
scripts in the Royal Library at Paris, which were collated for him by his son Hen¬ 
ry, then a young man of only 18 years of age. Griesbach (tom. i. proleg. pp.. 
xiv.—xxxi.) has given a long and critical examination of this edition, and of the 
manuscripts consulted by Stephens for his three editions. Stephens’s first edition 
differs from the Complutensian text in 581 instances, exclusive of the Apocalypse, 
in which he closely follows Erasmus. 

The second edition closely resembles the first in its exterior appearance, but 
differs from it in (37 places ; of which four are doubtful readings, 37 not genuine, 
and 20 genuine, so that this latter edition has eleven readings of less authority 
than the former, to which however it is preferred on account of its greater rarity 
and correctness. It is this second edition which has the remarkable erratum put- 
res for plures in the last line but one of the first page of the preface, occasioned 
by the transposition of a single letter. 

The third edition of 1550, in folio, is a chef d'osuvre of splendid typography. It 
was once supposed to have been formed entirely on the authority of Greek manu¬ 
scripts, which Stephens professes, in his preface, to have collated for that purpose, 
a second and even a third time. So far, however, was this from being the case, 
that the researches of critics have shown that, except in the Apocalypse, it is 
scarcely any thing more than a reprint of Erasmus’s fifth edition. Though its 
value as a critical edition is thus considerably reduced, the singular beauty of its 
typography (which has rarely been exceeded in modern times), has caused it to 
be considered as a distinguished ornament to any library. Robert Stephens re¬ 
printed the Greek New Testament at Geneva in 1551, in 8vo. with the Vulgate 
and Erasmus’s Latin versions, and parallel passages in the margin. This is the 
scarcest of all his editions, and is remarkable for being the first edition of the New 
Testament divided into verses. 

. 5. Novum Testamentum, cum versione Latina veteri, et nova 
Theodori Bezse. Geneva?, folio, 1565, 1576, 1582, 1589, 1598. 

The New Testament of 1566 is the first of the editions conducted by Theodore 
13eza, who was a native of France and a protestant, and fled to Switzerland on ac¬ 
count of liis religion. 11 The critical materials which he employed were for the 
most part the same as those which had been used by Robert Stephens. But he 
had likewise the advantage of that very antient manuscript of the Gospels and the 
Acts, which he afterwards sent to the university of Cambridge, and which is known 
by the name of the Codex Bezoe. He had also a very antient manuscript of St. 
Paul’s Epistles, which he procured from Clermont in France, and which is known 
by the name of the Codex Claromontanus. Lastly, he had the advantage of the 
Syriac version, which had been lately published by Tremellius, with a close Latin 
translation. But the use which he made of his materials were not such as might 
have been expected from a man of Beza's learning. Instead of applying his va¬ 
rious readings to the emendation of the text, he used them chiefly for polemical 
purposes in his notes. In short, he amended Stephen’s text in not more than fifty 
places ; and even these emendations were not always founded on proper authori¬ 
ty.” (Bishop Marsh’s Lectures, part i. p. 109.) Beza’s third edition of 1582 is 
considered as the most complete of those printed under his own eye : but all his 
editions have the Vulgate Latin version, and a new one of his own, together with 
philological, doctrinal, and practical notes. The edition of 1598, being esteemed 
the most accurate of any that had before been published, was adopted as the basis 
of the English version of the New Testament, published by authority in 1611. 
This testimony of the Anglican church is highly honorable to its merit. The 
reprint of Beza’s Testament, at Cambridge (1642 folio), with the addition of Joa¬ 
chim Camerarius’s notes, is considered as the editio optima. 

6. Novum Testamentum Graece. Lugd. Bat. Ex Officina Elzevi- 
riana, I2mo. 1624. 

This is the first of the celebrated Elzevir editions, and deserves (says Bishop 
Marsh) to be particularly noticed, because the text of the Greek Testament, which 
had fluctuated in the preceding editions, acquired in this a consistency, and seem¬ 
ed during upwards of a century, to be exposed to no future alterations. The text 
of this edition has been the basis of almost every subsequent impression. Wet- 
stein adapted his various readings to it; and it has acquired the appellation of 
“ Textus Reccptus." “ The person who conducted this edition (for Elzevir was 
onh' the printer) is at present unknown ; but, whoever ho was, his critical exer¬ 
tions were confined within a narrow compass. The text of this edition was co¬ 
pied from Beza’s text, except in about fifty places ; and in these places the readings 

VOL. If. 17 


130 


Notice of the principal Editions [Part I. Ch. 

were borrowed partly from the various readings in Stephen’s margin, partly from 
other editions, but certainly not from Greek manuscripts. The textus receptus 
therefore, or the text in common use, was copied, with a few exceptions, from the 
text of Beza. Beza himself closely followed Stephens : and Stephens (namely in 
his third and chief edition) copied solely from the fifth edition of Erasmus, except 
in the Revelation, where he followed sometimes Erasmus, sometimes the Complu- 
tensian edition. The text therefore in daily use resolves itself at last into the 
Complutensian and the Erasmian editions.” (Bishop Marsh’s Lectures, part i. p. 
110 .) 

The Elzevir edition of 1624 was reprinted at Leyden in 1633, and a third time 
in 1641, and at Amsterdam in 1656, 1662, 1670, and 1678, Gr. — Of these various 
editions, that of 1633 is the best and in most request. The edition of 1633 is the 
first that has the text divided into separate verses. 

7. Novum Testamentum, studio et labore Stephani Curcellaei. 
Amstelaedami, 1658, 12mo. 1675, 1685, 12mo. 1699, 8vo. Gr. 

All the editions of Curcellaeus or Courcelles are in great repute for their beauty 
and accuracy ; the text is formed on that of the Elzevirs. He has collected the 
greatest number of various readings to be found in any edition of the New Tes¬ 
tament prior to that in the sixth volume of Bishop Walton’s Polyglott. These va¬ 
rious lections are given from a collation of manuscripts and printed editions, and 
are partly at the foot of the page, and partly at the end of the Acts and St. Paul’s 
Epistles. Curcellaeus has also given a valuable collection of parallel passages. The 
edition of 1675 contains a prologue or preface to St. Paul’s Epistles, which Boe¬ 
der had printed a few years before from a manuscript brought from the East by 
Stephen Gerlachius, and differs from the first edition only in having all the vari¬ 
ous readings placed at the foot of the page. The third and fourth editions were 
printed after the death of Curcellaeus, and differ from the second only in having 
the text printed in columns. In 1695, John Gottlieb Moller, a divine of Rostock, 
published a dissertation against the Curcellaean editions, entitled Curcellceus in 
editione originalis JY. T. textus variantium lectionum et parallelorum Scriptures 
Locorum additamentis vestita, socinizans. Rumpaeus (Com. Crit. ad Nov. Test, 
p. 280 .) has charged Courcelles W'*h unnecessarily multiplying' various readings, 
and making them from conjecture, in order to subserve the Socinian scheme. 
Michaelis admits that these charges are not wholly unfounded. The passages 
noticed by Rumpaeus are 1 John v. 7.; John x. 30. and xvii. 22., concerning the 
doctrine of the Trinity ; Rom. ix. v. 1 John v. 20., and John xvii. 3. concerning 
the son of God ; and Rom. iii. 25. Matt. xxvi. 39. 42. concerning the satisfaction 
made by Jesus Christ. All the editions of Curcellaeus are scarce and dear. 

8. Novum Testamentum, Gr. Lat. in the fifth volume of the Lon¬ 
don Polyglott, described in pp. 116—118. supra. 

This edition is deserving of particular notice, as being the first edition of the 
New Testament that is furnished with a complete critical apparatus. The text is 
that of Robert Stephen’s folio edition of 1550, whose various readings Bishop 
Walton has incorporated in his sixth volume ; and in addition to them he has 
given a collection of extracts from sixteen Greek manuscripts, which were collat¬ 
ed under the direction of Archbishop Usher. “ They are described at the head 
of the collation in the sixth volume by Walton himself; and a further account of 
them is given in the Prologomena to Mill’s Greek Testament, (§ 1372—1396), and 
in Michaelis’s Introduction to the New Testament, (vol, ii. chap, viii.) But the 
extracts from the Greek manuscripts were neither the sole nor the chief mate¬ 
rials which the Polyglott afforded for the emendation of the Greek text. In 
addition to the Latin Vulgate, it contains the Syriac, the Arabic, and the Ethi- 
opic versions of the New Testament, with the Persian in the Gospels. And these 
oriental versions are not only arranged in the most convenient manner, for the 
purpose of comparing them with the Greek, but they are accompanied with literal 
Latin translations, that even they, who are unacquainted with the oriental lan¬ 
guages, might still have recourse to them for various readings, though indeed 
with less security, as every translator is liable to make mistakes.” — (Bishop 
Marsh’s Lectures, part ii. p. 5.) 

9. T^s Kcuvtjs AiaSrjxYis Atfavra. Novi Testamenti Libri Omnes. 
Accessenmt Parallela Scripturse Loca, nec non variantes Lectiones 
ex plus 100 MSS. Codicibus et antiquis versionibus eollectae, Oxo- 
ni\, e Theatro Sheldoniano. 1675, 8vo. 

This edition was superintended by the learned Dr. John Fell, Bishop of Oxford 


131 


III. Sect. II.] Of the Greek Testament. 

whoso design in giving it to the public was, to remove the apprehensions which 
had been raised in the minds of many persons ignorant of criticism, relative to the 
supposed uncertainty of the Greek text in the New Testament, by the great num¬ 
ber of Various lections contained in Bishop Walton’s Polyglott. To show how 
little the integrity of the text was affected by them, Bishop Fell printed them un¬ 
der the text, that the reader might the more easily compare them. To the read¬ 
ings copied from the London Polyglott, he added those quoted by Curcellreus, and 
the Barberini readings, also Marshall’s extracts from the Coptic and Gothic ver¬ 
sions, and the readings of twelve Bodleian, four Dublin, and two Paris manu¬ 
scripts. As Bishop Fell’s edition sells at a low price, it may be substituted for the 
more expensive critical editions of the New Testament by those who cannot pur¬ 
chase them. The text is formed according to that of Robert Stephens, and the 
Elzevirs ; though Wetstein has accused it of retaining the errors of the former,, 
as well as of some of Walton’s Polyglott. Bishop Fell’s edition was reprinted at 
Leipsic in 1697 and 1702, and at Oxford in 1703, in folio. This magnificent edi¬ 
tion, which takes its name from the editor, Dr. Gregory, contains no accession of 
critical materials, and sells at a low price. 

10. H Kaivyj AiadrjxT). Novum Testamentum Graecum, cum lectioni- 
bus variantibus MSS. exemplarium versionum, editionum, SS. Patrum 
et Scriptorum ecclesiasticorum, et in easdem notis. Studio et labore 
Joannis Millii, S. T. P. Oxonii, e Theatro Sheldoniano. 1707. folio. 

The labour of thirty years was devoted to this edition by Dr. Mill, who finished it 
only fourteen days before his death. The text, which is that of Robert Stephens’s 
edition of 1550, is beautifully printed ; and the various readings and parallel pas¬ 
sages are placed below. Dr. Mill has inserted all the previously existing collections 
of various readings ; he collated several original editions, procured extracts from 
hitherto uncollated Greek MSS. and revised and augmented the extracts from 
the Gothic and Coptic versions which had appeared in Bishop Fell’s edition ; and 
added numerous readings from other antient versions, and from the quotations of 
the New Testament in the writings of the fathers. The prolegomena contain a 
treasure of sacred criticism. Michaelis observes that, “ notwithstanding those of 
Wetstein, they still retain their original value, for they contain a great deal of 
matter which is not in Wetstein ; and of the matter which is common to both, 
some things are more clearly explained by Mill.” This edition was reprinted by 
Kuster at Rotterdam, in 1710, in folio, with the readings of twelve additional 
MSS., some of which had been previously but imperfectly collated. Whatever 
readings were given in Mill’s appendix, as coming too late for insertion under the 
text, were in this second edition transferred to their proper places. In point of 
accuracy, however, Kuster’s edition is considered inferior to that of Dr. Mill. 
There are copies of Kuster’s edition with the date of Amsterdam 1723 in the title 
page, but Masch says that it probably is nothing more than the edition of 1710 
with a new title page. Some copies are also dated 1746. 

The various readings of Dr. Mill, amounting to 30,000, were attacked by Dr 
Whitby, in 1710, in an elaborate work entitled Examcn Variantium Lectionem 
Johannis Millii , with more zeal than knowledge of sacred criticism. It was after¬ 
wards annexed to Whitby’s Commentary on the New Testament. See an account 
of this treatise in Michaelis, vol. ii. pp. 460—462. Dr. W.’s arguments were applied 
by Anthony Collins against Divine Revelation, in his Discourse on Free-think¬ 
ing ; which was refuted by Dr. Bentley under the assumed title of Philelcutherus 
Lipsiensis, “ whose reply,” says Bishop Marsh, “ has been translated into several 
foreign languages, and should be studied by every man who is desirous of forming 
just notions of biblical criticism.” (Lectures, part ii. p. 13.) 

11. Dr. Edward Wells published an edition of the Greek Testa¬ 
ment, at Oxford, in 4to, in detached portions, between the years 
1709 and 1719. It is noticed among the commentaries infra, in the 
Appendix, No. VI. Section IV.: but “as it exhibits a corrected 
text of the Greek Testament, it claims also a place in the present 
list of editions, though subsequent improvements in sacred criticism 
have in a great measure superseded the emendations of Dr. Wells.” 
(Bishop Marsh). Dr. Nares in his Strictures on the Unitarian Ver¬ 
sion of the New Testament, has made frequent and honorable men¬ 
tion of the critical labours of Wells. 




132 


Notice of the principal Editions [Part I. Ch. 

12. H Kaivyj Aiadipeq. Novum Testamentum, post priores Steph. 
Curcell®i et D. D. Oxiensium labores. Cum prolegomenis G. D. T. 
M. et notis in fine adjectis. Amstelodami, ex Ofiicina Wetsteniana. 
1711, 1735, small 8vo. 

These are most beautiful editions, but the second is said to be the most accurate. 
The editor of the first was Gerard von Maestricht ( Gerardus De Trajecto Mosa 
Doctore ) a svndic of the republic of Bremen ; the second was revised by the ce¬ 
lebrated critic J. J. Wetstein. Having been published by his relative Henry Wet- 
stein, a bookseller of Amsterdam, these editions of the New Testament are some¬ 
times improperly called Wetstein’s ; and from the name of Curcelkeus being 
printed in the title, they are in most catalogues erroneously styled Nov. Test. 
Grcec. Curcellcei. 

The text is formed on the second Elzevir edition ot 1033, and Curcellaeus’s edi¬ 
tions. It has the most judicious selection of parallel texts ever appended to any 
edition of the New Testament. These are placed immediately under the Greek 
text, and below them is a selection of various readings, taken from upwards ot 100 
manuscripts and versions. Prefixed are very useful prolegomena, containing an 
account of manuscripts and collectors of various readings, with 43 critical canons 
to enable the reader to determine concerning the various lections exhibited in the 
work; an abstract of Dr. Whitby’s Examen above noticed; and the prefaces of 
Henry Wetstein, Curcellseus, and Bishop Fell. These editions are ornamented 
with an engraved frontispiece, copied from that of the splendid folio Paris edition 
of 1G42, a plan of Jerusalem, an ichnograph of the temple, and two maps. At 
the end there are 38 pages of critical notes, containing an examination of the 
most important various readings which occur in the course of the work. Micha- 
elis does not speak very highly of the editions of 1711 ; but Mr. Dibdin says that, 
upon the whole, the edition of 1735 “ may be considered as the very best critical 
duodecimo (rather small octavo) edition of the Greek Testament, and the biblical 
student will do well to procure so valuable and commodious a publication.” (On 
the Classics, vol. i. p. 97.)1 

13. The New Testament in Greek ancl English. London, printed 
for J. Roberts, 1729. 2 vols. 8vo. 

This is a beautifully printed book ; whose editor, Dr. Macy, has altered various 
passages in conformity with the Arian hypothesis. His arbitrary alterations and 
bold criticisms were exposed by Dr. Leonard Twells in A Critical Examination 
of the late Ncio Text and Version of the Greek Testament. London, 1732, 8vo. 

14. H Kctivy; Atadrjxrj. Novum Testamentum Graecum. Edente 
Jo. Alberto Bengelio. 4to. Tubing®, 1734, 4to. 1763, 4to. 

This is an excellent edition, formed with an extraordinary degree of conscien¬ 
tiousness, sound judgment, and good taste. John Albert Bengel, or Bengelius, as 
he is generally called in this country, abbot of Alpirspach in the duchy (present 
kingdom) of Wirtemburg, was led to direct his attention to sacred criticism, in 
consequence of serious and anxious doubts arising from the deviations exhibited 
in preceding editions ; and the result of his laborious researches was, the edition 
now under consideration. The text is preceded by an Introductio in Crisin Novi 
Testament i, and is followed by an Epilogus and Appendix. 

The text is not formed on any particular edition, but is corrected and improved 
according to the editor’s judgment; and so scrupulous was Bengel, that he studi¬ 
ously avoided inserting any reading which did not exist in some printed edition, 
except in the Apocalypse ; in which book alone he inserted readings that had 
never been printed, because it had been printed from so few manuscripts, and in one 
passage had been printed by Erasmus from no manuscript whatever. Beneath the 
text he placed some select readings, reserving the evidence in their favour for his 
Apparatus Criticus. His opinion of these marginal readings he expressed by the 
Greek letters a, j8, y, <5, and e, and some few other marks. Thus a denotes that he 
held a reading to be genuine ; /?, that its genuineness was not absolutely certain, 
hut that the reading was still preferable to that in the text; y, that the reading in 
the margin was of equal value with that in the text, so that he could not determine 

1 In 1720, the celebrated critic, Dr. Richard Bentley, circulated proposals for a 
new edition of the Greek Testament, with various lections, which was never exe¬ 
cuted. The proposals themselves are printed in the Biographia Britannica, (arti¬ 
cle Bentley , note K .); and the illustrative specimen, Rev. xxii. is given in Pritius’s 
Introd. ad Lect. Nov. Test. pp. 415—419. 




133 


III. Sect. II.] Oj the Greek Testament. 

which was preferable ; <5, that the reading in the margin was of less value : and, 
c, that it wag absolutely spurious, though defended by some critics. Bengel’s edi¬ 
tion was printed, after his death, by Burke, at Tubingen in 1763, 4to. with impor¬ 
tant corrections and additions. Several small impressions of Bengel’s Greek 
Testament have been printed in Germany, without the Critical Apparatus; viz. 
at Stutgard, 1734, 1739, 1753, 8vo.; at Tubingen, 1702, 1776,1790, 8vo.; and at 
Leipsic, 1737, 8vo. 

15. H lvaivrj Aia&r]xr\. Novum Testamentum Grtecum editionis re- 
ceptae, cum lectionibus variantibus Codicum MSS. editionum alia- 
rum, versionum et patrum, necnon commentario pleniore ex scrip- 
toribus veteribus, Hebrteis, Graecis, et Latinis, historiam et vim 
verborum illustrante. Opera et studio Joannis Jacobi Wetstenii. 
Amstelaedami. 1751, 1752, 2 vols. folio. 

Of all the editions of the New Testament, this is pronounced by Michaelis to 
be the most important, and the most necessary to those who are engaged in sacred 
criticism. Wetstein’s Prolegomena, which contain a treasure of sacred criticism, 
were first published in 1730. The text is copied from the Elzevir editions, and 
the verses are numbered in the margin ; and the various readings, with their au¬ 
thorities (containing a million of quotations), are placed beneath the text. 

Wetstein’s edition is divided into four parts, each of wdiich is accompanied with 
Prolegomena, describing the Greek manuscripts quoted in it. The first part con¬ 
tains the four Gospels ; the second, the Epistles of St. Paul; the third, the Acts 
of the Apostles, and the Catholic Epistles ; and the fourth, the Apocalypse. To 
the last part are annexed two Epistles in Syriac, with a Latin version ; which, ac¬ 
cording to Wetstein, were written by Clement of Rome. But Dr. Lardner has 
shown that they are not genuine. (Works, 8vo. vol. xi. pp. 197—226. 4to. 
vol. v. pp. 432—446.) The critical observations on various readings, and on the 
interpretation of the New Testament, “ must be studied,” says Bishop Marsh, “ by 
every man who would fully appreciate the work in question.” Michaelis has criti¬ 
cised the labours of Wetstein with great severity, but the latter has been vindi¬ 
cated by Bishop Marsh, both in his notes on Michaelis (pp. 865—877), and in his 
Divinity Lectures, (part ii. pp. 21—23.) 

16. Novum Testamentum Grtecum ad fidem Grtecorum solum 
MSS. nunc primum expressum, adstipulante Jo. Jac. Wetstenio, 
juxta Sectiones Alberti Bengelii divisum ; et nova interpunctione 
seepius illustratum. Accessere in altero volumine emendationes con- 
jecturales virorum doctorum undecunque collecta?. Londini, cura, 
typis et sumptibus G. [ulielmi.] B. [owyer.] 1763. 12mo. 2 vols. 

A very valuable edition, and now scarce ; it was reprinted in 1772, but not with 
the same accuracy as the first edition. The conjectures w'ere published in a sepa¬ 
rate form in 1772, and again in 4to. in 1782, to accompany a handsome quarto edi¬ 
tion of the Greek Testament, which was published by Mr. Nichols in 1783, with 
the assistance of the Rev. Dr. Owen. It is now extremely rare and dear. The 
conjectures were reprinted in 1812 with numerous corrections and additions. In 
his edition of the New Testament, Mr. Bowyer adopted the emendations pro¬ 
posed by Wetstein. 1 

17. H Ka»vrj Atcd)r}XYi. The New Testament collated with the most 
approved manuscripts ; with select notes in English, critical and ex¬ 
planatory, and references to those authors who have best illustrated 
the sacred writings. By Edward Harwood, D. D. London, 1776, 2 
vols. 12mo. 1784, 2 vols. 12mo. 

“ This edition,” says the learned annotator of Michaelis, “ is certainly entitled 
to a place among the critical editions of the Greek Testament, though it is not 
accompanied with various readings: for, though Dr. Harwood has adopted the 
common text as the basis of his own, he has made critical corrections wherever 
the received reading appeared to him to be erroneous. The manuscripts, which 

1 Dr. Griesbach’s first edition of the New Testament should, in strictness, be 
noticed here ; but as it is superseded by his second and greatly improved edition, 
described in pp. 134—136. infra, it is designedly omitted. The edition of Konpe, 
being accompanied with a commentary, is noticed infra, in the Appendix, No. VII. 
among the commentators on the New Testament. 




134 


Notice of the principal Editions [Part I. Cb. 


lie has generally followed when he departs from the common text, are the Canta- 
brigiensis in the Gospels and Acts, and the Claromontanus in the Epistles ot Saint 
Paul.” These Dr. Harwood considered as approaching the nearest of any manu¬ 
scripts now known in the world to the original text of the sacred records, “ It is 
not improbable that this edition contains more of the antient and genuine text of 
the Greek Testament than those which are in common use : but as no single 
manuscript, however antient and venerable, is entitled to such a preference as to 
exclude the rest, and no critic of the present age can adopt a new reading, unless 
the general evidence be produced and the preponderancy in its favour distinctly 
shown, the learned and ingenious editor has in some measure defeated his own 
object, and rendered his labours less applicable to the purposes of sacred criticism. 
(Bishop Marsh’s Michaelis, vol. ii. part ii. pp. 884, 885.) At the end of the second 
volume there is a catalogue of the principal editions of the Greek Testament, and 
a list of the most esteemed commentators and critics. The work is very neatly 
printed ; and under the Greek text are short critical notes in English, chiefly re¬ 
lating to classical illustrations of Scripture. In the list of commentators and 
critics, those are most commended by Dr. Harwood who favour the Socinian 
scheme, to which he was strongly attached, and he therefore admitted or rejected 
a variety of readings according as they favour or oppose the Socinian doctrine. 

18. Novum Testamentum, Graece et Latine, Textum denuo re- 
censuit, varias Lectiones numquam antea Vulgatas collegit — Scholia 
Graeca — addidit — animadversiones criticas adjecit, et edidit 
Christ. Frid. Matthaei. Rigae, 1782—1788, 12 vols.Svo. 

Of Matthasi’s recension of manuscripts some account has already been given 
in pp. 57, 58. of this volume. The edition under consideration was published at 
different times : Bishop Middleton considers it as by far the best edition of the 
Greek Testament now extant; and though Michaelis has criticised it with consi¬ 
derable severity, he nevertheless pronounces it to be absolutely necessary for every 
man who is engaged in the criticism of the Greek Testament. As, however, 
Matthaei undertook a revision of the Greek text on the authority of one set of 
manuscripts of the Byzantine family, Bishop Marsh regrets that he made so par¬ 
tial an application of his critical materials. “ And since no impartial judge can 
admit that the genuine text of the Greek Testament may be established, as well 
by applying only a part of our materials, as by a judicious employment of the 
whole, the edition of Matthaei is only so far of importance, as it furnishes new ma¬ 
terials for future uses ; materials, indeed, which are accompanied with much use¬ 
ful information and many learned remarks.” (Bishop Marsh’s Lectures, part ii. p. 
31.) Mr. Dibdin mentions a second edition of Matthaei’s Greek Testament which 
we have never seen. 

19. Novum Testamentum Graecum, ad Codicem Vindobonensem 
Greece expressum: Yarietatem Lectionis addidit Franciscus Carolus 
Alter. 1786, 1787, 2 vols. 8vo. 

This edition differs entirely from those of Mill, Wetstein, and Griesbach. “ The 
text of this edition is neither the common text nor a revision of it, but a mere 
copy from a single manuscript, and that not a very antient one, (the Codex Lam- 
becii I.), in the imperial library at Vienna. The various readings, which are not 
arranged as in other editions, but printed in separate parcels as made by the colla¬ 
tor, are likewise described from Greek manuscripts in the imperial library : and 
the whole collection was augmented by extracts from the Coptic, Sclavonian, and 
Latin versions, which are also printed in the same indigested manner as the G-reek 
readings. Alter’s edition therefore contains mere materials for future uses.” (Bp. 
Marsh’s Lectures, part ii. p. 32.) Where the editor has discovered manifest 
errata in the Vienna manuscript, he has recourse to the text of Stephens’s edition 
of 1546. — See a more copious account of this edition in Michaelis, vol. ii. pp. 880 
—882. where it is said that Alter’s edition is a work with which no one engaged 
in sacred criticism can dispense. 

20. Quatuor Evangelia, Graece, cum Variantibus a textu Lectio- 
nibus Codd. manuscriptorum Bibliothecae Yaticanae, Barberinae, 
Laurentianae, Vindobonensis, Escurialensis, Havniensis, Regiae ; qui 
bus accedunt Lectiones Versionum Syrarum Veteris. Philoxenianae, 
et Hierosolymitanae, jussu et sumptibus regiis edidit Andreas Birch. 
Havniae, 1788, folio et 4to. 

This splendid and valuable work, containing only the four Gospels, is the result 


135 


III. Sect. II.] Of tfie Greek Testament. 

of the united labours of Professors Birch, Adler, and Moldenhawer, who for seve¬ 
ral years travelled into Germany, Italy, France, and Spain, at the expense of the 
king of Denmark, in order to examine and collate the precious remains of sacred 
antiquity. Birch collated all the Greek manuscripts quoted, except those in the 
library of the Escurial, which were collated by Moldenhawer. The Syriac colla¬ 
tions were made by Adler. A detailed account of these manuscripts is given in 
the Prolegomena; from which we learn that the manuscripts which passed under 
his inspection were very numerous. In the Vatican, forty were collated ; in the 
Barberini library ten ; in other Roman libraries, seventeen ; in the libraries at 
Florence, and in other parts of Italy, thirty-eight; in the imperial library at Vi¬ 
enna, twelve ; and in the royal library at Copenhagen, three. The text, is from 
Robert Stephens’s edition of 1550 ; but the great value of this splendid work and 
in which it surpasses all former editions, consists, first, in the very complete ex¬ 
tracts which are given from the celebrated Codex Vaticanus above described, (see 
pp. 73—77. supra ) ; and secondly, in the extracts from the Vcrsio Syra Hieroso- 
lymitana , which is remarkable for its agreement with the Codex Bezae, where it is 
wholly unsupported by any other authority ; a circumstance which shows the 
value and antiquity, not so much of the manuscripts themselves, as of the text 
which they contain. 

In 1798, Professor Birch published at Copenhagen in 8vo. a collection of vari¬ 
ous readings to the Acts and Epistles, drawn from the same sources ; entitled Va- 
rice Lectiones ad textum Actorum Apostolorum, Epistolarum Catholicarum ct 
Pauli, e Codd. Gratis MSS. Bibliotheca, Vo tic ana, Barbcrimc, Augustiniarorum 
Eremitarum Roma, Borgiana Vclitris, Neapolitana Regia, Laurentiniana, S. 
Marti Venetorum, Vindobonensis Casarea, et Hafniensis Regia collecta et edita 
ab Andrea Birch, Theol. D. et Prof.; in 1800, he published a similar collection of 
various readings to the Apocalypse; and in 1801, various readings to the four 
Gospels. The completion of the magnificent edition of the Greek Testament, 
begun in 1788, was prevented by a calamitous fire at Copenhagen, which con¬ 
sumed the royal printing office, together with the beautiful types and paper, which 
had been procured from Italy, for that purpose. 

21. Novum Testamentum Greece, Textum acl fidem Codicum 
Versionum et Patrum recensuit et Lectionis Varietatem adjecit D. 
Jo. Jac. Griesbach. Londini, et Halse Saxonum, 1796, 1806. 2 vols. 
large 8vo. Editio secunda. 

Of all modern critical editions of the Greek Testament, this of Griesbach is 
universally allowed to be the most valuable and complete, notwithstanding the 
different opinions entertained by some learned men relative to the correctness of 
his system of recensions or editions of manuscripts, which has been already consi¬ 
dered in pp.52—54. supra , of this volume. 

Dr. Griesbach commenced his critical labours, first, by publishing at Halle, in 
1774, the historical books of the New Testament, under the following title : Libri 
Historici Novi Testamenti, Grace, pars i. sistens Synopsin Evangeliorum Mat- 
thai, Marti, et Luca. Textum ad fidem Codd. Versionum et Patrum emendavit 
et lectionis varietatem adjecit. Jo. Jac. Griesbach. (2d edit. Halse, 1797, 3d edit. 
Halae, 1809.) 8vo. pars ii sistens Evangelium Johannis et Acta Apostolorum, Ha¬ 
lm, 1775, 8vo. This edition was published as a manual or text book for a course 
of lectures which Professor Griesbach was at that time delivering at Jena, and in 
which he explained the first three evangelists synoptically, that is to say, by unit¬ 
ing together the three narrations of the same event. The received text, which 
is adopted, is divided into one hundred and thirty-four sections, and is printed in 
three columns; and Griesbach indicated by various marks the alterations which 
he judged necessary to be made. The various readings, taken from the edition of 
Mill, Bengel, and Wetstein, were not chosen until they had undergone a very stf- 
vere revision ; but this edition also contained other lections, which the learned 
editor found in manuscripts preserved in the British Museum at London, and also 
in the Royal Library at Paris. 

In 1775, Dr. Griesbach published the Apostolical Epistles and the Apocalypse, 
in a similar manner ; but as many persons had expressed themselves dissatisfied 
with his synoptical arrangement of the historical books, he printed anotlier edition 
of them in 1777, in the usual order. This volume forms the first part of his first 
edition, of which the Epistles and Revelation, printed in 1775, are considered as 
the second part. A few copies were struck off in 4to, which are both scarce and 
dear. This edition is of a very convenient and portable size, and was that princi¬ 
pally used in the Universities of Germany. Dr. Hales prefers it to the second 


136 Notice of the principal Editions [Part I. CIl 

edition, because he thinks that Griesbach was at that time more scrupulous of 
innovating upon the text than he afterwards was. 

The first volume of the second edition appeared in 179G, in large octavo, with 
the imprint of Londini et Halce Saxonum in the title page ; and the second with 
that of Halce Saxonum cl Londini , on account of the expense of the paper of the 
fine copies having been munificently defrayed by his Grace Ihe late Duke of 
Grafton, at that time Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. These are 
most beautiful books, and are now only procurable at a very high price, though, 
througli his Grace’s liberality, they were originally sold, we believe, at twelve 
or fourteen shillings per volume. Fifty copies are said to have been struck off on 
large paper in quarto. But the whole of these two volumes was printed at Jena, 
under Griesbach’s own eye. 

In addition to the various readings exhibited in Griesbach’s first edition, he 
has collated all the Latin versions published by Sabatier and Blanchini; and has 
corrected the mistakes made by Mill, Bengel, and Wetstein, in their quotations 
from the oriental versions. He has also inserted the principal readings collected 
by Matthaei, Birch, and Alter, together with extracts from the two Wolfenbtlttel 
manuscripts collated by Knittel ; and has given the readings of the Sahidic ver¬ 
sion, furnished by Woide, Georgi, and Milnter. Of the Armenian version a colla¬ 
tion was made for him by M. Bredenkampf of Bremen ; and the Sclavonic version 
was collated for him by M. Dobrowsky at Prague. 

The first volume contains the four Gospels. To these are prefixed copious pro¬ 
legomena, exhibiting a critical history of the printed text, a catalogue of all the 
manuscripts from which various readings are quoted, and an account of the me¬ 
thod pursued by Griesbach in executing this second edition, together with the 
principal rules for judging of various readings. The text is printed in two co¬ 
lumns, the numbers of the verses being placed in the margin, below which are the 
various lections. 

The second volume contains the remaining books of the New Testament, which 
is preceded by an introduction or preface, accounting for the delay of its appear¬ 
ance, and an account of the manuscripts consulted for that volume. At the end 
are forty pages, separately numbered, consisting of a Diatribe on the disputed 
clause relative to the three witnesses in 1 John v. 7, 8. and of additional various 
l eadings to the Acts of the Apostles, and Saint Paul’s Epistles, with two pages of 
corrections. Griesbach’s second edition was reprinted at London in 1809, in two 
elegant 8vo. volumes ; one by Mr. Collingwood of Oxford, and the other by Mr. 
R. Taylor ; the text is printed in long lines, and the notes in columns, and Gries¬ 
bach’s addenda of various readings are inserted in their proper places. A very 
few inaccuracies have been discovered in these insertions, which perhaps could 
hardly be avoided in a work of such minuteness. This edition, which consisted 
of one thousand copies, having been exhausted, a second London edition issued 
from the press of Messrs. R. & A. Taylor, in two volumes, 8vo. 1818. It is exe¬ 
cuted in the same handsome form as before, and possesses some advantages even 
over Griesbach’s own second edition. In the first place, the addenda of various 
lections above noticed have been newly collated, and inserted in their various 
places with great accuracy. Secondly, the reading of Acts xx. 28. in the Vatican 
manuscript (which Griesbach could not give in consequence of Professor Birch, 
who collated it, having lost or mislaid his memorandum of that particular text) is 
here printed from a transcript obtained by Mr. R. Taylor from the keeper of the 
Vatican library. The reading of the clause in question, in the Codex Vaticanus, 
is thus determined to be conformable to the lection of the Textus Rcceptus, viz. 
Trjv E/ocX^ffittv rov Oeov , the church of God. And lastly, as Griesbach in his Leipsic 
edition of 1805 preferred some readings different from those adopted in that of 
Halle, 179G—180G, a Synoptical Table is given indicating such differences. Bi- 
ghop Marsh l»as given a high character of the labours of Dr. Griesbach, in his Di¬ 
vinity Lectures, part ii. pp. 44, 45. See some strictures on them in Dr. Hales’s 
Treatise on Faith in the Holy Trinity, vol. ii. pp. 61—64. 

To complete Griesbach’s edition of the New Testament there 
should be added the following publications : 

1. Curse in Historiam Textus Gr®ci Epistolarum Paulinarum. Jen®, 1777, 4to. 

2. Symbol® Critic®, ad supplendas et corrigendas variarum N. T. Lectionum 
Collectiones. Aceedit multorum N. T. Codicum Grrecorum Descriptio et Exa- 
men. Hal®, 1785, 1793, 2 vols. small 8vo. 

3. Commentaries Criticus in Tcxtum Groeoum Novi Testaraenti. Particula 
prima, Jen®, 1798. Particula secunda, Jen®, 1811. 


137 


III- Sect. II.] Of the Greek Testament. 

22. Novum Testamentum, Greece. Ex Recensione Jo. Jac. Gries- 
-bachii, cum selecta Lectionis Varietate. Lipsiae, 1803—1807,4 vols. 
imperial 4to. or folio. 

This is a most sumptuous edition ; the text is formed chiefly on that of Gries¬ 
bach’s second edition, and on that of Knappe noticed below. The type is large and 
■clear ; the paper beautiful and glossy ; at the foot of the page are some select various 
..readings ; and each volume is decorated with an exquisitely engraved frontispiece. 

23. Novum Testamentum Greece. Ex Recensione Jo. Jac. Gries- 
bachii, cum selecta Lectionum Varietate. Lipsiae, 1805, 2 vols. 8vo. 

This edition contains the text, together with a selection of the principal various 
readings, and an extract from the Prolegomena of the second edition. It is very 
neatly printed, and forms a valuable manual for constant reference. This is the 
edition now chiefly used in the universities of Germany. Griesbaeh’s text has 
been reprinted at Cambridge in New England (North America), at the press of 
Messrs. Wells and Hilliard, in two handsome volumes, 1809, 8vo. The typography 
of the large paper copies is very beautiful. Griesbach’s text has also been reprinted 
at the Glasgow University Press in 1817, 18mo. It is a most beautiful little book. 

24. Novum Testamentum Greece, Recognovit atque insigniores 
lectionum varietates et argumentorum notationes subjecit Geo. Chris¬ 
tian. Knappius. Halae, 1797, 8vo. 2d edit. Halee, 1813,2 vols. 8vo, 

In this edition of the New Testament, which received the warm approbation of 
Griesbach in his preface to the splendid edition above noticed, Dr. Knappe has 
availed himself of Griesbach’s labours; and has admitted into the text not only 
those readings which the latter considered to be of undoubted authority, but like¬ 
wise some others which Dr. K. himself regarded as such, but without distinguish¬ 
ing either of them. Such words also, as it might on the same grounds be thought 
right to exclude from the text, as not originally belonging to it, are here enclosed 
in brackets, partly of the common kind, and partly formed on purpose for this edi¬ 
tion. The most probable readings are marked with an asterisk : to all of them 
the word alii is prefixed, in order to distinguish them from the rest of these lec¬ 
tions, which in reality are those in which the exegetical student is chiefly in¬ 
terested. Great attention is paid to typographical and grammatical accuracy, to 
the accents, and to the punctuation, which differ in this edition, from those of 
Leusden or Gerard von Maestricht in more than three hundred places. Very use¬ 
ful summaries are likewise added under the text. This valuable edition is not com¬ 
mon in England. The second impression, published in two vols. in 1813, is very 
neatly printed, and is corrected throughout. In editing it Dr. K. has availed him¬ 
self of Griesbach’s second volume, which was not published when his first edition 
appeared. 

25. Novum Testamentum Graece, ex recensione Griesbachii, nova 
Latina versione illustratum, indiee brevi praeeipuse lectionum et in- 
terpretationum diversitatis instructum, edidit Henricus Augustus 
Schott. Lipsiae, 1805, 8vo. 

This is a useful edition of the Greek Testament, and, we understand, is in much 
request in Germany. A second and much enlarged edition was published at Leip- 
sic in 1811, 8vo. The text is that of Griesbach ; under it are printed the most 
important various readings ; the critical remarks are brief and -clear; and the 
young student will find in the Latin version no small help to the interpretation of 
the New Testament. 

26. Novum Testamentum Greece. Lectiones variantes, Griesba- 
chii judicio, iis quas textus receptus exhibet anteponendas vel aequi- 
parandas, adjecit Josephus White, S. T. P. Linguarum Heb. et 
Arab, in Academia Oxoniensi Professor. Oxonii, e Typographeo 

Clarendoniano, 1808, 2 vols. crown 8vo. 

This is a very neat and accurate edition. The Textus Receptus is adopted ; 
and Professor White has contrived to exhibit in a very intelligible form -r-1. Those 
texts which in Griesbach’s opinion ought, either certainly or probably, to be re¬ 
moved from the received text; 2. Those various readings which the same editor 
judged either preferable or equal to those of the received text; and, 3. Those 
additions, which, on the authority of manuscripts, Griesbach considers as fit to be 
admitted into the text. “ An intermediate advantage to be derived from an edition 
thus marked is pointed out by the learned editor at the conclusion of his short 

VOL. IL. 18 


133 


Notice of the principal Editions , fyc. [Part I. Ch. 

preface ; viz. that it may thus be seen at once by -every one, how very little, after 
all the labours of learned men, and the collation of so many manuscripts and ver¬ 
sions, is liable to just objection in the received text.” (British Critic, vol. xxxiv. 
(O. S.) p. 386.) 

In 1811, Professor White published an elegant little work, which may be ad¬ 
vantageously substituted for Dr. Griesbach’s edition of the Greek Testament, 
entitled Criscos Griesbacliiana, in Novum Testamentum Synopsis. 11 This small 
volume is exactly conformable in its design to the beautiful edition of the New 
Testament, published by Dr. White in 1808 ; and contains all the variations of 
any consequence, which can be considered as established, or even rendered proba¬ 
ble, by the investigation of Griesbach. The chief part of these readings was 
given in the margin of that edition, distinguished by the Origenian marks. Here 
the value of each reading or proposed alteration is stated in words at length, and 
therefore cannot be misapprehended. This book may therefore be considered as a 
kind of supplement to that edition, or illustration of it.” (British Critic, (O. S.) 
vol. xxxviii. p. 395.) 

'27. Novum Testamentum Graecum et Latinum, secundum curam 
Leusdenii et Griesbachii, cditum ab A. H. Aitton. Lugduni Batavo- 
rum, 1809. 18mo. 

A neat impression, into the text of which the editor has introduced most of 
Griesbach’s emendations. 

28. Novum Testamentum Greece. Lectiones Variantes Griesba- 

» 

chii praecipuas, necnon quamplurimas voces ellipticas, adjecit Ada- 
mus Dickinson. Edinburgi, typis academicis. 12mo. 1811; edit, 
secunda, 1817. 

This edition is avowedly designed for young students of the Greek Testament. 
The principal elliptical words are printed at the foot of the page ; they are se¬ 
lected from Bos, Schoettgenius, and Leisner. The chief various readings of 
Griesbach are prefixed in four pages. The text is that of Dr. Mill, and is very 
neatly stereotyped. 

29. Testamentum Novum Greece, ad fidem Recensionis Schoettge- 
nianae ; addita ex Griesbachii apparatu Lectionis varietate praecipuae. 
Upsalae ; 8vo. 1820. 

Schoettgenius published his very useful editions of the Greek Testament at 
Leipsic in 1744 and 1749, 8vo. entitled H ICai vij AiaS^;* Novum Testamentum 
Grcecum. In sectiones divisit, intcrpunctiones accurate posuit , el dispositioncm 
logic am adjecit Christianus Schoettgenius. His divisions into sections and his 
punctuation are very judiciously executed ; the common divisions of chapters and 
verses are retained in the margin. He has followed the Textus Receptus, Scho- 
ettgen’s edition is the basis of the Upsal one above noticed. 

30. Novum Testamentum Graece. Ad hdem optimorum librorum 
recensuit A. H. Titmannus, Prof. Lips. 18mo. Lipsiae, 1820. 

Of all the critical editions of the New Testament that have fallen under the au¬ 
thor’s observation, this of Professor Titmann is one of the most useful, as it un¬ 
questionably is the cheapest. The text is a corrected one ; that is, Prof. T. has 
inserted in it such various readings, as are in his judgment preferable to those 
commonly received, and which have been approved by the most eminent critics ; 
and he has printed an index of the altered passages at the end of the volume. Its 
portability, in addition to its intrinsic excellence, is no mean recommendation of 
it to students of the New Testament; the Greek characters, though small, being 
very distinctly and neatly stereotyped. There are (we understand) some copies 
on fine paper. 

31. 'H KAINH AIA0HKH. Novum Testamentum Manuale. Glas- 
guae, ex Prelo Academico : impensis Rivingtons et Cochran, Londi- 
ni, 1821. 32mo. 

This edition contains the Greek text only: it follows the text of Aitton, except 
in a few instances, in which the received readings are supported by the best au¬ 
thorities, and consequently are most to be preferred. This edition is beautifully 
printed on the finest blue-tinted writing paper : it was read six times, with the 
utmost care, in passing through the press, and will be found to be unusually 
accurate. No contractions are used. In point of size, it is the smallest edition ol 
the Greek Testament ever printed in this country. 


IV. Sect. I.] Division and Marks of Distinction, fyc. 139 

‘ v , \ 

CHAPTER IV. 

ON THE DIVISIONS AND MARKS OF DISTINCTION OCCURRING 
IN MANUSCRIPTS AND PRINTED EDITIONS OF THE SCRIP-* 

( N 

TURES. 

SECTION I. 

ON THE DIVISIONS AND MARKS OF DISTINCTION OCCURRING IN 

THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

I. Different Appellations given to the Scriptures. — II. General Di¬ 
visions of the Canonical Books. — III. Particularly of the Old 
Testament .— I. The Law. — 2. The Prophets .—3. The Ce- 
tubim or Hagiographa. — IV. Account of the Masora .— V. Mo¬ 
dern Divisions of the Books of the Old Testament. — Chapters 
and Verses. 

i. The collection of writings, which is regarded by Christians as 
the sole standard of their faith and practice, has been distinguished, 
at various periods, by different appelladons. Thus, it is frequently 
termed the Scriptures, the Sacred or Holy Scriptures, and sometimes 
the Canonical Scriptures. This collection is called The Scriptures , 
as being the most important of all writings ; — the Holy or Sacred 
Scriptures, because they were composed by persons divinely inspired ; 
and the Canonical Scriptures, either because they are a rule of faith 
and practice Do those who receive them ; or because, when the num¬ 
ber and authenticity of these books were ascertained, lists of them 
"were inserted in the ecclesiastical canons or catalogues, in order to 
distinguish them from such books as were apocryphal or of uncertain 
authority, and unquestionably not of divine origin. But the most 
usual appellation is that of the Bible — a word which in its primary 
import simply denotes a book, but which is given to the writings of 
the prophets and apostles, by way of eminence, as being the Book of 
Books, infinitely superior in excellence to every unassisted production 
of the human mind. 1 

II. The most common and general division of the canonical books 
is that of the Old and New Testament; the former containing those 
revelations of the divine will which were communicated to the He¬ 
brews, Israelites, or Jews, before the birth of Christ, and the latter 
comprising the inspired writings of the evangelists and apostles. The 
appellation of Testament is derived from 2 Cor. iii. 6. 14.; in which 
place the words n tfaAa»a dia^xvi and r\ wivy Sia^rjxrj are by the old 
Latin translators rendered antiquum testamentum and novum testa - 
mentum , old and new testaments, instead of antiquum foedus and no¬ 
vum fcedus, the old and new covenants : for, although the Greek word 
SiaSriXY] signifies both testament and covenant, yet it uniformly corre¬ 
sponds with the Hebrew word Berith, which constantly signifies a 

I Lardner’s Works, 8vo. vol. vi. pp. 1—8. 4to. vol. iii. pp. 137—140. John, In- 

trod. ad Vet. Feed. p. 7. 




140 Divisions and Marks of Distinction [Part I. Ch. 

covenant. 1 2 * * The term “ old covenant,” used by Saint Paulin 2 Cor. 
hi. 14. does not denote the entire collection of writings which we 
term the Bible, but those antient institutions, promises, threatenings, 
and in short the whole of the Mosaic dispensation, related in the Pen¬ 
tateuch, and in the writings of the prophets ; and which in process of 
time were, by a metonymy, transferred to the books themselves. 
Thus we find mention made of the book of the covenant in Exodus 
(xxiv. 7.) and in the apocryphal books of Maccabees (Macc. i. 57.): 
and after the example of the apostle, the same mode of designating 
the sacred writings obtained among the first Christians, from whom it 
has been transmitted to modern times. 9 

III. The arrangement of the books comprising the Old Testament, 
which is adopted in our Bibles, is not always regulated by the exact 
time when the books were respectively written; although the book 
of Genesis is universally allowed to be the first, and the prophecy of 
Malachi to be the latest of the inspired writings. Previously to the 
building of Solomon’s temple, the Pentateuch was deposited in the 
side of the ark of the covenant , (Deut. xxxi. 24—26.), to be consult¬ 
ed by the Israelites; and after the erection of that sacred edifice, it 
was deposited in the treasury, together with all the succeeding pro¬ 
ductions of the inspired writers. On the subsequent destruction of 
the temple by Nebuchadnezzar, the autographs of the sacred books 
are supposed to have perished : although some learned men have 
conjectured that they were preserved, because it does not appear that 
Nebuchadnezzar evinced any particular enmity against the Jewish re¬ 
ligion, and in the account of the sacred things carried to Babylon, (2 
Kings xxv. 2 Chron. xxxvi. Jer. lii.) no mention is made of the sa¬ 
cred books. However this may be, it is a fact, that copies of these 
autographs were carried to Babylon : for we find the prophet Daniel 
quoting the law (Dan. ix. 11. 13.), and also expressly mentioning 
the prophecies of Jeremiah (ix. 2.), which he could not have done, 
if he had never seen them. We are further informed that on the re¬ 
building, or rather on the finishing, of the temple in the sixth year of 
Darius, the Jewish worship was fully re-established according as it is 
written in the book of Moses (Ezra vi. 18.): which would have been 
impracticable, if the Jews had not had copies of the law then among 
them. But what still more clearly proves that they must have had 
transcripts of their sacred writings during, as well as subsequent to, 
the Babylonish captivity, is the fact, that when the people requested 
Ezra to produce the law of Moses (Nehem. viii. 1.), they did not 
entreat him to get it dictated anew to them ; but that he would bring 
forth “ the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had com¬ 
manded to Israel.” 

About fifty years after the rebuilding of the temple, and the con¬ 
sequent re-establishment of the Jewish religion, it is generally ad- 

1 Jerome, Comment, in Malachi, cap. ii. op. tom. iii. p. 1816. 

2 Dr. Lardner has collected several passages from early Christian writers, who 

thus metonymieally use the word Testament. Works, 8vo. vol. vi. p. 9. 4to. vol 

iii. p. 140.. 



141 


lV r . Sect. I.] Occurring in the Old Testament. 

mitted that the canon of the Old Testament was settled; but by 
whom this great work was accomplished, is a question on which 
there is a considerable difference of opinion. On the one hand it 
is contended that it could not have been done by Ezra himself; be¬ 
cause, though he has related his zealous efforts in restoring the law 
and worship of Jehovah, yet on the settlement of the canon he is to¬ 
tally silent; and the silence of Nehemiah, who has recorded the 
pious labours of Ezra, as well as the silence of Josephus, who is dif¬ 
fuse in his encomiums on him, has further been urged as a presump¬ 
tive argument why he could not have collected the Jewish writings. 
But to these hypothetical reasonings we may oppose the constant 
tradition of the Jewish church, uncontradicted both by their enemies 
and by Christians, that Ezra, with the assistance of the members of 
the great synagogue (among whom were the prophets Haggai, Zech- 
ariah, and Malachi,) did collect as many copies of the sacred writings 
as he could, and from them set forth a correct edition of the canon 
of the Old Testament, with the exception of his own writings, the 
book of Nehemiah, and the prophecy of Malachi; which were sub¬ 
sequently annexed to the canon by Simon the Just, who is said to 
have been the last of the great synagogue. In this Esdrine text, the 
errors of former copyists were corrected : and Ezra (being himself 
an inspired writer) added in several places, throughout the books 
of this edition, what appeared necessary to illustrate, connect, or 
complete them. 1 Whether Ezra’s own copy of the Jewish Scrip¬ 
tures perished in the pillage of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes, 
is a question that cannot now be ascertained : nor is it material, since 
we know that Judas Maccabaeus repaired the temple, and replaced 
every thing requisite for the performance of divine worship (1 Mac. 
iv. 36—59.), which included a correct, if not Ezra’s own, copy of 
the Scriptures. 2 It has been conjectured, and it is not improbable, 
that in this latter temple an ark was constructed, in which the sacred 
books of the Jews were preserved until the destruction of Jerusa¬ 
lem and the subversion of the Jewish polity by the Romans under 
Titus, before whom the volume of the law was carried in triumph, 
among the other spoils which had been taken at Jerusalem. 3 Since 
that time, although there has been no certain standard edition of the 
Old Testament, yet, since both Jews and Christians have constantly 
had the same Hebrew Scriptures to which they have always appeal¬ 
ed, we have every possible evidence to prove that the Old Testament 
has been transmitted to us entire, and free from any material or de¬ 
signed corruption. 

The various books contained in the Old Testament, were divided 
by the Jews into three parts or classes — the Law — the Prophets — 
and the Cetubim , or Hagiographa , that is, the Holy Writings : which 


1 Prideaux’s Connection, part i. book v. sub anno 446. vol. i. pp. 320—344, and 
the authorities there cited. Carpzov. Introd. ad Libros Biblicos Vet. Test. pp. 24. 

303, 300. 

2 Bishop Tomline’s Elements of Christian Theology, vol. i. p. 11. 

3 Josephus de Bell. Jud. lib. vii. c. 5. § 5. 



142 


Divisions and Marks of Distinction [Part I. Ch. 

division obtained in the time of our Saviour, 1 and is noticed by Jo¬ 
sephus, 2 though he does not enumerate the several books. 

1. The Law (so called, because it contains precepts for the regu¬ 
lation of life and manners) comprised the Pentateuch, or five books 
of Moses, which were originally written in one volume, as all the 
manuscripts are to this day, which are read in the synagogues. It is 
not known when the writings of the Jewish legislator were divided 
into Jive books: but, as the titles of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 
Numbers, and Deuteronomy, are evidently of Greek origin, (for the 
tradition related by Philo, and adopted by some writers of the Ro¬ 
mish church, that they were given by Moses himself, is too idle to 
deserve refutation,) it is not improbable that these titles were prefix¬ 
ed to the several books by the authors of the Alexandrian or Septua- 
gint Greek version. 

2. The Prophets, which were thus designated, because these 
books were written by inspired prophetical men, were divided into 
the former and latter , 3 with regard to the time when they respective¬ 
ly flourished : the former prophets contained the books of Joshua, 
Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Rings, the two last being each 
considered as one book ; the latter prophets comprised the writings 
of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and of the twelve minor prophets, 
whose books were reckoned as one. The reason why Moses is not 
included among the prophets is, because he so far surpassed all those 
who came after him, in eminence and dignity, that they were not 
accounted worthy to be placed on a level with him : and the books 
of Joshua and Judges are reckoned among the prophetical books, be¬ 
cause they are generally supposed to have been written by the pro¬ 
phet Samuel. 

3. The Cetubim or Hagiographa, that is, the Holy Writings, 
comprehended the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, 
Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, and 
Nehemiah (reckoned as one,) and the two books of Chronicles, also 
reckoned as one book. 4 This third class or division of the Sacred 
Books has received its appellation of Cetubim , or Holy Writings, 
because they were not orally delivered, as the law of Moses was; 
but the Jews affirm that they were composed by men divinely in¬ 
spired, who, however, had no public mission as prophets : and the 
Jews conceive that they were dictated not by dreams, visions, or 

1 “ These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that 
all things might be fulfilled which are written in the Law , and in the Prophets , 
and in the Psalms, concerning me.” (Luke xxiv. 44.) In which passage by the 
Psalms is intended the Hagiographa; which division beginning with the Psalms, 
the whole of it (agreeably to the Jewish manner of quoting) is there called by the 
name of the book with which it commences. Saint Peter also, when appealing to 
prophecies in proof of the Gospel, says—.“All the prophets from Samuel, and 
those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these 
days.” (Acts iii. 24.) In which passage the apostle plainly includes the books of 
Samuel in the class of prophets. 

2 Contr. Apion. lib. i. § 8. 

3 This distinction, Carpzov thinks, was borrowed from Zech. i. 4. — “ Be ye not 
as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried.” — Introd. ad Lib 
Bibl. Vet. Test. p. 146. 

4 The Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther, are, in 
the modern copies of the Jewish Scriptures, placed immediately after the Penta- 
leuch ; under the name of the five Megilloth or volumes. The Book of Ruth holds 
sometimes the first or second, and sometimes the fifth place. 



143 


IV. Sect. I.] Occurring in the Old Testament. 

voice, or in other ways, as the oracles of the prophets were, but that 
they were more immediately revealed to the minds of their authors. 
It is remarkable that Daniel is excluded from the number of pro¬ 
phets, and that his writings, with the rest of the Hagiographa, were 
not publicly read in the synagogues as the Law and the Prophets 
were : this is ascribed to the singular minuteness with which he fore¬ 
told the coming of the Messiah before the destruction of the city and 
sanctuary (Dan. ix.), and the apprehension of the Jews, lest the pub¬ 
lic reading of his predictions should lead any to embrace the doc¬ 
trines of Jesus Christ. 1 

The Pentateuch is divided into fifty or fifty-four Paraschioth , or 
larger sections, according as the Jewish lunar year is simple or in¬ 
tercalary ; one of which sections was read in the synagogue every 
Sabbath-day : this division many of the Jews suppose to have been 
appointed by Moses, but it is by others attributed, and with greater 
probability, to Ezra. These paraschioth were further subdivided 
into smaller sections termed Sideiim , or orders. Until the persecu¬ 
tion of Antiochus Epiphanes, the Jews read only the Law; but the 
reading of it being then prohibited, they substituted for it fifty-four 
Haphtoroth , or sections from the prophets. Subsequently, however, 
when the reading of the law was restored by the Maccabees, the sec¬ 
tion which had been read from the Law was used for the first, and 
that from the Prophets, for the second lesson. 2 These sections 
were also divided into Pesukim , or verses, which have likewise been 
ascribed to Ezra; but if not contrived by him, it appears that this 
subdivision was introduced shortly after his death: it was probably 
intended for the use of the Targumists or Chaldee interpreters. 
After the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, when the 
Hebrew language had ceased to be spoken, and the Chaldee became 
the vernacular tongue, it was (as we have already remarked 3 ) usual 
to read the law, first in the original Hebrew, and afterwards to inter¬ 
pret it to the people in the Chaldee dialect. For the purpose of ex¬ 
position, therefore, these shorter periods were very convenient. 4 

IV. Originally, the text of the Sacred Books was written without 
any breaks or divisions into chapters or verses, or even into words; 
so that a whole book, as written in the antient manner, was in fact 
but one continued word. Many antient Greek and Latin manu¬ 
scripts thus written are still extant. The sacred writings having un- 

1 Hottinger’s Thesaurus, p. 510. Leusden’s Philologus Hebraeus, Diss. ii. pp. 13 
—22. Bishop Cosin’s Scholastical Hist, of the Canon, c. ii. pp. 10, et seq. 

2 Of these divisions we have evident traces in the New Testament; thus, the 
section (ircpioxv) of the prophet Isaiah, which the Ethiopian eunuch was reading, 
was in all probability, that which related to the sufferings of the Messiah. (Acts 
viii. 32.) When Saint Paul entered into the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia, he 
stood up to preach after the reading of the Law and the Prophets (Acts xiii. 15.), 
that is, after reading the first lesson out of the Law, and the second lesson out of 
the Prophets. And in the very discourse which he then delivered, he tells the 
Jews that the Prophets were read at Jerusalem on every Sabbath-day, that is. in 
those lessons which were taken out of the Prophets. (Acts xiii. 27.) 

3 See pp. 3, 4. supra of this volume. 

4 In Vol. III. Chap. III. Sect. IV. we have given a table of the Paraschioth or Sec¬ 
tions of the Law, together with the Haphtoroth or Sections of the Prophets as they 
are read in the different Jewish Synagogues for every sabbath of the year, and also 
showing the portions corresponding with our modern divisions of chapters and verses. 




144 


Divisions and Marks of Distinction [Pari 1. Ch. 

dergone an infinite number of alterations by successive transcriptions, 
during the lapse of ages, whence various readings had arisen, the 
Jews had recourse to a canon, which they judged to be infallible, in 
order to fix and ascertain the reading of the Hebrew text, and this 
rule they called masora or tradition, as if this critique were nothing 
but a tradition which they had received from their ancestors. Ac¬ 
cordingly, they pretend, that, when God gave the law to Moses on 
Mount Sinai, he taught him, first, its true reading , and, secondly, its 
true interpretation; and that both these were handed down by oral 
tradition, from generation to generation, until at length they were 
committed to writing. The former of these, viz. the true reading, is 
the subject of the Masora; the latter or true interpretation is that of 
the Mishna and Gemara , of which an account is given in a subsequent 
chapter of the present volume. 

The Masoretic notes and criticisms relate to the books, verses, 
words, letters, vowel points and accents. The Masorites or Masso- 
rets, as the inventors of this system were called, were die first who 
distinguished the books and sections of books into verses. They 
marked the number of all the verses of each book and section, and 
placed the amount at the end of each in numeral letters, or in some 
symbolical word formed out of them; and they also marked the 
middle verse of each book. Further, they noted the verses where 
something was supposed to be forgotten ; the words which they be¬ 
lieved to be changed; the letters which they deemed to be superflu¬ 
ous ; the repetitions of the same verses ; the different reading of the 
words which are redundant or defective ; the number of times that 
die same word is found at the beginning, middle, or end of a verse ; 
the different significations of the same word ; the agreement or con¬ 
junction of one word with another; what letters are pronounced, and 
what are inverted, together with such as hang perpendicular, and 
they took the number of each, for the Jews cherish the sacred books 
with such reverence, that they make a scruple of changing the situation 
of a letter which is evidently misplaced ; supposing that some mystery 
has occasioned the alteration. They have likewise reckoned which is 
the middle letter of the Pentateuch, which is the middle clause of 
each book, and how many times each letter of the alphabet occurs iu 
all the Hebrew Scriptures. The following table from Bishop Walton 
will give an idea of their laborious minuteness in these researches. 


Aleph occurs in the 

Times. 

42377 

Lamed 

occurs in the 

Times. 

41517 

Beth Hebrew Bible. 

38218 

Q Mem 

Hebrew Bible. 

77778 

JJ Gimel 

29537 

3 Nun . 

• • • 

41696 

*7 Daleth . 

32530 

5 Samech 

• • • 

13580 

^ He • • • « 

47554 

V Ain 

• • • 

20175 

*) Vau . . 

76922 

5 Pe . 

• • • 

22725 

f Zain 

22867 

^ Tsaddi 

• • • 

21882 

Cheth . 

23447 

H Koph 
*“) Resh . 

• • • 

22972 

£3 Teth 

11052 

• • • 

22147 

* Yod t 

66420 

Schin 

• • • 

32148 

3 Caph 

48253 

f) Tau 

• • • 

59343* 

* Bishop Walton’s Prolegom. 

c. viii. 

$ 8. p. 275, edit. 

Dathii. In the last cen 




145 


IV. Sect. I.] Occurring in the Old Testament. 

Such is the celebrated Masora of the Jews. At first, it did not 
accompany the text; afterwards, the greatest part of it was written 
in the margin. In order to bring it within the margin, it became 
necessary to abridge the work itself. This abridgment was called 
the little Masora, Masora parva ; but, being found too short, a more 
copious abridgment was inserted, which was distinguished by the 
appellation of the great Masora, Masora magna. The omitted parts 
were added at the end of the text, and called the final Masora, 
Masora finalis . 1 

Lastly, in Jewish manuscripts and printed editions of the Old 
Testament, a word is often found with a small circle annexed to it, 
or with an asterisk over it, and a word written in the margin of the 
same line. The former is called the Ketib, that is, written , and the 
latter, Keri, that is, read, or reading, as if to intimate, write in this 
manner, but read in that manner. For instance, when they meet 
with certain words, they substitute others: thus, instead of the 
sacred name Jehovah, they substitute Adonai or Elohim; and in 


tury, an anonymous writer published the following calculation similar to that of 
the Masorites, for the English Version of the Bible, under the title of the Old 
and New Testament Dissected. It is said to have occupied three years of the com¬ 
piler’s life, and is a singular instance of the trifling employments to which super¬ 
stition has led mankind. 


THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT DISSECTED. 


Books in 

the Old - 39 

In the New 27 Total 

Chapters 

- 929 

260 

Verses 

23214 

7959 

Words 

592,439 

181,253 

Letters 

- 2,728,800 

838,380 



Apocrypha. 


Chapters - - 183 

Verses - » 6081 

Words - - 252,185 


The middle Chapter, and the least in the Bible, is Psalm 117. 
The middle Verse is the eighth of the 118th Psalm. 

The middle Time 2d of Chronicles, 4th Chapter, 16th Verse. 
The word And occurs in the Old Testament 35,543 times. 
The same word occurs in the New Testament 10,684 times. 
The word Jehovah occurs 6855 times. 


66 

- 1189 

31,173 
773,692 
3,566,480 


Old Testament. 

The middle Book is Proverbs. 

The middle Chapter is Job 29th. 

The middle verse is 2d Chronicles, 20th Chapter, between the 17th and 
18th Verses. 

The least verse is 1st Chronicles, 1st Chapter and 25th Verse 


New Testament. 

The middle Book is Thessalonians 2d. 

The middle Chapter is between the 13th and 14th Romans. 

The middle verse is Chapter 17th of Acts, 17th Verse. 

The least Verse is 11th Chapter of John, Verse 35. 

The 21st Verse of the 7th Chapter of Ezra has all the Letters in the Alphabet ex 
ce pt j- 

The 19th Chapter of the 2d of Kings and the 37th of Isaiah are alike. 

I Butler's Hortn Biblical, vol. i. p. 61. 

VOL. II, 19 



146 


Divisions and Marks of Distinction [Part I. Ch. 

lieu of terms not strictly consistent with decency, they pronounce 
others less indelicate or more agreeable to our ideas of propriety. 1 
The invention of these marginal corrections has been ascribed to the 
Masorites. 

The age when the Masorites lived has been much controverted. 
Some ascribe the Masoretic notes to Moses; others attribute them 
to Ezra and the members of the great synagogue, and their success¬ 
ors after the restoration of the temple worship, on the death of Antio- 
chus Epiphanes. Archbishop Usher places the Masorites before the 
time of Jerome ; Cappel, at the end of the fifth century; Bishop 
Marsh is of opinion, that they cannot be dated higher than the fourth 
or fifth century; Bishop Walton, Basnage, Jahn, and others, refer 
them to the rabbins of Tiberias in the sixth century, and suppose 
that they commenced the Masora, which was augmented and contin¬ 
ued at different times by various authors; so that it was not the 
work of one man, or of one age. In proof of this opinion, which we 
think the most probable, we may remark, that the notes which relate 
to the variations in the pointing of particular words, must have been 
made after the introduction of the points, and consequently after the 
Talmud; other notes must have been made before the Talmud was 
finished, because it is from these notes that it speaks of the points 
over the letters, and of the variations in their size and position. 
Hence it is evident, that the whole was not the work of the Masorites 
of Tiberias; further, no good reason can be assigned to prove the 
Masora the work of Ezra, or his contemporaries ; much appears to 
show it was not: for, in the first place , most of the notes relate to 
the vowel points, which, we have seen, 2 were not introduced until 
upwards of fifteen hundred years after his time, and the remarks 
made about the shape and position of the letters are unworthy of an 
inspired writer, being more adapted to the superstition of the Rab¬ 
bins, than to the gravity of a divine teacher. Secondly , No one can 
suppose that the prophets collected various readings of their own 
prophecies, though we find this has been done, and makes part of 
what is called the Masora. Thirdly , The Rabbins have never scru¬ 
pled to abridge, alter, or reject any part of these notes, and to inter¬ 
mix their own observations, or those of others, which is a proof that 
they did not believe them to be the work of the prophets; for in 
that case they would possess equal authority with the text, and should 
be treated with the same regard. Lastly , Since all that is useful in 
the Masora appears to have been written since Ezra’s time, it is im- * 
possible to ascribe to him what is useless and trifling; and from 
these different reasons it may be concluded, that no part of the Ma¬ 
sora was written by Ezra. And even though we were to admit that 
he began it, that would not lead us to receive the present system in 
the manner the Jews do, because, since we cannot now distinguish 

- The reader will find a learned and elaborate elucidation of the Keri in the Rev. 
John Whittaker’s Historical and Critical Inquiry into the Interpretation of the 
Hebrew Scriptures, pp. 114—178. 

2 See pp. &—9. of the present volume. * 




147 


IV . Sect. I.] Occurring in the Old Testament. 

what he wrote, and since we find many things in it plainly unworthy 
of an inspired writer, we may justly refuse it the credit due to inspi¬ 
ration, unless his part were actually separated from what is the work 
of others. On the whole then it appears, that what is called the 
Masora is entitled to no greater reverence or attention than may be 
claimed by any other human compilation. 1 

Concerning the value of the Masoretic system of notation, the 
learned are greatly divided in opinion. Some have highly commend¬ 
ed the undertaking, and have considered the work of the Masorites 
as a monument of stupendous labour and unwearied assiduity, and as 
an admirable invention for delivering the sacred text from a multitude 
of equivocations and perplexities to which it was liable, and for put¬ 
ting a stop to the unbounded licentiousness and rashness of transcri¬ 
bers and critics, who often made alterations in the text on their own 
private authority. Others however, have altogether censured the 
design, suspecting that the Masorites corrupted the purity of the text 
by substituting, for the antient and true reading of their forefathers, 
another reading more favourable to their prejudices, and more oppo¬ 
site to Christianity, whose testimonies and proofs they were desirous 
of weakening as much as possible. 

Without adopting either of these extremes, Bishop Marsh observes, 
that “ the text itself, as regulated by the learned Jews of Tiberias, 
was probably the result of a collation of manuscripts. But as those 
Hebrew critics were cautious of introducing too many corrections 
into the text, they noted in the margins of their manuscripts, or in 
their critical collections, such various readings, derived from other 
manuscripts, either by themselves or by their predecessors, as ap¬ 
peared to be worthy of attention. This is the real origin of those 
marginal or Masoretic readings which we find in many editions of the 
Hebrew Bible. But the propensity of the later Jews to seek mys¬ 
tical meanings in the plainest facts gradually induced the belief, that 
both textual and marginal readings proceeded from the sacred writers 
themselves; and that the latter were transmitted to posterity by oral 
tradition, as conveying some mysterious application of the written 
words. They were regarded therefore, as materials, not of criticism , 
but of interpretation .” 2 The same eminent critic elsewhere remarks, 
that notwithstanding all the care of the Masorites to preserve the sa¬ 
cred text without variations, “ if their success has not been com¬ 
plete, either in establishing or preserving the Hebrew text, they have 
been guilty of the only fault which is common to every human effort.” 3 

V. The divisions of the Old Testament, which now generally ob¬ 
tain, are four in number : namely, 1. The Pentateuch , or five books 
of Moses ;—2. The Historical Boohs , comprising Joshua to Esther 
inclusive; — 3. The Doctrinal or Poetical Books of Job, Psalms,, 
the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon; — and 4. 
The Prophetic Books of Isaiah, Jeremiah with his Lamentations, 
Ezekiel, Daniel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets. These are seve- 

1 Waehner’s Antiquitates Hebr®orum, vol. i. pp. 93—137. 

2 Lectures on Divinity, part ii. p. 84, 3 Ibid. p. 98. 



1 




148 


Divisions and Marks of Distinction [Part I. Ch. 

rally divided into chapters and verses, to facilitate reference, and not 
primarily with a view to any natural division of the multifarious sub¬ 
jects which they embrace : but by whom these divisions were origi¬ 
nally made is a question, concerning which there exists a considera¬ 
ble difference of opinion. 

That it is comparatively a modern invention is evident from its 
being utterly unknown to the antient Christians, whose Greek Bibles, 
indeed, had then TitXoj and KfcpaXaia ( Titles and Heads); but the 
intent of these was, rather to point out the sum or contents of the 
text, than to divide the various books. They also differed greatly 
from the present chapters, many of them containing only a few 
verses, and some of them not more than one. The invention of chap¬ 
ters has by some been ascribed to Lanfranc, who was Archbishop of 
Canterbury in the reigns of William the Conqueror and William II .; 
while others attribute it to Stephen Langton, who was Archbishop 
ol the same see in the reigns of John and Henry III. But the real 
author of this very useful division was Cardinal Hugo de Sancto 
Caro, who flourished about the middle of the 13th century, and 
wrote a celebrated commentary on the Scriptures. Having project¬ 
ed a concordance to the Latin Vulgate version, by which any passage 
might be found, he divided both the Old and New Testaments into 
chapters, which are the same we now have : these chapters he sub¬ 
divided into smaller portions, which he distinguished by the letters 
A, B, C, D, E, F and G, which are placed in the margin at equal 
distances from each other, according to the length of the chapters. 1 * 3 * * * 
The facility of reference thus afforded by Hugo’s divisions, having 
become known to Rabbi Mordecai Nathan (or Isaac Nathan, as he 
is sometimes called), a celebrated Jewish teacher in the fifteenth 
century, he undertook a similar concordance for the Hebrew Scrip¬ 
tures ; but instead of adopting the marginal letters of Hugo, he mark¬ 
ed every fifth verse with a Hebrew numeral, thus, 1. jf 5., &c., 
retaining, however, the cardinal’s divisions into chapters. This con¬ 
cordance of Rabbi Nathan was commenced a. d. 1438, and finished 
m 1445. The introduction of verses into the Hebrew 7 Bible, was 
made by Athias, a Jew of Amsterdam, in his celebrated edition of 
the Hebrew Bible, printed in 1661, and reprinted in 1667. He 
marked every verse with the figures in common use, except those 
which had been previously marked by Nathan with Hebrew 
letters, in the manner in which they at present appear in Hebrew 
Bibles. By rejecting these Hebrew numerals, and substituting for 
them the corresponding figures, all the copies of the Bible in other 


1 These Divisions of Cardinal Hugo may be seen in any of the older editions of 
the Vulgate, and in the earlier English translations of the Bible, which were made 
from that version, particularly in that usually called Taverner's Bible, folio, Lon¬ 

don, 1539. The precise year , in which Hugo divided the text of the Latin Vul¬ 

gate into its present chapters, is not known. But as it appears from the preface 

to the Cologne edition of his works, that he composed his Concordance about the 

year 1248, and as his division of the Vulgate into its present chapters was con¬ 

nected with that Concordance, it could not have been done many years before the 

middle of the thirteenth century. Bp. Marsh’s Lectures, Part V! p. 25. note 15 




149 


FV. Sect. II.] Occurring in the New Testament. 

languages have since been marked. 1 2 As, however, these modern 
divisions and sub-divisions are not always made with the strictest re¬ 
gard to the connection of parts, it is greatly to be wished that all fu¬ 
ture editions of the Scriptures might be printed after the judicious 
manner adopted by Mr. Reeves in his equally beautiful and correct 
editions of the entire Bible ; in which the numbers of the verses and 
chapters are thrown into the margin, and the metrical parts of Scrip¬ 
ture are distinguished from the rest by being printed in verses in the 
usual manner. 


% 

SECTION II. 


ON THE DIVISION AND MARKS OF DISTINCTION OCCURRING IN THE 

NEW TESTAMENT. 


I. Antient Divisions of TitXw and KsyoCkaiu. — Ammonian , Eusebian , 
and Euthalian Sections.—Modern Division of Chapters. —II. 
Account of the Antient and Modern Punctuation of the New Tes - 
ment. — Antient and Modern Verses. —III. Of the titles to 
each Book. — IV. Subscriptions to the different Books. 

It is evident on inspecting the most antient manuscripts of the New 
Testament, that the several books were originally written in one con¬ 
tinued series without any blank spaces between the words f but in 
progress of time, when Christianity was established., and frequent ap¬ 
peals were made to the sacred writers, in consequence of the here¬ 
sies that disturbed the peace of the church, it became necessary to 
contrive some mode by which to facilitate references to their produc¬ 
tions. 

I. The Jews, we have already seen, 3 divided their law into paras- 
chioth and siderim, or larger and smaller sections, and the prophets 
into haphtoroth or sections ; and it has been conjectured that this di¬ 
vision suggested to the early Christians the idea of dividing the Books 
of the New Testament into similar sections; but by whom such divi¬ 
sion was first made, is a question that is by no means easy to de¬ 
termine. Some vestiges of it are supposed to be found in Justin 
Martyr’s second apology for the Christians, 4 and in the writings of Ter- 


1 Buxtorf, Prsef. ad Concordant. Btbliorum Hebrseorum. Prideaux’s Connection, 
vol. i. pp. 332—342. Carpzov. Introd. ad Libros Biblicos Vet. Test. pp. 27, 28 
Leusden, Philol. Hebr. Diss. iii. pp. 23—31. 

2 This is evident from the strange manner in which the early fathers of the 
Christian church have sometimes separated the passages which they have quoted. 
Thus instead of So^aaare Srj apa re tov Qeov, therefore glorify God (1 Cot. vi. 20.), Chry¬ 
sostom read ho^aaart 6rj apart rov Qtov, glorify and carry God ; and in this errone¬ 
ous reading he has been followed by the Latin translator, who has glorificate et 
portate Deum. In like manner, in Phil. ii. 4., instead of ««vrot <wco7rowr«, looking 
every man , the Codex Boernerianus reads tKaarois Ktmovvres toiling for every one 
Cellerier, Essai d’une Introduction critique au Nouveau Testament, p. 112. Ge^ 
neve, 1823. 8vo. 

3 See p. 143. supra. 

4 § 87. Ernesti seems to countenance this hypothesis. Inst. Intcrp. Nov. Test 

*. 150 . 




150 


Divisions and Marks of Distinction [Part I. Ch. 

tullian. 1 But Dr. Lardner is of opinion, that these passages scarcely 
amount to a full proof that any sections or chapters were marked in 
the copies of the New Testament so early as the second century. It 
is however certain that the antients divided the New Testament into 
two kinds of chapters, some longer and others shorter, the former 
were called in Greek titXoj and in Latin breves / and the table of con¬ 
tents of each brevis, which was prefixed to the copies ol the New 
Testament was called breviarium. The shorter chapters were called 
xspaXaia, capitula , and the list of them capitulatio. 

This method of dividing is of very great antiquity, certainly prior 
to the fourth century: for Jerome, who flourished towards the close 
of that century, expunged a passage from Saint Matthew’s gospel 
which forms an entire chapter, as being an interpolation. 2 These di¬ 
visions were formerly very numerous ; but, not being established by 
any ecclesiastical authority, none of them were ever received by the 
whole church. Saint Matthew’s gospel, for instance, according to 
the old breviaria, contained twenty-eight breves ; but, according to 
Jerome, sixty-eight. The same author divides his gospel into 355 
capitula; others, into 74; others, into 88; others, into 117; the 
Syriac version, into 76; and Erpenius’s edition of the Arabic, into 
101. The most antient, and it appears the most approved of these 
divisions, was that of Tatian (a. d. 172.) in his Harmony of the four 
Gospels, for the <nrXoi or breves : and that of Ammonius, a learned 
Christian of Alexandria in the third century, in his Harmony of the 
Gospels, for the xspaXoua or capitula. From him they were termed 
the Ammonian Sections. As these divisions were subsequently adopt¬ 
ed, and the use of them was recommended, by Eusebius the celebrat¬ 
ed ecclesiastical historian, they are frequently called by his name. 
According to this division, Saint Matthew contains 68 breves, and 
355 capitula; Saint Mark, 48 breves, and 234 capitula ; Saint Luke, 
83 breves, and 342 capitula; and St. John, 18 breves, and 231 ca¬ 
pitula. All the evangelists together form 216 breves, and 1126 ca¬ 
pitula. In antient Greek manuscripts the <nrX oi or larger portions are 
written on the upper or lower margin, and the xstpaXaia or smaller 
portions are numbered on the side of the margin. They are clearly 
represented in Erasmus’s editions of the Greek Testament, and in 
Robert Stephens’s edition of 1550. 

The division of the Acts of the Apostles, and of the Catholic Epis¬ 
tles, into chapters, was made by Euthalius Bishop of Sulca in Egypt, 
in the fifth century; who published an edition of Saint Paul’s Epis¬ 
tles, that had been divided into chapters, in one continued series, by 
some unknown person in the fourth century, who had considered them 
as one book. This arrangement of the Pauline Epistles is to be found 

* A.d Ux. lib. ii. c. 2. p. 187. D. De Pudicitid, cap. 16. sub fincm. De Monogam. 
c. 11. p. 683. The passages are given at length by Dr. Lardner, Works, Svo^vol 
ii. p. 283 ; 4to. vol. i. p. 433. 

- The paragraph in question is to be found in the Codex Bezse, immediately af 
ter the twenty-eighth verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel. 
Michaelis has printed it, together with two Latin translations of it, in his Intro 
duction to the New Test. vol. i. pp. 293—295. 




151 


IV. Sect. II.] Occurring in the New Testament. 

in the Vatican manuscript, and in some others; but it by no means 
prevails uniformly, for there are many manuscripts extant, in which 
a fresh enumeration commences with each epistle. 1 

Besides the divisions into chapters and sections above mentioned, 
the Codex Bezte and other manuscripts were further divided into les¬ 
sons, called Avayvwtffxara or Avayvwtfsif. Euthalius is said to have di¬ 
vided Saint Paul’s Epistles in this manner, as Andrew Bishop of Cse- 
sarea in Cappadocia divided the Apocalypse, at the beginning of the 
sixth century, into twenty-four lessons, which he termed X0701 (ac¬ 
cording to the number of elders before the throne of God, Rev. iv. 
4.), and seventy-two titles, according to the number of parts, viz. 
body, soul, and spirit, of which the elders were composed! 

The division of titXoj and xs<paXaia continued to be general both in 
the eastern and western churches, until cardinal Hugo de Sancto Caro 
in the thirteenth century introduced the chapters now in use, through¬ 
out the western church, for the New Testament as well as the Old : 
ot which an account has already been given. 2 The Greek or eastern 
church, however, continued to follow the antient divisions; nor are 
any Greek manuscripts known to be extant, in which chapters are 
found, prior to the fifteenth century, when the Greek fugitives, after 
the taking of Constantinople, fled into the West of Europe, became 
transcribers for members of the Latin church, and of course adopted 
the Latin divisions. 

II. Whether any points for marking the sense were used by the 
apostles, is a question that has been greatly agitated ; Pritius, Plaff, 
Leusden, and many other eminent critics, maintaining that they were 
in use before the time of the apostles, while Dr. Grabe, Fabricius, 
Montfaucon, Hoffman, John Henry Michaelis, Rogall, John David 
Michaelis, Moldenhawer, Ernesti, and a host of other critics, maintain 
that the use of points is posterior to the time of the apostles. 3 The 
numerous mistakes of the fathers, 4 or their uncertainty how particular 
passages were to be read and understood, clearly prove that there was 
no regular or accustomed system of punctuation in use, in the fourth 
century. The majority of the points or stops now in use are unques- 


1 Millii Prolegomena, §§ 354—360, 662—664. 739, et seq. 

2 See p. 148. supra , of this volume. 

3 Rumpaeus has given twelve closely printed quarto pages to the enumeration 
of these opinions. Com. Crit. in Nov. Test. pp. 165—176. 

4 Some of these mistakes and uncertainties of interpretation are sufficiently cu¬ 
rious. Thus Jerome on Eph. i. 5. says : “ Dupliciter legendum, ut caritas vel cum 
superioribus vel superioribus copuletur.” And on Philemon iv. 5. he says : “ Am- 
bigue vero dictum, utrum grates agat Deo suo semper , an memoriam ejus faciat in 
orationibus suis semper. Et utrumque intelligi potest.” (Jerome, Homil. IV. in 
Joh. p. 42, 43. edit. Francofurti.) Epiphanius mentions a mark of punctuation 
used in the Old Testament, which he calls vtTo5ia<TTo\rj ; but he takes notice of no¬ 
thing of the kind in the New Testament, though he was warmly discussing the 
manner in which the sense ought to be divided in John i. 3. The disputes, which 
arose concerning this passage prove to demonstration that there was no fixed punc¬ 
tuation at the period referred to. Chrysostom, for instance, branded as heretics 
those who placed a pause after the words oir<$s cv and before ycyovev, yet this mode 
of pointing was adopted by Iremeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and even by 
Athanasius. Cellerier, Introduction, p. 114. where other additional examples are 
given. 



152 


Divisions and Marks of Distinction [Part I. Ch. 

tionably of modern date : for, although some full points are to be 
found in the Codex Alexandrinus, the Codex Vaticanus, and the Co¬ 
dex Bezae, (as they also are in inscriptions four hundred years before 
the Christian sra) yet it cannot be shown that our present system of 
punctuation was generally adopted earlier than the ninth century. In 
fact, it seems to have been a gradual improvement, commenced by 
Jerome, and continued by succeeding biblical critics. The punctua¬ 
tion of the manuscripts of the Septuagint, Ernesti observes from Cyril 
of Jerusalem, 1 was unknown in the early part of the fourth century, 
and consequently (he infers) the punctuation of the New Testament 
was also unknown. About fifty years afterwards, Jerome began to 
add the comma and colon; and they were then inserted in many more 
antient manuscripts. About the middle of the fifth century, Eutha- 
lius (then a deacon of the church at Alexandria) published an edition 
of the four Gospels, and afterwards (when he was bishop of Sulca in 
Egypt) an edition of the Acts of the Apostles and of all the Aposto¬ 
lical Epistles, in which he divided the New Testament into <r<r»XM 
(stichoi ), or lines regulated by the sense, so that each terminated 
where some pause was to be made in reading. Of this method of di¬ 
vision (which Euthalius devised in order to assist the clergy when 
reading the Word in public worship, and obviate the inconveniences 
and mistakes just noticed) the following extract from Tit. ii. 2, 3. ac¬ 
cording to the Codex H. Coislinianus 202, will give an idea to the 
reader. 


HPE2BTTA2NE<I>AAI0T2EINAI 

2EMN0X2 

2fi$P0NA2 

TriAINONTA 2 THni 2 TEI 

THTIIOMONH 

nPE2BXTlAA2fi2AXTn2 

ENKATA2THMATIIEP0nPEIIEI2 

MHAIABOAOX2 

MHOINnnOAAf 2 AEAOXAf 2 MENA 2 

KAAOAIAA2KAAOX2 

In English, thus: 

THATTHEAGEDMENBESOBER 

GRAVE 

TEMPERATE 

SOUNDINFAITH 

INPATIENCE 

THE AGEDW OMENLIKE WISE 
INBEHAVIOUR ASBECOMETHHOLINESS 
NOTFALSEACCUSERS 
NOTGIVENTOMUCHWINE 
TEACHERSOFGOODTHINGS 


1 Cyrilli Catechesis xiii. p. 301. Ernesti, Inst. Interp. Nov. Test. p. 159. 




153 


IV. Sect. II.] Occurring in the New Testament . 

This mode of dividing the sacred text was called 2<r • and 
this method of writing, tfnx^ov yjo+ai. At the end of each manu¬ 
script it was usual to specify the number of stichoi which it con¬ 
tained. When a copyist was disposed to contract his space, and 
therefore crowded the lines into each other, he placed a point where 
Euthalius had terminated the line. In the eighth century the stroke 
which we call a comma was invented. In the Latin manuscripts, 
Jerome’s points were introduced by Paul Warnefrid, and Alcuin, at 
the command of the emperor Charlemagne; and in the ninth century 
the Greek note of interrogation (;) was first used. At the inven¬ 
tion of printing, the editors placed the points arbitrarily, probably 
(Michaelis thinks) without bestowing the necessary attention; and 
Stephens in particular, it is well known, varied his points in every 
edition. The lac-similes given in the third chapter of this volume 
will give the reader an idea of the marks of distinction found in the 
more antient manuscripts. 

The stichoi, however, not only assisted the public reader of the 
New Testament to determine its sense ; they also served to measure 
the size of books ; thus, Josephus’s twenty books of Jewish Antiqui¬ 
ties contained 60,000 stichoi, though in Ittigius’s edition there are 
only 40,000 broken lines. And, according to an antient written list 
preserved by Simon, and transcribed by Michaelis, the New Testa¬ 
ment contained 18,612 stichoi. 1 

The verses into which the New Testament is now divided, are 
much more modern, and are an imitation of those invented for the 
Old Testament by Rabbi Nathan in the fifteenth century. 2 Robert 
Stephens was their first inventor, 3 * and introduced them in his edition 
of the New Testament, published in the year 1551. This invention 
of the learned printer was soon introduced into all the editions of the 
New Testament; and the very great advantage it affords, for facili¬ 
tating references to particular passages, has caused it to be retained 
in the majority of editions and versions of the New Testament, though 
much to the injury of its interpretation, as many passages are now- 
severed that ought to be united, and vice versa.* From this arrange¬ 
ment, however, Wetstein, Bengel, Bow-yer, Griesbach, and other 
editors of the Greek Testament, have wisely departed, and have 
printed the text in continued paragraphs, throwing the numbers of Ste¬ 
phen’s verses into the margin. Mr. Reeves also has pursued the 
same method in his beautiful and correct editions of the authorised 
English version, and of the Greek Testament in 12mo., 1803. 5 


1 Introd. to the New Test. vol. ii. pp. 526, 527. Michaelis, after Simon, uses 
the word rcmata; but this is evidently a mistake. 

2 See p. 148. supra , of this volume. 

3 He made this division when on a journey from Lyons to Paris, and, as his son 
Henry tells us (in his preface to the Concordance of the New Testament), he made 
it inter eqvitandum, literally, while riding on horseback ; but Michaelis rather 
thinks that the phrase means only, that when he was weary of riding, he amused 
himself with this work at his inn. Michaelis, vol. ii. p. 527. 

^ Thus Col. iv. 1. ought to have been united to the third chapter. 

5 The title of the last mentioned work is — “ H KAINH AIA6HKH. The New 
Testament in Greek , according to the Text of Mill and Stephens, and the Arrange- 

vol. ii. 20 



154 


Divisions and Marks of Distinction [Part I. Ch. 

Besides the text in the different books of the New Testament, we 
meet with titles or inscriptions to each of them, and also with sub¬ 
scriptions at the end, specifying the writer of each book, the time and 
place, when and where it was written, and the person to whom it was 
written. 

IV. It is not known by whom the Inscriptions or titles of the 
various books of the New Testament were prefixed. In consequence 
of the very great diversity of titles occurring in manuscripts, it is 
generally admitted that they were not originally written by the 
Apostles, but were subsequently added, in order to distinguish one 
book from another, when the canon of the New Testament was form¬ 
ed. It is however certain, that these titles are of very great antiquity; 
for we find them mentioned by Tertullian in the latter part ol the 
second century, * 1 and Justin Martyr, in the early part of the same 
century, expressly states, that the writings of the four evangelists were 
in his day termed Gospels . 2 

V. But the Subscriptions annexed to the Epistles are manifestly 
spurious : for, in the first place, some of them are beyond all doubt 
false, as those of the two Epistles to the Thessalonians, which pur¬ 
port to be written at Athens, whereas they were written from Corinth. 
In like manner, the subscription to the first epistle to the Corinthians 
states, that it was written from Philippi, notwithstanding St. Paul in¬ 
forms them (xvi. 8.) that he will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost; 
and notwithstanding he begins his salutations in that Epistle, by telling 
the Corinthian Christians (xvi. 19.) the Churches of Asia salute you ; 
a pretty evident indication that he himself was in Asia at that very 
time. Again, according to the subscription, the Epistle to the Gala¬ 
tians was written from Rome; yet, in the Epistle itself, the Apostle 
expresses his surprise (i. 6.) that they were so soon removed from 
him that called them; whereas his journey to Rome was ten years 
posterior to the conversion of the Galatians. And what still more 
conclusively proves the falsehood of this subscription, is, the total 
absence in this epistle of all allusions to his bonds or to his being a 
prisoner ; which Saint Paul has not failed to notice in every one of 
the four epistles, written from that city and during his imprisonment. 3 
Secondly, the subscriptions are altogether wanting in some antient 
manuscripts of the best note, while in others they are greatly varied- 
And, thirdly, the subscription annexed to the first Epistle to Timothy 
is evidently the production of a writer of the age of Constantine the 
Great, and could not have been written by the apostle Paul: for it 
states that epistle to have been written to Timothy from Laodicea, 
the chief city of Phrygia Pacatiana ; whereas the country of Phrygia 
was not divided into the two provinces of Phrygia Prima, or Pacati¬ 
ana, and Phrygia Secunda, until the fourth century. According to 


vicnt of Mr. Reeves's Bible." The book is printed with singular neatness and ac 
curacy, and the fine paper copies are truly beautiful. 

1 Adversus Marcionem, lib. iv. c. 2. 

■? A P o1 - i- P- 98. Lardner’s Works, 8ro., vol. ii. p. 121: 4to., vol. i. p. 344. 

3 Paley’s Hore Pauline, pp. 378, 379. 




155 


fV Sect. II.] Occurring in the New Testament. 

Dr. Mill, the subscriptions were added by Euthalius Bishop of Sulca 
in Egypt, who published an edition of the Acts, Epistles of Saint 
Paul, and of the Catholic Epistles, about the middle of the fifth cen¬ 
tury. But, whoever was the author of the subscriptions, it is evident 
that he was either grossly ignorant, or grossly inattentive. 

The various subscriptions and titles to the different books are 
exhibited in Griesbach’s Critical Edition of the New Testament. 


( 156 ) 


[Part I. Ch. 


CHAPTER V. 

ON THE ANTIENT VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

Next to the kindred languages, versions afford the greatest as¬ 
sistance to the interpretation of the Scriptures, “ It is only by means 
of versions, that they, who are ignorant of the original languages, can 
at all learn what the Scripture contains; and every version, so far as 
it is just, conveys the sense of Scripture to those who understand the 
language in which it is written.” 

Versions may be divided into two classes, antient and modern: 
die former were made immediately from the original languages by 
persons to whom they were familiar ; and who, it may be reasonably 
supposed, had better opportunities for ascertaining the force and mean¬ 
ing of words, than more recent translators can possibly have. Mo¬ 
dern versions are diose made in later times, and chiefly since the 
reformation : they are useful for explaining the sense of the inspired 
writers, while antient versions are of the utmost importance both of 
the criticism and interpretation of the Scriptures. The present 
chapter will therefore be appropriated to giving an account of those 
which are most esteemed for their antiquity and excellence. 


SECTION I. 

ANTIENT VERSIONS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

The principal antient versions, which illustrate the Scriptures, are 
the Chaldee paraphrases, generally called Targums, the Septuagint, 
or Alexandrian Greek Version, the translations of Aquila, Symma- 
chus, and Theodotion, and what are called the fifth, sixth, and 
seventh versions, (of which latter translations fragments only are 
extant,) together with the Syriac, and Latin or Vulgate versions. 
Although the authors of these versions did not flourish at the time 
when the Hebrew language was spoken, yet they enjoyed many ad¬ 
vantages for understanding the Bible, especially the Old Testament, 
which are not possessed by the moderns : for, living near the time 
when that language was vernacular, they could learn by tradition the 
true signification of some Hebrew words, which is now forgotten. 
Many of them also being Jews, and from their childhood accustomed 
to hear the Rabbins explain the Scripture, the study of which they 
diligently cultivated, and likewise speaking a dialect allied to the 
Hebrew,—they could not but become well acquainted with the lat¬ 
ter. Hence it may be safely inferred that the antient versions gene- 
rally give the true sense of Scripture, and not unfrequently in pas¬ 
sages where it could scarcely be discovered by any other means. All 
the antient versions, indeed, are ol great importance both in the criti¬ 
cism, as well as in the interpretation, of the sacred writings, but they 
are not all witnesses of equal value 5 for the authority of the different 

versions depends partly on the age and country of their respective 

/ . 




The Targ urns . 


157 


V. Sect. I. § l.J 


authors, partly on the text whence their translations were made, and 
partly on the ability and fidelity with which they were executed. It 
will therefore be not irrelevant to offer a short historical notice of the 
principal versions above mentioned, as well as of some other antient 
versions of less celebrity perhaps, but which have been beneficially 
consulted by biblical critics. 


§ 1. OF THE TARGUMS, OR CHALDEE PARAPHRASES. 

I. 7'argum of Onkelos; —II. Of the Pseudo-Jonathan ;— III. The 
Jerusalem Targum ; — IV. The Tar gum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel; 
— V. The Targum on the Hagiographa ; — VI. The Targum on 
the Mcgilloth; — VII, VIII, IX. Three Targums on the Book of 
Esther ; — X. Real value of the different Targums. 

The Chaldee word Tgrgum signifies, in general, any 

version or explanation ; but this appellation is more particularly re¬ 
stricted to the versions or paraphrases of the Old Testament, exe¬ 
cuted in the East-Aramaean or Chaldee dialect, as it is usually called. 
These Targums are termed paraphrases or expositions, because they 
are rather comments and explications, than literal translations of the 
text: they are written in the Chaldee tongue, which became familiar 
to the Jews after the time of their captivity in Babylon, and was more 
known to them than the Hebrew itself: so that, when the law was 
“ read in the synagogue every Sabbath day,” in pure biblical He¬ 
brew, an explanation was subjoined to it in Chaldee ; in order to 
render it intelligible to the people, who had but an imperfect know¬ 
ledge of the Hebrew language. This practice, as already observed, 
originated with Ezra : x as there are no traces of any written Targums 
prior to those of Onkelos and Jonathan, who are supposed to have 
lived about the time of our Saviour, it is highly probable that these 
paraphrases were at first merely oral; that, subsequently, the ordinary 
glosses on the more difficult passages were committed to writing ; and 
that, as the Jews were bound by an ordinance of their elders to pos¬ 
sess a copy of the law, these glosses were either afterwards collected 
together and deficiencies in them supplied, or new and connected 
paraphrases were formed. 

There are at present extant ten paraphrases on different parts of 
the Old Testament, three of which comprise the Pentateuch, or five 

1 See pp. 3, 4. supra. Our account of the Chaldee paraphrases is drawn up 
from a careful consideration of what has been written on them, by Carpzov, in his 
Critica Sacra, part ii. c. i. pp. 430—481. ; Bishop Walton, Prol. c. 12. sect. ii. pp. 
568—592.; Leusden, in Philolog. Hebraeo-Mixt. Diss. v. vi. and vii. pp. 36—58.; 
Dr. Prideaux, Connection, part ii. book viii. sub anno 37. b. c. vol. iii. pp. 531— 
555. (edit. 1718.) Kortholt, De variis Scripturae Editionibus, c. iii. pp. 34—51.; 
Pfeiffer, Critica Sacra, cap. viii. sect. ii. (Op. tom. ii. pp. 750—771.), and in his 
Treatise de Theologia Judaic^, &c. Exercit. ii. (Ibid. tom. ii. pp. 802—889.) 
Bauer, Critica Sacra, tract, iii. pp. 288—308.; Rambach. Inst. Herm. Sacrre, pp. 
606—611.: Pictet, Theologie Chretienne, tom. i. pp. 145. et seq.; Jahn, Introduc¬ 
tion Libros Veteris Foederis, pp.69 -75.; and Waehner’s Antiquitatcs Ebraorum, 
tom. i. pp. 156—170. 





158 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch. 

books of Moses: — 1. The Targum of Onkelos; 2. That falsely 
ascribed to Jonathan, and usually cited as the Targum of the Pseudo- 
Jonathan ; and 3. The Jerusalem Targum; 4. The Targum of 
Jonathan Ben Uzziel, (i. e. the son of Uzziel) on the Prophets; 5. 
The Targum of Rabbi Joseph the blind, or one-eyed, on the Hagio- 
grapha; 6. An anonymous Targum on the five Megilloth, or books 
of Ruth, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and the Lamenta¬ 
tions of Jeremiah; 7, 8, 9. Three Targums on the book of Esther ; 
and, 10. A Targum or paraphrase on the two books of Chronicles. 
These Targums, taken together, form a continued paraphrase on the 
Old Testament, with the exception of the books of Daniel, Ezra, and 
Nehemiah (antiently reputed to be part of Ezra;) which being for 
the most part written in Chaldee, it has been conjectured that no pa- 
raphases were written on them, as being unnecessary; though Dr. 
Prideaux is of opinion that Targums were composed on these books 
also, which have perished in the lapse of ages. 

The language, in which these paraphrases are composed, varies in 
purity according to the time when they were respectively written. 
Thus, the Targums of Onkelos and the Pseudo-Jonathan are much 
purer than the others, approximating very nearly to the Aramaean 
dialect in which some parts of Daniel and Ezra are written, except 
indeed that the orthography does not always correspond; while the 
language of the later Targums whence the rabbinical dialect derives 
its source, is far more impure, and is intermixed with barbarous and 
foreign words. Originally, all the Chaldee paraphrases were written 
without vowel-points, like all other oriental manuscripts : but at 
length some persons ventured to add points to them, though verv 
erroneously, and this irregular punctuation was retained in the Venice 
and other early editions of the Hebrew Bible. Some further imper¬ 
fect attempts towards regular pointing were made both in the Com- 
plut.ensian and in the Antwerp Polyglotts, until at length the elder 
Buxtorf, in his edition of the Hebrew Bible published at Basil, un¬ 
dertook the thankless task 1 of improving the punctuation of the Tar¬ 
gums, according to such rules as he had formed from the pointing 
which he had found in the Chaldee parts of the books of Daniel and 
Ezra; and his method of punctuation is followed in Bishop Walton’s 
Polyglott. 

I. The Targum, of Onkelos. — It is not known with certainty, at 
what time Onkelos flourished, nor of what nation he was: Professor 
Eichhorn conjectures that he was a native of Babylon, first because 
he is mentioned in the Babylonish Talmud ; secondly, because his 
dialect is not the Chaldee spoken in Palestine, but much purer, and 
more closely resembling the style of Daniel and Ezra; and lastly, 
because he has not interwoven any of those fabulous narratives to 
which the Jews of Palestine were so much attached, and from which 

1 Pore Simon, Hist. Crit. du Vieux Test. liv. ii. c. viii. has censured BuxtorTg 
modes ot pointing the Chaldee paraphrases with great severity ; observing, that he 
would have done much better if he had more diligently examined manuscripts that 
were more correctly pointed. 





V. Sect. I. § 1.] Tat gums of Onkelos and the Pseudo-Jonathan. 159 

they could with difficulty refrain. The generally received opinion is, 
that he was a proselyte to Judaism, and a disciple of the celebrated 
Rabbi Hillel, who flourished about 50 years before the Christian sera; 
and consequently that Onkelos was contemporary with our Saviour : 
Bauer and Jahn, however, place him in the second century. The 
Targum of Onkelos comprises the Pentateuch or five books of Mo¬ 
ses, and is justly preferred to all the others both by Jews and Chris¬ 
tians, on account of the purity of its style, and its general freedom 
from idle legends. It is rather a version than a paraphrase, and ren¬ 
ders the Hebrew text word for word, with so much accuracy and ex¬ 
actness, that being set to the same musical notes, with the original 
Hebrew, it could be read in the same tone as the latter in the public 
assemblies of the Jews. And this we find was the practice of the 
Jews up to the time of Rabbi Elias Levita; who flourished in the 
early part of the sixteenth century, and expressly states that the Jews 
read the law in their synagogues, first in Hebrew and then in the 
Targum of Onkelos. This Targum has been translated into Latin 
by Alfonso de Zamora, Paulus Fagius, Bernardinus Baldus, and 
Andrew de Leon, of Zamora. 1 

II. The second Targum, which is a more liberal paraphrase of 
the Pentateuch than the preceding, is usually called the Targum of 
the Pseudo-Jonathan, being ascribed by many to Jonathan Ben 
Uzziel who wrote the much esteemed Paraphrase on the Prophets. 
But the difference in the style and diction of this Targum, which is 
very impure, as well as in the method of paraphrasing adopted in it, 
clearly proves that it could not have been written by Jonathan Ben 
Uzziel, who indeed sometimes indulges in allegories and has intro¬ 
duced a few barbarisms; but this Targum on the law abounds with 
the most idle Jewish legends that can well be conceived ; which, 
together with the barbarous and foreign words it contains, render it 
of very little utility. From its mentioning the six parts of the Tal¬ 
mud (on Exod. xxvi. 9.) which compilation was not written till two 
centuries after the birth of Christ;— Constantinople (on Numb. xxiv. 
19.) which city was always called Byzantium until it received its 
name from Constantine the Great, in the beginning of the fourth cen¬ 
tury ; the Lombards (on Num. xxiv. 24.) whose first irruption into 
Italy did not take place until the year 570; and the Turks (on Gen. 
x. 2.) who did not become conspicuous till the middle of the sixth 
century, —learned men are unanimously of opinion that this Targum 
of the Pseudo-Jonathan could not have been written before the 
seventh, or even the eighth century. It has been translated into 
Latin by Anthony Ralph de Chevalier, an eminent French Protestant 
divine, in the sixteenth century. 

III. The Jerusalem Targum , which also paraphrases the five 
books of Moses, derives its name from the dialect in which it is com¬ 
posed. It is by no means a connected paraphrase, sometimes omit- 


1 The fullest information, concerning the Targum of Onkelos, is to be found in 
the disquisition of G. B. Winer, entitled, De Onkeloso ejusque Paraphrasi Chal» 
daica Dissertatio, 4to. Lipsiae, 1820. 




160 


On the Ant lent Versions . 


[Part I. Ciu 

ting whole verses, or even chapters ; at other times explaining only a 
single word of a verse, of which it sometimes gives a two-fold inter¬ 
pretation; and at others, Hebrew words are inserted without any 
explanation whatever. In many respects it corresponds with the 
paraphrase of the Pseudo-Jonathan, whose legendary tales are here 
frequently repeated, abridged, or expanded. From the impurity of 
its style, and the number of Greek, Latin, and Persian words which it 
contains, Bishop Walton, Carpzov, Wolfius, and many other eminent 
philologers, are of opinion, that it is a compilation by several authors, 
and consists of extracts and collections. From these internal eviden¬ 
ces, the commencement of the seventh century has been assigned as 
its probable date ; but it is more likely not to have been written 
before the eighth or perhaps the ninth century. This Targum was 
also translated into Latin by Chevalier, and by Francis Taylor. 

IV. The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel .— According to the 
talmudical traditions, the author of this paraphrase was chief of the 
eighty distinguished scholars of Rabbi Hillel the elder, and a fellow 
disciple of Simeon the Just, who bore the infant Messiah in his arms: 
consequently he would be nearly contemporary with Onkelos. Wol¬ 
fius, 1 however, is of opinion that he flourished a short time before the 
birth of Christ, and compiled the work which bears his name, from 
more antient Targums that had been preserved to his time by oral 
tradition. From the silence of Origen and Jerome concerning this 
Targum, of which they could not but have availed themselves if it 
had really existed in their time, and also from its being cited in the 
Talmud, both Bauer and Jalin date it much later than is generally 
admitted : the former indeed is of opinion that its true date cannot 
be ascertained; and the latter, from the inequalities of style and 
method observable in it, considers it as a compilation from the inter¬ 
pretations of several learned men, made about the close of the third 
or fourth century. This paraphrase treats on the Prophets, that is 
(according to the Jewish classification of the sacred writings), on the 
books of Joshua, Judges, 1 2 Sam. 1 & 2 Kings, who are termed the 

former prophets ; and on Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve 
minor prophets, who are designated as the latter prophets. Though 
the style of this Targum is not so pure and elegant as that of Onkelos, 
yet it is not disfigured by those legendary tales and numerous foreign 
and barbarous words which abound in the later Targums. Both the 
language and method of interpretation, however, are irregular : in the 
exposition of the former prophets, the text is more closely rendered 
than in that on the latter, which is less accurate, as well as more para- 
phrastical, and interspersed with some traditions and fabulous legends. 
In order to attach the greater authority to the Targum of Jonathan 
Ben Uzziel, the Jews, not satisfied with making him contemporary 
with the prophets Malachi, Zechariah, and Haggai, and asserting that 
he received it from their lips, have related, that while Jonathan was 
composing his paraphrase, there was an earthquake for forty leagues 


1 Bibliotheca Hebraica, tom. i. p. 1160. 




V . Sect. I. § 1.] Targums on the Cetubim, Megillotli. and Esther. 1 G1 

around him; and that if any bird happened to pass over him, or a fly 
alighted on his paper while writing, they were immediately consumed 
by fire from heaven, without any injury being sustained either by his 
person or his paper !! The whole of this Targum was translated into 
Latin by Alfonso de Zamora, Andrea de Leon, and Conrad Pellican ; 
and the paraphrase on the twelve minor prophets, by Immanuel 
Tremellius. 

V. The Targum on the Cetubim, Hagiographa , or Holy Writ¬ 
ings, is ascribed by some Jewish writers to Raf Jose, or Rabbi Jo¬ 
seph, surnamed the one-eyed or blind, who is said to have been at 
die head of the Academy at Sora, in the third century; though 
others affirm that its author is unknown. The style is barbarous, im¬ 
pure, and very unequal, interspersed with numerous digressions and 
legendary narratives; on which account the younger Buxtorf, and 
after him Bauer and Jahn, are of opinion that the whole is a com¬ 
pilation of later times: and this sentiment appears to be the most 
correct. Dr. Prideaux characterises its language as the most cor¬ 
rupt Chaldee of the Jerusalem dialect. The translators of the pre¬ 
ceding Targum, together with Arias Montanus, have given a Latin 
version of this Targum. 

VI. The Targum on the Megilloth, or five books of Ecclesiastes, 
Song of Songs, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ruth, and Esther, is 
evidently a compilation by several persons : the barbarism of its style, 
numerous digressions, and idle legends which are inserted, all concur 
to prove it to be of late date, and certainly not earlier than the sixth 
century. The paraphrase on the book of Ruth and the Lamenta- 
tions of Jeremiah is the best executed portion : Ecclesiastes is more 
freely paraphrased; but the text of the Song of Solomon is absolute¬ 
ly lost amidst the diffuse circumscription of its author, and his dull 
glosses and fabulous additions. 

VII. VIII, IX. The three Targums on the book of Esther. — 
This book has always been held in the highest estimation by the 
Jews ; which circumstance induced them to translate it repeatedly 
into the Chaldee dialect. Three paraphrases on it have been print¬ 
ed : one in the Antwerp Polyglott, which is much shorter, and con¬ 
tains fewer digressions than the others ; another, in Bishop Walton’s 
Polyglott, which is more diffuse, and comprises more numerous Jew¬ 
ish fables and traditions ; and a third, of which a Latin Version was 
published by Francis Taylor; and which, according to Carpzov, is 
more stupid and diffuse than either of the preceding. They are all 
three of very late date. 

X. A Targum on the books of Chronicles, which for a long time 
was unknown both to Jews and Christians, was discovered in the li¬ 
brary at Erfurt, belonging to the ministers of the Augsburg confes¬ 
sion, by Matthias Frederick Beck; who published it in 1680, 3, 4, 
in two quarto volumes. Another edition was published at Amster¬ 
dam by the learned David Wilkins (1715, 4to.) from a manuscript in 
the university library at Cambridge. It is more complete than Beck’s 
edition, and supplies many of its deficiencies. This Targum, how* 

vol. u. 2! 


162 


On the Ancient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch. 

ever, is of very little value : like all the other Chaldee paraphrases, 
it blends legendary tales with the narrative, and introduces numerous 
Greek words, such as o^Xos, tfo(p»sai, a^wv, &ic. 

XI. Of all the Chaldee paraphrases above noticed, the Targums 
of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel are most highly valued by the 
Jews, who implicitly receive their expositions of doubtful passages. 
Shickhard, Mayer, Helvicus, Leusden, Hottinger, and Dr. Pri- 
deaux, have conjectured that some Chaldee Targum was in use in 
the synagogue where our Lord read Isa. lxi. 1, 2, (Luke iv. 17— 
19.); and that he quoted Psal. xxii. 1. when on the cross (Matt, 
xxvii. 46.) not out of the Hebrew text, but out of a Chaldee para¬ 
phrase. But there does not appear to be sufficient ground for this 
hypothesis : for, as the Chaldee or East Aramaean dialect was spoken 
at Jerusalem, it is at least as probable that Jesus Christ interpreted 
the Hebrew into the vernacular dialect in the first instance, as that 
he should have read from a Targum; and, when on the cross, it 
was perfectly natural that he should speak in the same language, 
rather than in the biblical Hebrew; which, we have already seen, 
was cultivated and studied by the priests and Levites as a learned 
language. The Targum of Rabbi Joseph the blind, in which the 
words cited by our Lord are to be found, is so long posterior to the 
time of his crucifixion, that it cannot be received as evidence. So 
numerous indeed are the variations, and so arbitrary are the altera¬ 
tions occurring in the manuscripts of the Chaldee paraphrases, that 
Dr. Kennicott has clearly proved them to have been designedly al¬ 
tered in compliment to the previously corrupted copies of the He¬ 
brew text; or, in other words, that “ alterations have been made 
wilfully in the Chaldee paraphrase to render that paraphrase, in some 
places, more conformable to the words of the Hebrew text, where 
those Hebrew words are supposed to be right, but had themselves 
been corrupted.” 1 But notwithstanding all their deficiencies and in¬ 
terpolations, the Targums, especially those of Onkelos and Jonathan, 
are of considerable importance in the interpretation of the Scriptures, 
not only as they supply the meanings of words or phrases occurring 
but once in the Old Testament, but also because they reflect con¬ 
siderable light on the Jewish rites, ceremonies, laws, customs, usages, 
&tc. mentioned or alluded to in both Testaments. But it is in es¬ 
tablishing the genuine meaning of particular prophecies relative to the 
Messiah, in opposition to the false explications of the Jews and Anti- 
trinitarians, that these Targums are pre-eminently useful. Bishop 
Walton, Dr. Prideaux, Pfeiffer, Carpzov, and Rambach, have illus¬ 
trated this remark by numerous examples* Bishop Patrick, and 
Drs. Gill and Clarke, in their respective commentaries on the Bible, 
have inserted many valuable elucidations from the Chaldee para- 
phrasts. Leusden recommends that no one should attempt to read 
their writings, nor indeed to learn the Chaldee dialect, who is not 
previously well grounded in Hebrew : he advises the Chaldee text 


1 Dr. Kennicott’s Second Dissertation, pp. 167—193 





163 


V. Sect. I. § 2.] Antient Greek Versions. 

of Daniel and Ezra to be first read either with his own Chaldee Manual 
or with Buxtorf’s Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon ; after which the 
Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan may be perused, with the help of 
Buxtorf’s Chaldee and Syriac Lexicon, and of De Lara’s work, De 
Convenientia Vocabulorum Rabbinicorum cum Grcccis et quibusdam 
aliis linguis Europceis. Amstelodami, 1648. 4to. 


§ 2. ON THE ANTIENT GREEK VERSIONS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

I. History of the Septuagint; —II. Critical Account of its Execu 
tion ; — III. What Manuscripts were used by its Authors ; — IV. 
Account of the Biblical Labours of Origen; — V. Notice of the 
Recensions or Editions of Eusebius and Pampkilus , of Lucian , and 
of Hesyckius; — VI. Peculiar Importance of the Septuagint Ver¬ 
sion in the Criticism and Interpretation of the New Testament; — 
VII. Bibliographical Notice of the Principal Printed Editions of 
the Septuagint Version ; — VIII. Account of other Greek Versions 
of the Old Testament; —1. Version of Aquila ; — 2. Of Theo- 
dotion ; — 3. Of Symmachus ; — 4, 5, 6. Anonymous Versions. — 
IX. References in Antient Manuscripts to other Versions. 

i. Among the Greek versions of the Old Testament, the Alex¬ 
andrian or Septuagint, as it is generally termed, is the most 
antient and valuable ; and was held in so much esteem both by the 
Jews as well as by the first Christians, as to be constantly read in 
the synagogues and churches. Hence it is uniformly cited by the 
early fathers, whether Greek or Latin, and from this version all the 
translations into other languages which were antiently approved by 
the Christian Church, were executed (with the exception of the 
Syriac), as the Arabic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Gothic, and Old Italic 
or the Latin version in use before the time of Jerome : and to this 
day the Septuagint is exclusively read in the Greek and most other 
Oriental churches. 1 This version has derived its name either from 
the Jewish account of seventy-two persons having been employed to 
make it, or from its having received the approbation of the Sanhedrin 
or great council of the Jews, which consisted of seventy, or more 
correctly, of seventy-two persons. — Much uncertainty, however, has 


1 Walton, Pro'l. c. ix. (pp. 333—469.); from which, and from the following au¬ 
thorities, our account of the Septuagint is derived, viz. Bauer, Critica Sacra, pp. 
243—273. who has chiefly followed Hody’s book, hereafter noticed, in the history 
of the Septuagint version : Dr. Prideaux, Connection, part ii. book i. sub anno 277. 
(vol. ii. pp. 27—49.) ; Masch’s Preface to part ii. of his edition of Le Long’s Bibli¬ 
otheca Sacra, in which the history of the Septuagint version is minutely examined ; 
Morus, in Ernesti, vol. ii. pp. 50—81., 101—119 ; Carpzov, Critica Sacra, pp. 481 
—551. ; Masch and Boerner’s edition of Le Long’s Bibliotheca Sacra, part ii. vol. 
ii. pp. 216—220., 256 — 304. ; Harles, Brevior Notitia Literature Greece, pp. 638 
— 643. ; and Renouard, Annales de l’lmprimerie des Aides, tom. i. p. 140. See 
also Origenis Hexapla, a Montfaucon, tom. i. Prelim. Diss. pp. 17 — 35. A full 
account of the manuscripts and editions of the Greek Scriptures is given in the 
preface to vol. i. of the edition of the Septuagint commenced by the late Rev. Dr, 
Holmes, of which an account is given in a subsequent page. 





164 


On the Antient Versions . 


[Part I. Ch. 

prevailed concerning the real history of this antient version : and 
while some have strenuously advocated its miraculous and divine ori¬ 
gin, other eminent philologists have laboured to prove that it must 
have been executed by several persons and at different times. 

According to one account, Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, 
caused this translation to be made for the use of the library which 
he had founded at Alexandria, at the request and with the advice 
of the celebrated Demetrius Phalereus, his principal librarian. For 
this purpose it is reported, that he sent Aristeas and Andreas, two 
distinguished officers of his court, to Jerusalem, on an embassy to 
Eleazar then high priest of the Jews, to request of the latter a copy 
of the Hebrew Scriptures, and that there might also be sent to him 
seventy-two persons (six chosen out of each of the twelve tribes,) 
who were equally well skilled in the Hebrew and Greek languages. 
These learned men were accordingly shut up in the island of Pharos: 
where, having agreed in the translation of each period after a mutual 
conference, Demetrius wrote down their version as they dictated it 
to him : and thus, in the space of seventy-two days, the whole was 
accomplished. This relation is derived from a letter ascribed to 
Aristeas himself, the authenticity of which has been greatly disputed. 
If, as there is every reason to believe is the case, this piece is a for¬ 
gery, it was made at a very early period : for it was in existence in 
the time of Josephus, who has made use of it in his Jewish Antiqui- 
’ ties. The veracity of Aristeas’s narrative was not questioned until 
the seventeenth or eighteenth century ; at which time, indeed, bib¬ 
lical criticism was, comparatively, in its infancy. Vives, 1 Scaliger, 2 
Van Dale, 3 Dr. Prideaux, and above all Dr. Hody, 4 were the prin¬ 
cipal writers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries who attack¬ 
ed the genuineness of the pretended narrative of Aristeas; and though 
it was ably vindicated by Bishop Walton, 5 Isaac Vossius, 6 Whiston, 7 
Brett, 8 and other modern writers, the majority of the learned of our 
own time are fully agreed in considering it as fictitious. 

Philo the Jew, who also notices die Septuagint version, was 
ignorant of most of the circumstances narrated by Aristeas ; but he 
relates others which appear not less extraordinary. According to 
him, Ptolemy Philadelphus sent to Palestine for some learned Jews, 
whose number he does not specify : and these going over to the 
island of Pharos, diere executed so many distinct versions, all of 
which so exactly and uniformly agreed in sense, phrases, and words, 
as proved them to have been not common interpreters; but men 

1 In a note on Augustine de Civitate Dei, lib. viii. c. 42. 

2 In a note on Eusebius’s Chronicle, no. mdccxxxiv. 

Dissertatio super Aristea, de lxx interpretibus, &c. Amst. 1705, 4to. 

4 De Bibliorum Greecorum Textibus, Versionibus Graecis, et Latini Vulgate, 
libri iv. cui praemittitur Aristeae Historia, folio, Oxon. 1705. 

5 Prol. c. ix. § 3—10. pp. 338—359. 

6 De lxx Interpretibus, Hag. Com. 1661., 4to. 

7 In the Appendix to his work on “ The Literal Accomplishment of Scripture 
Prophecies,’’’ London, 1724, 8vo. 

8 Dissertation on the Septuagint, in Bishop Watson’s Collection of Theological 
Tracts, vol. iii. p. SO., ct seq. 



ICO 


Y r . Sect. I. § 2.] The Septuagmt Greek Version. 

prophetically inspired and divinely directed, who had every word 
dictated to them by the Spirit of God throughout the entire transla¬ 
tion. He adds that an annual festival was celebrated by the Alex¬ 
andrian Jews in the isle of Pharos, where the version was made, un¬ 
til his time, to preserve the memory of it, and to thank God for so 
great a benefit. 1 

Justin Martyr, who flourished in the middle of the second cen¬ 
tury, about one hundred years after Philo, relates 2 a similar story, 
with the addition of the seventy interpreters being shut up each in 
his own separate cell (which had been erected for that purpose by 
order of Ptolemy Philadelphus) ; and that here they composed so 
many distinct versions, word for word, in the very same expressions, 
to the great admiration of the king ; who, not doubting that this 
version was divinely inspired, loaded the interpreters with honours, 
and dismissed them to their own country, with magnificent presents. 
The good father adds, that the ruins of these cells were visible in 
his time. But this narrative of Justin’s is directly at variance with 
several circumstances recorded by Aristeas; such, for instance, as 
the previous conference or deliberation of the translators, and above 
all the very important point of the version being dictated to Deme¬ 
trius Phalereus. Epiphanius, a writer of the fourth century, attempts 
to harmonise all these accounts by shutting up the translators two and 
two, in thirty-six cells, where they might consider or deliberate, and 
by stationing a copyist in each cell, to whom the translators dictated 
their labours : the result of all which was, the production of thirty-six 
inspired versions, agreeing most uniformly together. 

It is not a little remarkable that the Samaritans have traditions in 
favour of their version of the Pentateuch, equally extravagant with 
those preserved by the Jews. In the Samaritan Chronicle of Abul 
Phatach, which was compiled in the fourteenth century from antient 
and modern authors both Hebrew and Arabic, there is a story to the 
following effect: — That Ptolemy Philadelphus, in the tenth year of 
his reign, directed his attention to the difference subsisting between 
die Samaritans and the Jews concerning the law; the former receiv¬ 
ing only the Pentateuch, and rejecting every other work ascribed to 
the prophets by the Jews. In order to determine this difference, he 
commanded the two nations to send deputies to Alexandria. The 
Jews entrusted this mission to Osar , the Samaritans to Aaron , to 
whom several other associates were added. Separate apartments 
in a particular quarter of Alexandria, were assigned to each of these 
strangers ; who were prohibited from having any personal intercourse, 
and each of them had a Greek scribe to write his version. Thus 
were the law and other Scriptures translated by the Samaritans ; 
whose version being most carefully examined, the king was convinc¬ 
ed that their text was more complete than that of the Jews. Such 
is the narrative of Abul Phatach, divested however of numerous mar¬ 
vellous circumstances, with which it has been decorated by the Sa- 


1 De Vita Mosis, lib. ii. 


2 Cohort, ad Gentes. 



166 


On the Antient Versions. [Part 1. Ch. 

maritans ; who are not surpassed even by the Jews in their partiality 
for idle legends. 

A fact, buried under such a mass of fables as the translation of 
the Septuagint has been by the historians, who have pretended to re¬ 
cord it, necessarily loses all its historical character, which indeed we 
are fully justified in disregarding altogether. Although there is no 
doubt but that some truth is concealed under this load of fables, yet 
it is by no means an easy task to discern the truth from what is false: 
the following however is the result of our researches concerning this 
celebrated version. 

It is probable that the seventy interpreters, as they are called, 
executed their version of the Pentateuch during the joint reigns of 
Ptolemy Lagus, and his son Philadelphus. The Pseudo-Aristeas, 
Josephus, Philo, and many other writers, whom it were tedious to 
enumerate, relate that this version was made during the reign of 
Ptolemy II. or Philadelphus: Joseph Ben Gorion, however, among 
die Rabbins, Theodoret, and many other Christian writers, refer 
its date to the time of Ptolemy Lagus. Now these two traditions 
can be reconciled only by supposing the version to have been per¬ 
formed during the two years when Ptolemy Philadelphus shared the 
throne with his father ; which date coincides with the third and fourth 
years of the hundred and twenty-third Olympiad, that is, about the years 
286 and 285, before the vulgar Christian aera. Further, this version 
was made neither by the command of Ptolemy, nor at the request 
nor under the superintendence of Demetrius Phalereus; but was 
voluntarily undertaken by the Jews for the use of their countrymen. 
It is well known, that, at the period above noticed, there was a great 
multitude of Jews settled in Egypt, particularly at Alexandria : these, 
being most strictly observant of the religious institutions and usages 
of their forefathers, had their Sanhedrin, or grand council composed 
of seventy or seventy-two members, and very numerous synagogues, 
in which the law was read to them on every Sabbath ; and as the 
bulk of the common people were no longer acquainted with biblical 
Hebrew, (the Greek language alone being used in their ordinary in¬ 
tercourse,) it became necessary to translate the Pentateuch into 
Greek for their use. This is a far more probable account of the ori¬ 
gin of the Alexandrian version than the traditions above stated. If 
this translation had been made by public authority, it would unques¬ 
tionably have been performed under the direction of the Sanhedrin : 
who would have examined and perhaps corrected it, if it had been 
the work of a single individual, previously to giving it the stamp of 
their approbation, and introducing it into the synagogues. In either 
case the translation would, probably, be denominated the Septuagint, 
because the Sanhedrin was composed of seventy or seventy-two 
members. It is even possible that the Sanhedrin, in order to ascer¬ 
tain the fidelity of the work, might have sent to Palestine for some 
learned men, of whose assistance and advice they would have 
availed themselves in examining the version. This fact, if it could 
be proved, (for it is offered as a mere conjecture,) would account for 


I 


I 


V. Sect. I. § 2.] The Septuagint Greek Version. 167 

die story of the king of Egypt’s sending an embassy to Jerusalem • 
diere is, however, one circumstance which proves that, in executing 
diis transladon, die synagogues were originally in contemplation, 
viz. that all the antient writers unanimously concur in saying that 
the Pentateuch was first translated. The five books of Moses, in¬ 
deed, were the only books read in the synagogues until the time of 
Antiochus Epiphanes king of Syria : who having forbidden that prac¬ 
tice in Palestine, the Jews evaded his commands by substituting 
for the Pentateuch the reading of the prophetic books. When, 
afterwards, the Jews were delivered from die tyranny of the kings of 
Syria, they read the law and the prophets alternately in their syna¬ 
gogues : and the same custom was adopted by the Hellenistic or 
Graecising Jews. 

II. But, whatever was the real number of the authors of the ver¬ 
sion, their introduction of Coptic words (such as 0191 , a^i, g$[j.(pav, &c.) 
as well as their rendering of ideas purely Hebrew altogether in the 
Egyptian manner, clearly prove that they were natives of Egypt. Thus 
they express the creation of the world, not by the proper Greek word 
KTI2I2, but by TENE2I2, a term employed by the philosophers of 
Alexandria to express the origin of the universe. The Hebrew word 
Thummim, (Exod. xxviii. 30.) which signifies perfections, they render 
AAH0EIA, truth. 1 The difference of style also indicates the version 
to have been the work not of one but of several translators, and to 
have been executed at different times. The best qualified and most 
able among them was the translator of the Pentateuch, who was evi¬ 
dently master of both Greek and Hebrew : he has religiously follow¬ 
ed the Hebrew text, and has in various instances introduced the 
most suitable and best chosen expressions. From the very close re¬ 
semblance subsisting between the text of the Greek version and the 
text of the Samaritan Pentateuch, Louis de Dieu, Selden, Whiston, 
Hassencamp, and Bauer, are of opinion that the author of the Alex¬ 
andrian version made it from the Samaritan Pentateuch. And in pro¬ 
portion as these two correspond, the Greek differs from the Hebrew. 
This opinion is further supported by the declarations of Origen 
and Jerome, that the translator found the venerable name of Jeho¬ 
vah not in the letters in common use, but in very antient characters ; 
and also by the fact that those consonants in the Septuagint are fre¬ 
quently confounded together, the shapes of which are similar in the 
Samaritan, but not in the Hebrew alphabet. This hypothesis, how¬ 
ever ingenious and plausible, is by no means determinate : and what 
militates most against it is, the inveterate enmity subsisting between 
the Jews and Samaritans, added to the constant and unvarying testi¬ 
mony of antiquity that the Greek version of the Pentateuch was exe- 

1 The reason of this appears from Diodorus Siculus, who informs us that the 
president of the Egyptian courts of justice wore round his neck a golden chain, at 
which was suspended an image set round with precious stones, which was called 
Truth, <5 itpoaqyopevov AA rjduav, lib. i. c. 75. tom. i. p. 225. (edit. Bipont.) Bauer, 
(Grit. Sacr. pp. 244, 245.) and Morus, (Acroases in Ernesti, tom. ii. pp. 67—81.) 
have given several examples, proving from internal evidence that the authors of 
the Septuagint version were Egyptian. 



1GS 


On the Antient Versions . 


[Part I. Ch. 

t 

cuted by Jews. There is no other way by which to reconcile these 
conflicting opinions, than by supposing either that the manuscripts used 
by the Egyptian Jews approximated towards the letters and text of 
the Samaritan Pentateuch, or that the translators of the Septuagint 
made use of manuscripts written in antient characters. 

Next to the Pentateuch, for ability and fidelity of execution, ranks 
the translation of the book of Proverbs, the author of which was well 
skilled in the two languages : Michaelis is of opinion that, of all the 
books of the Septuagint, the style of the Proverbs is the best, the 
translators having clothed the most ingenious thoughts in as neat and 
elegant language as was ever used by a Pythagorean sage, to express 
his philosophic maxims. 1 The translator of the book of Job being ac¬ 
quainted with the Greek poets, his style is more elegant and studied: 
but he was not sufficiently master of the Hebrew language and litera¬ 
ture, and consequently his version is very often erroneous. Many of 
the historical passages are interpolated : and in the poetical parts there 
are several passages wanting : Jerome, in his preface to the book of 
Job, specifies as many as seventy or eighty verses. These omissions 
were supplied by Origen from Theodotion’s translation. The book 
of Joshua could not have been translated till upwards of twenty years 
after the death of Ptolemy Lagus : for, in chapter viii. verse 18. the 
translator has introduced the word yaitfos, a word of Gallic origin, de¬ 
noting a short dart or javelin peculiar to the Gauls, who made an ir¬ 
ruption into Greece in the third year of the 125th Olympiad, or b. c. 
278; and it was not till some time after that event that the Egyptian 
kings took Gallic mercenaries into their pay and service. 

During the reign of Ptolemy Philometer, the book of Esther, to¬ 
gether with the Psalms and Prophets, was translated. The subscrip¬ 
tion annexed to the version of Esther expressly states it to have 
been finished on the fourth year of that sovereign’s reign, or about 
the year 177 before the Christian aera : the Psalms and Prophets, 
in all probability, were translated still later, because, as we have 
already seen , 2 the Jews did not begin to read them in their syna¬ 
gogues till about the year 170 before Christ. The Psalms and Pro¬ 
phets were translated by men every way unequal to the task : Jere¬ 
miah is the best executed among the Prophets ; and next to this the 
books of Amos and Ezekiel are placed: the important prophecies of 
Isaiah were translated, according to Bishop Lowth, upwards of one 
hundred years after the Pentateuch, and by a person by no means 
adequate to the undertaking; there being hardly any book of the 
Old Testament so ill rendered in the Septuagint as this of Isaiah, 
(which together with other parts of the Greek version) has come 
down to us in a bad condition, incorrect, and with frequent omissions 
and interpolations: and so very erroneous was the version of Daniel, 
that it was totally rejected by the antient church, and Theodotion’s 
translation was substituted for it. Some fragments of the Septuagint 
version of Daniel, which for a long time was supposed to have been 

1 Michaelis, Introd. to New Test. v 0 l. i. p. 113. 

2 See pp. 142, 143. supra. 




109 


V. Sect. I. § 2.] The Septuagint Greek Version . 

lost, were discovered and published nearly fifty years since, from 
which it appears that its author had but an imperfect knowledge of 
the Hebrew language . 1 

No date has been assigned for the translation of the books of 
Judges, Ruth, Samuel, and Kings, which appear to have been exe¬ 
cuted by one and the same author ; who, though he does not make 
use of so many Hebraisms as the translators of the other books, is yet 
not without his peculiarities. 

III. Before we conclude the history of the Septuagint version, it 
may not be irrelevant briefly to notice a question which has greatly 
exercised the ingenuity of biblical philologers, viz. from what manu¬ 
scripts did the seventy interpreters execute their translation ? Profes¬ 
sor Tyschen 2 has offered an hypodiesis that they did not translate the 
Hebrew Old Testament into Greek, but diat it had been transcribed 
in Hebrajo-Greek characters, and that from this transcript their ver¬ 
sion was made : this hypothesis has been examined by several Ger¬ 
man critics, and by none with more acumen than by Dathe, in the 
preface to his Latin version of the minor prophets : 3 but as the argu¬ 
ments are not of a nature to admit of abridgment, this notice may per¬ 
haps suffice. The late eminently learned Bishop Horsley doubts 
whether the manuscripts from which the Septuagint version was 
made, would (if now extant) be entitled to the same degree of credit 
as our modem Hebrew text, notwithstanding their comparatively high 
antiquity. “ There is,” he observes, “ certainly much reason to be¬ 
lieve, that after the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar, 
perhaps from a somewhat earlier period, the Hebrew text was in a 
much worse state of corruption in the copies which were in private 
hands, than it has ever been since the revision of the sacred books by 
Ezra. These inaccurate copies would be multiplied during the whole 
period of the captivity, and widely scattered in Assyria, Persia, and 
Egypt; in short, through all the regions of the dispersion. The text, 
as revised by Ezra, was certainly of much higher credit than any of 
these copies, notwithstanding their greater antiquity. His edition 
succeeded, as it were, to the privileges of an autograph, (the auto¬ 
graphs of the inspired waiters themselves being totally lost,) and was 
henceforth to be considered as the only source of authentic text: in¬ 
somuch that the comparative merit of any text now extant will de¬ 
pend upon the probable degree of its approximation to, or distance 
from, the Esdrine edition. Nay, if the translation of the lxx. w T as 
made from some of those old manuscripts which the dispersed Jews 
had carried into Egypt, or from any other of those unauthenticated 
copies (which is the prevailing tradition among the Jews and is very 
probable, at least it cannot be confuted); it will be likely that the 

1 The title of this publication is Daniel secundum Septuaginta ex Tctraplis Ori - 
genis nunc primum editus c singulcri codice Chisiano annorum supra IDCCC, folio, 
Romse, 1772. For an account of this publication, and its several reprints, see Le 
Long’s Bibliotheca Sacra, by Mascli and Boerner, part ii. vol. ii. pp. 320—322. 

2 Tentamen de variis Codicum Hebraicorura Vet. Test. MSS. Generibue. Ros¬ 
tock, 1772, 8vo. pp. 48—64. 81—124. 

3 Published at Halle, in 1790, in 8vo. 

vol. ii. 22 



4 

170 On the Antient Versions. [Parti. Cb. 

faultiest manuscript now extant differs less from the genuine Esdrine 
text, than those more antient, which the version of the lxx. re¬ 
presents. But, much as this consideration lowers the credit of the 
lxx. separately, for any various reading, it adds great weight to the 
consent of the lxx. with later versions, and greater still to the consent 
of the old versions with manuscripts of the Hebrew, which still sur¬ 
vive. And, as it is certainly possible that a true reading may be pre¬ 
served in one solitary manuscript, it will follow, that a true reading 
may be preserved in one version : for the manuscript which contain¬ 
ed the true reading at the time when the version was made, may 
have perished since; so that no evidence of the reading shall now re¬ 
main, but the version.” 1 

The Septuagint version, though originally made for the use of the 
Egyptian Jews, gradually acquired the highest authority among the 
Jews of Palestine, who were acquainted with the Greek language, 
and subsequently also among Christians : it appears indeed, that the 
legend above confuted of the translators having been divinely inspir¬ 
ed, was invented in order that the lxx. might be held in the greater 
estimation. Philo the Jew, a native of Egypt, has evidently follow¬ 
ed it in his allegorical expositions of the Mosaic Law : and, though 
Dr. Hody was of opinion that Josephus, who was a native of Pales¬ 
tine, corroborated his work on Jewish Antiquities from the Hebrew 
text, yet Salmasius, Bochart, Bauer, and others, have shown that he 
has adhered to the Septuagint throughout that w T ork. How exten¬ 
sively this version w r as in use among the Jews, appears from the so¬ 
lemn sanction given to it by the inspired writers of the New Testa¬ 
ment, who have in very many passages quoted the Greek version of 
the Old Testament. 2 Their example was followed by the earlier fa¬ 
thers and doctors of the church, who, with the exception of Origen and 
Jerome, were unacquainted with Hebrew : notwithstanding their zeal 
for die w T ord of God, they did not exert themselves to learn the original 
language of the sacred writings, but acquiesced in the Greek represen¬ 
tation of them ; judging it, no doubt, to be fully sufficient for all the 
purposes of their pious labours. “ The Greek scriptures were the 
only scriptures known to or valued by the Greeks. This was the 
text, commented by Chrysostom and Theodoret; it was this which 
furnished topics to Adianasius, Nazianzen, and Basil. From this 
fountain the stream was derived to the Latin church, first by the Ita¬ 
lic or Vulgate translation of the Scriptures, which was made from die 
Septuagint, and not from the Hebrew; and secondly, by the study 
of the Greek fadiers. It was by this borrowed light, that the Latin 
fathers illuminated the western hemisphere : and, when the age of 
Cyprian, Ambrose, Augusdne, and Gregory successively passed away, 
this was the light put into the hands of the next dynasty of theologists, 
the schoolmen, who carried on the work of theological disquisition by 
the aid of this luminary and none other. So that, either in Greek or 


1 Bishop Horsley’s Translation of Hosea, Prasf. p. xxxvi. xxxvii. 2d edit. 

2 On the quotations from the Old Testament in the New, see Chapter 
IX. infra. 




171 


V. Sect. I. § 2.] The Septuagint Greek Version. 

in Latin, it was still the Septuagint scriptures that were read, explain¬ 
ed, and quoted as authority, for a period of fifteen hundred years.” 1 

The Septuagint version retained its authority, even with the rulers 
of the Jewish synagogue, until the commencement of the first century 
after Christ: when the Jews, being unable to resist the arguments 
from prophecy which were urged against them by the Christians, in 
order to deprive them of the benefit of that authority, began to deny 
that it agreed with the Hebrew text. Further to discredit the cha¬ 
racter of the Septuagint, the Jews instituted a solemn fast, on the 
8th day of the month Thebet—(December), to execrate the me¬ 
mory of its having been made. Not satisfied with this measure, we 
are assured by Justin Martyr, who lived in the former part of the 
second century, that they proceeded to expunge several passages out 
of the Septuagint; and abandoning this, adopted the version of Aquila, 
a proselyte Jew of Sinope, a city of Pontus ; 2 this is the translation 
mentioned in the Talmud and not the Septuagint, with which it has 
been confounded. 3 

IV. The great use, however, which had been made by the Jews 
previously to their rejection of the Septuagint, and the constant use 
of it by the Christians, would naturally cause a multiplication of co¬ 
pies ; in which, besides the alterations designedly made by the Jews, 
numerous errors became introduced, in the course of time, from the 
negligence or inaccuracy of transcribers, and from glosses or marginal 
notes, which had been added for the explanation of difficult words, 
being suffered to creep into the text. In order to remedy this grow¬ 
ing evil, Origen, in the early part of the third century, undertook the 
laborious task of collating the Greek text then in use with the original 
Hebrew and with the other translations then in existence, and from 
the whole to produce a new recension or revisal. Twenty-eight years 
were devoted to the preparation of this arduous work, in the course 
of which he collected manuscripts from every possible quarter, aided 
(it is said) by the pecuniary liberality of Ambrose, an opulent man, 
whom he had converted from the Valentinian heresy, and with the as¬ 
sistance of seven copyists and as many persons skilled in caligraphy 
or the art of beautiful writing. Origen commenced his labour at Cae¬ 
sarea, a. d. 231; and, it appears, finished his Polyglott at Tyre, but 
in what year is not precisely known. 

This noble critical work is designated by various names among an- 
tient writers ; as Tetrapla , Hexapla , Octapla , and Enneapla. The 
Tetrapla, contained the four Greek versions of Aquila, Symmachus, 
the Septuagint, and Theodotion, disposed in four columns : 4 to these 


1 Reeves’s Collation of the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Psalms, pp. 22, 23. 

2 On this subject the reader is referred to Dr. Owen’s Inquiry into the present 
state of the Septuagint Version, pp. 29—87. (8vo. London, 1769.) In pp. 126— 
138. he has proved the falsification of the Septuagint, from the versions oi Aquila 
and Symmachus. 

3 Prideaux, Connection, vol. ii. p. 50. Lightfoot’s Works, vol. ii. p. 806, 807. 

4 The late Rev. Dr. Holmes, who commenced the splendid edition of the Septu¬ 
agint noticed infra, in page 182., was of opinion that the first column of the Te¬ 
trapla, contained the Koivrj, or Septuagint text commonly in use, collated with He- 



m 


On the Antient Versions . 


[Part I. Ch. 

he added two columns more, containing the Hebrew text in its origi¬ 
nal characters, and also in Greek letters ; these six columns, accord¬ 
ing to Epiphanius, formed the Hexapla. Having subsequently dis¬ 
covered two other Greek versions of some parts of the Scriptures, 
usually called the fifth and sixth, he added them to the preceding, 
inserting them in their respective places, and thus composed the Oc- 
tapla; and a separate translation of the Psalms, usually called the se¬ 
venth version, being afterwards added, the entire work has by some 
been termed the Enneapla. This appellation, however, was never 
generally adopted. But, as the two editions made by Origen gene¬ 
rally bore the name of the Tetrapla and Hexapla, Dr. Grabe (editor of 
a splendid edition of the Septuagint, noticed in a subsequent page) 
thinks that they were thus called, not from the number of the co¬ 
lumns, but of die versions, which were six, the seventh containing 
die Psalms only. * 1 Bauer, after Montfaucon, is of opinion, that 
Origen edited only the Tetrapla and Hexapla ; and this appears 
to be the real fact. The following specimens from Montfaucon will 
convey an idea of the construction of these two laborious works. 2 

brew manuscripts by Origen, and that the other three columns were occupied by 
the versions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion. 

1 Dr. Holmes thinks that the text of the Septuagint in the Hexapla was not th© 
K oivtj as then in use, but as corrected in the Tetrapla, and perhaps improved by 
further collations. 

2 Origenis Hexapla, Proel. Diss. tom. i. p. 16. 


I 





V Sect. I. <§, 2.] 


The Septuagi/nt Greek Version* 


ns 


TETRAPLA. 
Gen. i. 1. 


AKTAAE. 

STMMAXOE. 

Ot 0. 

©EOAOTIAN. 

Ev KCipaXaiy tKTiotv 

Ev apxv tKTiatv b Seos 

£v apxjj eiroujotv b 

Ek apxn exTierev 6 

b &sos <rvv rov upavov 

rov vpavov kcu ttjv 

Seos fov apavov nai 

Seos rov apavov teat 

Kai <tvv ttjv yrjv. 

yvv- 

ttjv yijv. 

ttjv yrjv • 


In this specimen the version of Aquila holds the first place; the 
second is occupied by that of Symmachus ; the diird by the Septua- 
gint, and the fourth by Theodotion’s translation. 






HEXAPLA. 


1T4 


On the Antient Versions 


[Part I. Ch 


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nated by Z), it comprised nine columns. 









175 


V. Sect. I. § 2 .] The Septuagint Greek Version. 

1 he original Hebrew being considered as the basis of the whole 
work, the proximity of each translation to the text, in point of close¬ 
ness and fidelity, determined its rank in the order of the columns: 
thus Aquila’s version, being the most faithful, is placed next to the 
sacred text; that of Symmachus occupies the fourth column j the 
Septuagint, the filth ; and Theodotion’s, the sixth. The other three 
anonymous translations, not containing the entire books of the Old 
Testament, were placed in the three last columns of the Enneapla, 
according to the order of time in which they were discovered by Ori¬ 
gin- Where the same words occurred in all the other Greek ver¬ 
sions, without being particularly specified, Origen designated them by 
A or AO, Aowroi, the rest; — 0< r, or the three, denoted Aquila, 
Symmachus, and Theodotion;— 0»A, or the four, signified Aquila, 
Symmachus, the Septuagint, and Theodotion; and n, Ilavreg , all the 
interpreters. 

The object of Origen being to correct the differences found in the 
then existing copies of the Old Testament, he carefully noted the 
alterations made by him ; and for the information of those who might 
consult his work, he made use of the following marks. 

1 . Where any passages appeared in the Septuagint, that were not 
found in the Hebrew, he designated them by an obelus 4- with two 
bold points * annexed. This mark was dso used to denote words 
not extant in the Hebrew, but added by the Septuagint translators, 
either for the sake of elegance, or for the purpose of illustrating the 
sense. 

2 . To passages, wanting in the copies of the Septuagint, and sup¬ 
plied by himself from the other Greek version, he prefixed an aste¬ 
risk -X- with two bold points * also annexed, in order that his 
additions might be immediately perceived. These supplementary 
passages, we are informed by Jerome, were for the most part taken 
from Theodotion’s translation ; not unfrequently from that of Aquila ; 
sometimes, though rarely, from the version of Symmachus; and 
sometimes from two or three together. But, in every case, the 
initial letter of each translator’s name was placed immediately after 
the asterisk, to indicate the source whence such supplementary pas¬ 
sage was taken. And in lieu of the very erroneous Septuagint ver¬ 
sion of Daniel, Theodotion’s translation of that book was inserted 
entire. 

3. Further, not only the passages wanting in the Septuagint were 
supplied by Origen with the asterisks, as above noticed ; but also 
where that version does not appear accurately to express the He¬ 
brew original, having noted the former reading with an obelus, t~, he 
added the correct rendering from one of the other translators, with an 
asterisk subjoined. Concerning the shape and uses of the lemniscus 
and hypolemniscus , two other marks used by Origen, there is so great 
a difference of opinion among learned men, that it is difficult to de¬ 
termine what they were . 1 Dr. Owen, after Montfaucon, supposes 
them to have been marks of better and more accurate renderings. 


1 Montfaucon, Pradjm. ad Hexapla, tom. i. pp. 30—42. Holmes, Vetus Te, stamen- 



176 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch 

In the Pentateuch, Origen compared the Samaritan text with the 
Hebrew as received by the Jews, and noted their differences. To 
-each of the translations inserted in his Hexapla was prefixed an ac¬ 
count of the author; each had its separate prolegomena; and the 
ample margins were filled with notes. A few fragments of these 
prolegomena and marginal annotations have been preserved; but 
nothing remains of his history of the Greek versions. * 1 

Since Origen’s time, biblical critics have distinguished two editions 
or exemplars of the Septuagint — the Ko«v?j or common text, with 
all its errors and imperfections, as it existed previously to his colla¬ 
tion ; and the Hexaplar text, or that corrected by Origen himself. 
For nearly fifty years was this great man’s stupendous work buried 
in a corner of the city of Tyre, probably on account of the very great 
expense of transcribing forty or fifty volumes, which far exceeded the 
means of private individuals: and here, perhaps, it might have pe¬ 
rished in oblivion, if Eusebius and Pamphilus had not discovered it, 
and deposited it in the library of Pamphilus the martyr at Caesarea, 
where Jerome saw it about the middle of the fourth century. As we 
have no account whatever of Origen’s autograph, after this time, it is 
most probable that it pefshed in the year 653, on the capture of that 
city by the Arabs: and i few imperfect fragments, collected from 
manuscripts of the Septuagint and the Catenae of the Greek fathers, 
are all that now remain of a work, which, in the present improved 
state of sacred literature, would most eminently have assisted in the 
interpretation and criticism of the Old Testament. 

V. As the Septuagint version had been read in the church from 
the commencement of Christianity, so it continued to be used in most 
of the Greek churches : and the text, as corrected by Origen, was 
transcribed for their use, together with his critical marks. Hence, in 
the progress of time, from the negligence or inaccuracy of copyists, 
numerous errors were introduced into this version, which rendered a 
new revisal necessary : and, as all the Greek churches did not re¬ 
ceive Origen’s biblical labours with equal deference, three principal 
recensions were undertaken nearly at the same time, of which we 
are now to offer a brief notice. 

The first was the edition, undertaken by Eusebius and Pamphilus 
about the year 300, from the Hexaplar text, with the whole of 

turn Graecum, tom. i. Praefat. cap. i. sect. i.—vii. The first book of Dr. Holmes’s 
erudite preface is translated into English in the Christian Observer for 1821, vol. 
xx. PP . 544—548. 610—615. 676—683. 746—750. 

1 The best edition, unhappily very rare, of the remains of Origen’s Hexapla, is 
that of Montfaucon, in two volumes, folio, Paris, 1713. The first volume contains 
a very valuable preliminary disquisition on the Hebrew text and different antient 
Greek versions, of which we have liberally availed ourselves in the preceding and 
following pages, together with a minute account of Origen’s biblical labours, and 
some inedited fragments of Origen, &c. To these succeed the remains of the 
Hexapla, from Genesis to the book of Psalms inclusive. The second volume com¬ 
prises the rest of the Hexapla to the end of the twelve minor prophets, together 
with Greek and Hebrew Lexicons to the Hexapla. These fragments of Origen’s 
great work were reprinted in two vols. 8vo. (Lipsiae 1769), by < 5 . F. Bahrdt; whose 
edition has been most severely criticised by Fisher in his Prolusiones de Versioni- 
bus Grsecis Librorum V. T. Litterarum Hebr. Magistris, p. 34, note (Lipsiae, 1772, 
fcvo.); it is now but little valued. 



177 


V. Sect. I. § 2.] The Septuagint Greek Version, 

Origen’s critical marks : it was not only adopted by the churches of 
Palestine, but was also deposited in almost every library. By fre¬ 
quent transcriptions, however, Origen’s marks or notes became, in 
the course of a few years, so much changed as to be of little use, and 
were finally omitted : this omission only augmented the evil, since 
even in the time of Jerome it was no longer possible to know what 
belonged to the translators, or what were Origen’s own corrections 5 
and now it may almost be considered as a hopeless task to distinguish 
- between them. Contemporary with the edition of Eusebius and 
Pamphilus was the recension of the Koivtj, or vulgate text of the Sep- 
tuagint, conducted by Lucian, a presbyter of the church at Antioch, 
who suffered martyrdom a. d. 311. He took the Hebrew text for 
the basis of his edition, which was received in all the eastern churches 
from Constantinople to Antioch. While Lucian was prosecuting his 
biblical labours, Hesychius, an Egyptian bishop, undertook a similar 
work, which was generally received in the churches of Egypt. He 
is supposed to have introduced fewer alterations than Lucian; and 
his edition is cited by Jerome as the Exemplar Alexandrinum. Syn- 
cellus 1 mentions another revisal of the Septuagint text by Basil bishop 
of Cassarea : but this, we have every reason to believe, has long since 
perished. All the manuscripts of the Septuagint now extant, as well 
as the printed editions, are derived from the three recensions above 
mentioned, although biblical critics are by no means agreed what 
particular recension each manuscript has followed . 2 

The importance of the Septuagint version for the right understand¬ 
ing of the sacred text has been variously estimated by different learn¬ 
ed men: while some have elevated it to an equality with the original 
Hebrew, others have rated it far below its real value. The great 
authority which it formerly enjoyed, certainly gives it a claim to a 
high degree of consideration. It was executed long before the Jews 
were prejudiced against Jesus Christ as the Messiah ; and it was the 
means of preparing the world at large for his appearance, by making 
known the types and prophecies concerning him. With all its faults 
and imperfections, therefore, this version is of more use in correcting 
the Hebrew text than any other that is extant; because its authors 
had better opportunities of knowing the propriety and extent of the 
Hebrew language, than we can possibly have at this distance of time. 
The Septuagint, likewise, being written in the same dialect as the 
New Testament (the formation of whose style was influenced by it), 
it becomes a very important source of interpretation: for not only 
does it frequently serve to determine the genuine reading, but also to 
ascertain the meaning of particular idiomatic expressions and passages 
in the New Testament, the true import of which could not be known 
but from their use in the Septuagint . 3 Grotius, Keuchenius, Biel, 


1 Chronographia ab Adamo usque ad Dioclesianum, p. 203. 

2 Dr. Holmes has given a copious and interesting account of the editions of Lu¬ 
cian and Hesychius, and of the sources of the Septuagint text in the manuscripts 
of the Pentateuch, which are now extant. Tom. i. Praef. cap. i. sect. viii. et seq. 

3 In the Eelectic Review for 1806 (vol. ii. part i. pp. 337—347.) the reader will 

vol. 11. • 23 



On the Antient Versions. 


178 


[Part 1. Ch. 


and Schleusner are the critics who have most successfully applied this 
version to the interpretation of the New Testament. 

VII. The following table exhibits the four principal Standard Text 
Editions of the Septuagint Greek version, together with the principal 
editions which are founded upon them. * 1 

1. CoMPLUTENSIAN TEXT, 1514. 

f -*---— -———-N 

Antwerp Polyglott, Fol. Gr. Lat. &c. 1569-72.— Commelini. Fol. Gr. 1586, 
1599, 1616.— Wolderi. Fol. Gr. 1596.— Hutteri. Fol. 1599. Gr. Lat. &c .—Paris 
Polyglott , Fol. Gr. Lat. &c. 1629-45. 

2. Aldine Text, 1518. 

,- : - - -> 

Cephalcei. Oct. Gr. 1526.— Hervagii. Fol. Gr. 1545.— Brylingeri. Oct. Gr. 1550. 
—Wechelii Hared. Fol. Gr. 1597. 

3. Roman or Vatican Text, 1587. 


r --— - -^ 

IValtoni Polyglotta, Fol. Gr. Lat. &c. 1657.— Morini. Fol. Gr. Lat. 1628.— Dani¬ 
el. Qto. et Oct. Gr. 1653, 1665, 1683.— Cluveri. Oct. Gr. 1697.— Bosii. Gr. 
Qto. 1709.— Millii. Oct. Gr. 1725.— Reineccii. Oct. Gr. 1730, 1757.— Kirchneri. 
Oct. Gr. 1759.— Holmesii. Fol. Gr. 1798, &c. The editions printed at Oxford , 
Oct. Gr. 1805, 1817 .— Valpii, 1819. 

4. The Alexandrian Text, 1707-9-19-20. 


Breitingeri. Qto. Gr. 1730-33.— Reineccii Bihlia Quadrilinguia. Fol. Gr. Lat. &c, 
1750. 


Of the various editions of the Septuagint Greek version, which 
have issued from the press, the following more particularly claim the 
notice of the biblical student. Most of them contain the New Testa¬ 
ment, in addition to the Old ; but as the principal editions of the 
former have already been described , 2 no notice will be taken of them. 

1. Biblia Grseca; cum versione Latina ad verbum. In Bibliis 
Polyglottis Compluti editis, 1514, 1515, 1517. 

The text of this edition was composed after several manuscripts, which the edi¬ 
tors neglected to describe ; they have frequently been charged with having altered 
the Greek text, to make it harmonise with the Hebrew, or rather with the Vul¬ 
gate version, and with having filled up the chasms in the Alexandrian or Septua¬ 
gint version from other Greek interpreters.—For a further account of the Com- 
plutensian Polyglott, see p. 115. of Part I. of this volume. 

2. Ilav-Ta <ra xar’ S^o^v xaXoufxsva Bt/SXia Qsius S7]XaSr} yga‘itcekaiag 
rs xou vsacr. — Sacra© Scripturae Veteris Novaeque omnia. Venetiis, 
1518, small folio. 

This edition appeared in 1518, two years after the death of Aldus Manutius ; it 
was executed under the care of his father-in-law, Andreas Asulanus. The text 
was compiled from numerous antient MSS. Archbishop Usher is of opinion that 
in many instances it follows the readings of Aquila’s version, instead of those of 
the Septuagint. The Aldine text, however, is pronounced by Bishop Walton to be 
much purer than that in the Complutensian Polyglott, to which it is actually prior 
in point of time ; for though the Polyglott bears date 1514—1517, it was not pub¬ 
lished until the year 1522. Father Simon and M. de Colomies concur in speaking 
very highly of the execution of the Aldine edition. 


find many examples adduced, confirming the remarks above offered, concerning 
the value and importance of the Septuagint version. 

1 This notice is chiefly taken from Mascli and Boerner’s edition of Le Long’s 
Bibliotheca Saera, part ii. vol. ii. pp. 263—304. In pp. 306—323. there is an ac¬ 
count of the several editions of detached books of the Septuagint version, which 
«ve have not room to describe. 

2 See pp. 126—138. supra. 















179 


V. Sect. I. § 2.] The Septuagint Greek Version. 

3. T?]£ Gsiccg Tga(pr)S, tfaXaiag 8r)X a5rj xa» vsaj owravra. Divinas Scrip- 
turas Veteris Novaeque omnia. Argentorati, apud Wolphium Ce- 
phalaeum, 1526, 4 vols. 8vo. 

This edition is of great rarity ; the fourth volume contains the New Testament. 
It follows the text of Aldus, and is not only well and correctly printed, but pos¬ 
sesses the additional merit of judicious punctuation. Though the chapters are dis¬ 
tinguished, the text is not divided into verses; and a space is left at the beginning 
of each chapter for the insertion of the initial letter. The apocryphal books, and 
a small but valuable collection of various readings, are added in this edition by the 
editor John Lonicerus, a disciple and follower of the illustrious reformer, Dr. 
Martin Luther. Copies of this edition are sometimes to be met with, having the 
date of 1529. They are however all of the same impression, the beginning of 
the preface being altered, the name of Lonicerus omitted , and that of Jerome sub¬ 
stituted for Luther, with a new title page. 

4. T^s Qsiotg rgotcpyg, ‘TaXaiotg SrjXaSri xai vstxg airavra. Divines Serip- 
turae, Veteris ac Novi Testamenti omnia, innumeris locis nunc de- 
mum, et optimorum librorum collatione et doctorum virorum opera y 
multo quam unquam emendatiora, in lucem edita. Cum Caas. Ma- 
jest. gratia et privilegio ad quinquennium. Basilete, per Joannem 
Hervagium, 1545, folio. 

In this rare and little known edition the text of Lonicerus is chiefly followed 1 ; 
it is said to surpass in correctness both the Strasburg and Venetian editions, and 
also has some valuable various readings. The preface was written by Melanc- 
thon. 

5. Biblia Grasca, Grasca et Latina.... Basilese, per Nicholaurrr 
Brylingerum. 1550, 5 vols. 8vo. 

Each of the five volumes, of which this edition consists, has a distinct title page 
which is printed by Masch. The Greek and Latin are placed in opposite columns ; 
the former from the Aldine text, the latter from the Vulgate as printed in the 
Complutensian Polyglott. The type, though rather too small to be read with ease, 
is pronounced by Masch to be distinct and neat. 

6. H ntoCXaia Aia^rjxrj, xara <rou£ EjSSojxrixovra au0£v<na£ HuflVou E' 

a^ou exSoten fa. — Vetus Testamentum GrsBeum, juxta LXX 

Interpretes, studio Antonii Cardinalis Carafse, ope virorum doctorum 
adjuti, cum prefatione et scholiis Petri Morini. Romae ex Typogra¬ 
phy Francisci Zannetti, 1586, folio. 

A beautiful edition, of great rarity and value. The copies of it are of two 
dates ; — some, with M.D.i,xxxvi,as they originally appeared, and others with 
the date of m. d. lxxxvii, the figure i. having been subsequently added with a 
pen. The latter copies are most commonly met with, .and hence this edition is 
usually dated 1587. They contain 783 pages of text, preceded by four leaves of 
preliminary matter, which are followed by another (subsequently added), entitled 
Corrigenda in notationibus Psalterii. This last mentioned leaf is not found in 
the copies bearing the date of 1586, which also want the privilege of pope Sixtus 
V. dated May 9th, 1587, at whose request and under whose auspices it was under¬ 
taken by Cardinal Antonio Carafa, aided by Antonio Agelli, Peter Morus, Fulvio 
Ursino, Robert Bellarmin, Cardinal Sirlet and others. The celebrated Codex 
Vaticanus 1209 (described in pp. 73—76. of Part I. of this volume), was the basis 
of the Roman or Sixtine edition, as it is usually termed ; but the editors did not 
' exclusively adhere to that MS., having changed both the orthography and read¬ 
ings whenever these appeared to them to be faulty. Such is the opinion of Drs. 
Hody and Grabe, Eichhorn, Morus, and other eminent critics ; though the late 
Dr. Holmes has contended that text of the Roman edition was printed from one 
single MS. which was exclusively followed throughout. The first forty-six chapters 
of Genesis, together with some of the Psalms, and the book of Maccabees being 
obliterated from the Vatican manuscript through extreme age, the editors are said 
to have supplied this deficiency by compiling those parts of the Septuagint, from 
a Grecian and Venetian MS. out of Cardinal Bessarion’s library, and from another 
which was brought to them from Calabria. So great was the agreement between* 
the latter and the Codex Vaticanus, that they were supposed to have been tran¬ 
scribed either the one from the other, or both from the same copy. Various read- 


180 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch. 

mgs are given to each chapter. This edition contains the Greek text only. In 
1588, Flaminio Nobili printed at Rome in folio, Vetus Tcstamcntum Secundum 
LXX. Latine Redditum. This Latin version was not composed by him, but com¬ 
piled out of the fragments of the antient Latin translations, especially the Old 
Italic. It is a splendid volume, and of considerable rarity. The Roman edition 
was reprinted at Paris in 1628, in three folio volumes, entitled Biblia Sacra LXX. 
Interpretum Grcecb et Latine, opera et studio Joannis Morini. The New Testa¬ 
ment in Greek and Latin forms the third volume. This reprint is in great re¬ 
quest, not only for the neatness and correctness of its execution, but also for the 
learned notes which accompany it. Some copies are occasionally met with, dated 
Parisiis, Piget 1641, which might lead us to suppose that they were distinct 
editions. De Bure however says that they are but one and the same edition, with 
a new title page, probably printed by the bookseller who had purchased the unsold 
copies. 

7. Tt]£ 0s fag Tgctcprig, tfcikaictg 5r]\oi5y] xai vsa£, oMravra. Divinae Scrip¬ 
ture, nempe Veteris ac Novi Testamenti, omnia .... Francofurti 
apucl Andreae Wechelii Haeredes, 1597, folio. 

This edition is formed after that of Hervagius, the errors of the latter being pre¬ 
viously corrected. It has a collection of various readings, taken from the Com- 
plutensian, Antwerp, Strasburgh, and Roman editions. Morinus charges the editor, 
(who is supposed to have been Francis Junius or Frederick Sylbergius) with aban¬ 
doning the Aldine text in four chapters of the book of Exodus, and in the twenty- 
fourth chapter of the book of Proverbs, and substituting the Complutensian text 
in its stead. It is very neatly printed on clear types, and is divided into verses. 

8. 'H <xoXa\a Aia Srjxrj xotret rovg E/35op.?]xov<ra. Vetus Testamentum 
Graecum ex versione Septuaginta interpretum. Londini excudebat 
Rogerus Daniel, 1653, 4to. 

This edition is frequently mentioned in catalogues as being both in quarto and 
in octavo. Masch states that there is but one size, viz. in quarto, though the pa¬ 
per be different. It professes to follow the Sixtine edition ; but this is not the 
fact; the editors having altered and interpolated the text in several places, in 
order to bring it nearer to the Hebrew text and the modern versions. The errors 
of this edition have been retained, 1. In that printed at Cambridge in 1653, 8vo. 
with a learned preface written by Bishop Pearson (whose initials are at the end) ; 
and 2. In the very neat Cambridge edition printed by Field in 1665, in three vo¬ 
lumes 8vo. (including the Liturgy in Greek and the New Testament.) Field's 
edition was counterfeited, page for page, by John Hayes a printer at Cambridge, 
who executed an edition in 1684, to which he put Field’s name and the date of 
1665. The fraud however may easily be detected by comparing the two editions ; 
the typography of the genuine one by Field being very superior to that of Hayes. 
The genuine Cambridge edition was reprinted at Amsterdam, in 1683, in 12mo. 
without the Greek Testament. The editing of it is commonly, but erroneously 
ascribed to Leusden. The omission of Bishop Pearson’s initials at the end of the 
preface has caused the latter to be attributed to Leusden. The book is neatly, but 
very incorrectly, printed in two columns, divided into separate verses. The Apo¬ 
cryphal books, which are found in the Cambridge edition, are altogether omitted. 

9. TI IlaXaja AiaSrjxr], xar a rovg efiSopyxovra. Vetus Testamentum 
Graecum ex versione Septuaginta interpretum, cum libris Apocry- 
phis, juxta exemplar Vaticanum Romae editum, et Anglicanum Lon¬ 
dini excusum. Lipsae, 1697, 8vo. 

The editors of this impression were M. J. Cluver and Tho. Klumpf; though 
inferior to the London and Amsterdam editions in beauty of execution, it is very 
far superior to them in point of correctness. The prolegomena of John Frickius 
prefixed to it, contain a critical notice of preceding editions of the Septuagint 
Version, which is said to be very accurate. 

10. Vetus Testamentum Graecum, ex versione LXX. Interpretum, 
ex antiquissimo MS. Codice Alexandrino accurate description, et 
ope aliorum exemplarium ac priscorum scriptorum, praesertim vero 
Hexaplaris Editionis Origenianae, emendatum atque suppletum, ad 
ditis saepe asteriscorum et obelorum signis, summa curaedidit Joan- 


VI. Sect. I. § 2.] The Septuagint Greek Version. 181 

nes Ernestus Grabe, S. T. P. Oxonii, 1707, 1709, 1719, 1720. 4 
vols. folio, and 8 vols. 8vo. 

This splendid edition exhibits the text of the celebrated Codex Alcxandrinus, 
now deposited in the British Museum. Though Dr. Grabe preparod the whole 
for the press, yet he only lived to publish the Octateuch, forming the first volume 
of the folio edition, in 1707, and the fourth, containing the metrical books, in 1709. 
The second volume, comprising the historical books,"was edited by Francis Lee, 
M. D., a very eminent Greek scholar, in 1719; and the third volume, including 
the prophetical books, by W. Wigan, fe. T. D., in 1720. This edition gives a fair 
representation of the Alexandrian Manuscript where it was perfect; but where it 
was defective and incorrect, the passages supplied and corrected readings are 
given, partly from the Codex Vaticanus, and partly from the Complutensian edi¬ 
tion, in a smaller character than that employed in the text, the erroneous lections 
being printed in the margin. The prolegomena of Dr. Grabe contain a treasure 
of sacred criticism. Dr. Grabe designed to have added copious notes to this 
work, but was prevented by death from composing them. After the folio sheets 
were struck off, the pages were divided, and over-run into an octavo form, to pre¬ 
vent the book from being piratically printed in Germany. 

11. 'H IlaXaia Aia Arjxr) xara rovg z3§ o^xoyra. Vetus Testamentum 
ex versione Septuaginta interpreturn secundum Exemplar Vaticanum 
Itomee editum, accuratissime denuo recognitum ; una cum scholiis 
ejusdem editionis, variis Manuscriptoruiti Codicum Veterumcpie Ex- 
emplarium Lectionibus, neon on fragmentis versionum Aquilae, Sym- 
machi,- et Theodotionis. Summa cura edidit Lambertus Bos. Frane- 
querae. 1709. 4to. 

An elegant and accurate edition, which is deservedly esteemed. The preface 
of the editor, professor Bos, contains a critical disquisition on the Septuagint Ver¬ 
sion and its utility in sacred criticism, together with an account of the preceding 
principal editions. Bos's text was reprinted at Amsterdam in two 8vo. vols. under 
the editorial care of David Mill. It contains some various readings from some 
MSS. at Leyden, which however are of no great critical value. 

12. l H IlaXaia Aio.&r,xr) xara roug Vetus Testamentum 

ex versione Septuaginta Intepretum, olim ad fidem Codicis MS. 
Alexandrini summo studio et incredibili diligentia expressum, ernen- 
datum et suppletum a Joanne Ernesti Grabio, S. T. P. Nunc vero 
exemplaris Vaticani aliorumque MSS. Codd. Lectionibus var. nec 
non criticis dissertationibus illustratum insigniterque locupletatum, 
summa cura edidit Joannes Jacobus Breitinger, Tiguri Helvetiorum. 
1730-1-2. 4 vols. 4to. 

The contents of this edition are minutely described by Masch, who states it to 
be a correct reprint of Dr. Grabe’s text, to which the various readings of the Ro¬ 
man or Vatican edition are added at the foot of the page. The beauty of its ty¬ 
pography and paper, and its critical value concur to render this edition highly 
valuable : it is consequently both scarce and dear. Michaelis pronounces it to be 
the best edition of the Septuagint ever printed. 

13. 'II ITaXaja xarot rovg s/SSofir/xovra. Vetus Testamentum 

Grsecum ex versione Septuaginta Interpretum, una cum Libris Apo- 
crypliis, secundum Exemplar Vaticanum Roinse editum et aliquoties 
recognitum, quod nunc denuo ad optimas quasque editiones recen- 
suit, et potiores quasdain Codices Alexandrini et aliorum lectiones 
yariantes adjecit M. Christianus Reineccius. Lipsiae, 1730. 8vo. 
1757. 8vo. edit, secunda. 

A neat and commodious edition, though the type is rather too small. The Apo¬ 
cryphal books are at the end of the volume. 

14. 'H IlaXcua Aiadrpa). Vetus Testamentum ex versione Septua¬ 
ginta Interpretum, ad exemplar Vaticanum Romte editum ex optimis 
codicibus impressum. Accesserunt Libri Apocryphi. Halte, sump- 
tibus Orphanotrophei. 1759. 12mo. 


182 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch. 

An edition of more promise than execution. Masch denounces it as very incor 
rect, and says, that instead of being taken from the best codices (as the editor pro 
fesses), or editions, it agrees with the London, Cambridge, and Leipsic editions. 

15. Vetus Testamentum Greecum, cum variis Lectionibus, edidit 
Robertus Holmes, D. D. Decanus Wintoniensis. Oxonii, e typo¬ 
graphic Clarendoniano. 1798, folio. 

Vetus Testamentum Graecum, cum variis Lectionibus. Editionem, 
a Roberto Holmes, S. T. P. inchoatam contintiavit Jacobus Parsons, 
S. T. B. Tomus secundus. Oxonii, e typographic Clarendoniano. 
1818. folio. 

To the university of Oxford belongs the honour of giving to the public this va 
luable and splendid edition of the Septuagint Version. In the year 1788, the late 
Rev. Dr. Holmes, Dean of Winchester, circulated proposals for collating all the 
MSS. of that version known to be extant. These being liberally supported by pub¬ 
lic and private patrons, Dr. H. published annual accounts of his collations, which 
amounted to sixteen in number, up to the time of his decease. In 1795 he pub¬ 
lished, in folio, two Latin epistles to the Bishop of Durham, containing specimens 
of his proposed work ; and in 1798 appeared the first part of vol. i. containing the 
book of Genesis : part ii. comprising Exodus and Leviticus, was published in 
1801; and the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, which complete the first vo¬ 
lume, in 1804. The date of 1798, therefore, in the title page of the first volume is 
not strictly correct. A general preface to this volume, in four chapters, discusses 
the history of the K oivrj, or common text of the Septuagint Version, and its various 
corrections ; describes the MSS. consulted for this edition (eleven of which were 
written in uncial letters, and upwards of one hundred in small letters) ; and gives 
an account of the printed editions of the LXX., of the Fathers, and other Greek 
writers quoted in the various readings, and of the several antient readings, and of 
the several antient versions, viz. the Old Italic or Antehieronymian Latin, the 
Coptic, Sahidic, Syriac (made from the Greek text), Arabic, Sclavonic, Armenian, 
and the Georgian versions, whence various readings in the Pentateuch have been 
extracted. Each of the five books of Moses is furnished with a short preface and an 
appendix ; and at the end of the volume are eleven pages of addenda et emendanda . 
Dr. Holmes also published the book of Daniel, in 1805, according to the text of 
Theodotion and the Septuagint, in the same manner as the Pentateuch, a few 
months before his death. The text is printed on a strong and beautiful type, after 
the Sixtine or Roman edition of 1587; and the deviations from it, which are ob¬ 
servable in the Complutensian and Aldine editions, and in that of Dr. Grabe, are 
constantly noted. The various lections are exhibited at the foot of the page. On 
Dr. Holmes’s death, in 1805, after a considerable but unavoidable delay, the pub¬ 
lication of this important work was resumed by the Rev. J. Parsons, A. M. now 
B. D.) under whose editorial care the second volume was completed in 1818. It 
comprises all the historical books from Joshua to the second book of Chronicles 
inclusively; the several fasciculi of which were published in the following order, 
viz. Joshua in 1810; Judges and Ruth in 1812; 1 Kings in 1813; and the five 
remaining books in the four succeeding years, the whole being printed off in the 
early part of 1818. Two portions of the third volume, containing the book of 
Job and the Psalms, have recently been published. The plan, laid down by Dr. 
Holmes, has been followed by his learned successor ; whose continuation is exe¬ 
cuted in the same splendid and accurate manner as the Pentateuch. The reader 
will find a copious and very interesting critique on the first volume of this mag¬ 
nificent undertaking in the Eclectic Review, vol. ii. part i. pp. 85—90, 214—221, 
267—274, 337—348 ; and of the second volume in the Classical Journal, vol. ix. 
pp. 475—479, and vol. xix. 367—372. 

16. Vetus Testamentum Grsecum ex Versione LXX. secundum 
Exemplar Vaticanum Romse editum. Accedunt variae Lectiones e 
Codice Alexandrino necnon Introductio J. B. Carpzovii. Oxonii, e 
typography Clarendoniano. 1817. 6 vols. 8vo. 

17. Vetus Testamentum ex Versione Septuaginta Interpretum, 
juxta Exemplar Vaticanum, ex Editione Holmesii et Lamberti Bos. 
Londini, in iEdibus Valpianis. 1819. 8vo. 


The Antient Greek Versions. 


1S3 


V. Sect. I. § 2.] 

This elegantly executed volume is an ornament to any library. It is very cor* 
rectlij printed, and (which cannot but recommend it to students in preference to 
the incorrect Cambridge and Amsterdam reprints of the Vatican text,) its price is 
so reasonable as to place it within the reach of almost every one. 

VIII. The importance of the Septuagint, in the criticism and in¬ 
terpretation of the Scriptures, especially of the New Testament, 1 will 
justify the length of the preceding account of that celebrated version : 
it now remains that we briefly notice the other antient Greek transla¬ 
tions, which have already been incidentally mentioned ; viz. those of 
Aquila, Theodotion, Symmachus, and the three anonymous versions, 
usually cited as the fifth, sixth, and seventh versions, from which Ori- 
gen compiled his Tretrapla and Hexapla. 

1 . The version of Aquila. — The author of this translation, was a 
native of Sinope in Pontus, who flourished in the second century of 
the Christian aera: he was of Jewish descent; and having renounced 
Christianity, he undertook his version to oblige the Jews, who then 
began to be disgusted with the Septuagint as being too paraphrastic. 
It is certain that he lived during the reign of the Emperor Adrian, 
and that his translation was executed before the year 1G0 ; as it is 
cited both by Justin Martyr, who wrote about that time, and by 
Irenaeus between the years 170 and 17G. The version of Aquila is 
extremely literal, and is made without any regard to the genius of 
the Greek language : it is however of considerable importance in the 
criticism of the Old Testament, as it serves to show the readings 
contained in the Hebrew MSS. of his time. Professor Dathe has 
collated several passages from this translation, and has applied them 
to the illustration of the prophet Hosca. 2 The fragments of Aquila 
and of the other Greek versions were collected and published, first 
by Flaminio Nobili in his notes to the Roman edition of the Septua¬ 
gint, and after him by Drusius, in his Veterum Interpreium G ret co¬ 
mm Fragmenta (Arnheim, 1G22, 4to.) : 3 * and also by Montfaucon 
in his edition of Origen’s Hexapla above noticed. According to 
Jerome, Aquila published two editions of his version, the second of 

1 “ The Book,” says the profound critic Michaelis, 11 most necessar}” to be read 
and understood by every man who studies the New Testament, is without doubt, 
the Septuagint; which alone has been of more service than all the passages from 
the profane authors collected together. It should be read in the public schools by 
those who are destined for the church, should form the subject of a course of lec¬ 
tures at the university, and be the constant companion of an expositor of the New 
Testament.” Introduction to the New Test. vol. i. p. 177. — “ About the year 
1785,” says Dr. A. Clarke (speaking of his biblical labours), “ I began to read the 
Septuagint regularly, in order to acquaint myself more fully with the phraseology 
of the New Testament. The study of this version served more to expand and illu¬ 
minate my mind than all the theological works I had ever consulted. I had pro¬ 
ceeded but a short way in it, before 1 was convinced that the prejudices against it 
were utterly unfounded ; and that it teas of incalculable advantage towards a pro¬ 
per understanding of the literal sense of Scripture Dr. Clarke’s Commentary, 
vol. i. General Preface, p. xv. 

2 Dissertatio Philologico-Critica in Aquilse Reliquias Interpretationis Hosese, 
(Lipsice, 1757, 4to.); which is reprinted in pp. 1. et seq. of RosenmUller’s Collection 
of his ;; Opuscula ad Crisin et Interpretationem Veteris Testamenti,” Lipsice, 1796, 
8vo. 

3 This work of Drusius’s is also to be found in the sixth volume of Bishop Wag 

ton's Polyglott. 






184 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch. 


which was the most literal: it was allowed to be read publicly in the 
Jews’ synagogues, by the hundred and twenty-fifth Novel of the Em¬ 
peror Justinian. 

2. Theodotion was a native of Ephesus, and is termed by Jerome 
and Eusebius an Ebionite or semi-Christian. He was nearly con¬ 
temporary with Aquila, and his translation is cited by Justin Martyr, 
in his Dialogue with Tryphon the Jew, which was composed about 
the year 160. The version of Theodotion holds a middle rank be¬ 
tween the servile closeness of Aquila and the freedom of Symma 
chus : It is a kind of revision of the Septuagint made after the origi¬ 
nal Hebrew, and supplies some deficiencies in the Septuagint; but 
where he translates without help, he evidently shows himself to have 
been but indifferently skilled in Hebrew. Theodotion’s translation 
of the book of Daniel was introduced into the Christian churches, as 
being deemed more accurate than that of the Septuagint of which a 
few fragments only remain. 

3. Symmachus, we are informed by Eusebius and Jerome, was a 
semi-Christian or Ebionite : for the account given of him by Epi- 
phanius (that he was first a Samaritan, then a Jew, next a Christian, 
and last of all an Ebionite) is generally disregarded as unworthy of 
credit. Concerning the precise time when he flourished, learned 
men are of different opinions. Epiphanes places him under the 
reign of Commodus II. an imaginary emperor: Jerome, however, 
expressly states that his translation appeared after that of Theodo¬ 
tion : and as Symmachus was evidently unknown to Irenaeus, who 
cites the versions of Aquila and Theodotion, it is probable that the 
date assigned by Jerome is the true one. Montfaucon accordingly 
places Symmachus a short time after Theodotion, that is, about the 
year 200. The version of Symmachus, who appears to have pub¬ 
lished a second edition of it revised, is by no means so literal as that 
of Aquila; he was certainly much better acquainted with the laws 
of interpretation than the latter, and has endeavoured, not unsuccess¬ 
fully, to render the Hebrew idioms with Greek precision. Bauer 1 
and Morus 2 have given specimens of the utility of this version for il¬ 
lustrating both the Old and New Testaments. Dr. Owen has print¬ 
ed the whole of the first chapter of the book of Genesis, according to 
the Septuagint version, together with the Greek translations of Aquila, 
Theodotion, and Symmachus, in columns, in order to show their re¬ 
spective agreement or discrepancy. This we are obliged to omit, 
on account of its length ; but the following observations of that emi¬ 
nent critic on their relative merits (founded on an accurate compari¬ 
son of them with each other, and with the original Hebrew, whence 
they were made,) are too valuable to be disregarded. He remarks, 

1. With respect to Aquila, (1) That his translation is close and 
servile — abounding in Hebraisms — and scrupulously conformable 
to the letter of the text. (2) That the author, notwithstanding he 
meant to disgrace and overturn the version of the Seventy, yet did 


1 Critica Sacra, pp. 277, 278. 

2 Acroases Hermeneutic®, tom. ii. pp. 127, 128. 




185 


V. Sect. I. § 2. ] The Antient Greek Versions. 

not scruple to make use of it, and frequently to borrow his expres 
sions from it. 

2. With respect to Theodotion, (1) That he made great use of 
the two former versions — following sometimes the diction of the 
one, and sometimes that of the other — nay, often commixing them 
both together in the compass of one and the same verse ; and (2) 
That he did not keep so strictly and closely to the version of the Se¬ 
venty, as some have unwarily represented. 1 He borrowed largely from 
that of Aquila ; but adapted it to his own style. And as his style 
was similar to that of the lxx., Origen, perhaps for the sake of uni¬ 
formity, supplied the additions inserted in the Hexapla chiefly from 
this Version. 

3. With respect to Symmachus, (1) That his version, though con¬ 
cise, is free and paraphrastic — regarding the sense, rather than the 
words, of the original; (2) That he often borrowed from the three 
other versions — but much oftener from those of his immediate prede¬ 
cessors than from the Septuagint: and, (3) It is observed by Mont- 
faucon, 2 that he kept close to the Hebrew original; and never intro¬ 
duced any thing from the Septuagint, that was not to be found in his 
Hebrew copy : But it evidently appears from ver. 20. •—where we 
read xai syswsro ourwg — that either the observation is false, or that 
the copy he used was different from the present Hebrew copies. 
The 30th verse has also a reading — it may perhaps be an inter¬ 
polation— to which there is nothing answerable in the Hebrew, or 
in any other of the Greek versions. 3 

4. 5, 6.—The three anonymous translations, usually called the 
fifth,, sixth , and seventh versions, derive their names from the order 
in which Origen disposed them in his columns. The author of the 
sixth version was evidently a Christian : for he renders Habakkuk 
iii. 13. (Thou wentest forth for the deliverance of thy people, even 
for the deliverance of thine anointed ones 4 ) in the following manner : 

tou dutfai tov Xaov Cov Si a Iyrfou rev Xpi (frov <fov. i. e. Tlwu 
wentest forth to save thy people through Jesus thy Christ. The dates 
of these three versions are evidently subsequent to those of Aquila, 
Theodotion, and Symmachus: from the fragments collected by 
Montfaucon, it appears that they all contained the Psalms and 
minor prophets ; th e fifth and sixth further comprised the Pentateuch 
and Song of Solomon; and from some fragments of the fifth and 
seventh versions found by Bruns in a Syriac Hexaplar manuscript 
at Paris, it appears that they also contained the two books of Kings. 
Bauer is of opinion that the author of the seventh version was a Jew. 

1 Theodotion, <jui in eaeteris cum lxx translatoribus facit. Hieron. Ep. ad Mar¬ 
cell. Licet autem Theodotio lxx Interpretum vestigio fere semper haercat, &c. 
Montf. Prod, in Hexapl. p. 57. 

2 Ea tamen cautela ut Hebraicum exemplar unicum sequ-endum sibi proponeret; 
nec quidpiam ex editione r&v O. ubi cum Hebraico non quadrabat, in interpreta* 
tionem suam refundejet, Proelim. in Hexapl. p. 54. 

3 Owen on the Septuagint, pp. 124—126. 

4 Archbishop Newcome’s version. The authorised English translation runs 

; — “ Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation 
with thine anointed.” 

VOL. II. 


24 





186 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch 

IX. Besides the fragments of the preceding antient versions, 
taken from Origen’s Hexapla, there are found in the margins of the 
manuscripts of the Septuagint some additional marks or notes, con¬ 
taining various renderings in Greek of some passages in the Old 
Testament: these are cited as the Hebrew, Syrian, Samaritan, and 
Hellenistic versions, and as the version of some anonymous author. 
The probable meaning of these references it may not be improper 
briefly to notice. 

1 . The Hebrew (6 E figojos) is supposed by some to denote the 
translation of Aquila, who closely and literally followed the Hebrew 
text: but this idea is refuted by Montfaucon and Bauer, who remark 
that, after the reference to the Hebrew, a reading follows, most 
widely differing from Aquila’s rendering. Bauer more probably con¬ 
jectures that the reference 6 Efigcmg denotes the Hebrew text from 
which the Septuagint version differs. 

2. Under the name of the Syrian (6 Su^og) are intended the frag¬ 
ments of the Greek version made by Sophronius, patriarch of Con¬ 
stantinople, from the very popular Latin translation of Jerome, who is 
supposed to have acquired the appellation of the Syrian, from his long 
residence on the confines of Syria. He is thus expressly styled by 
Theodore of Mopsuestia in a passage cited by Photius in his Biblio¬ 
theca . 1 

3. The Samaritan (<ro Zayagsirmv') is supposed to refer to the 
fragments of a Greek version of the Hebneo-Samaritan text, which 
is attributed to the antient Greek scholiast so often cited by Flaminio 
Nobili, and in the Greek Scholia appended to the Roman edition of 
the Septuagint. Considerable doubts, however, exist concerning the 
identity of this supposed Greek version of the Samaritan text; which, 
if it ever existed, Bishop Walton thinks, must be long posterior in 
date to the Septuagint . 2 

4. It is not known to which version or author the citation 
o EftXvjvixos, or the Hellenistic, refers: — The mark o AXXoe, or 
o Avsmygoupos denotes some unknown anonymous author. 

Before we conclude the present account of the antient Greek 
versions of the Old Testament, it remains that we briefly notice the 
translation preserved in St. Mark’s Library at Venice, containing the 
Pentateuch, Proverbs, Ruth, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, La¬ 
mentations of Jeremiah, and Prophecy of Daniel. The existence of 
this version, which was for a long time buried among other literal’}' 
treasures deposited in the above-mentioned library, was first announc¬ 
ed by Zanetti and Bongiovanni in their catalogue of its manuscripts. 
The Pentateuch was published in three parts, by M. Ammon, at 
Erlang, 1790, 1791, 8 vo.: and the remaining books by M. Villoison 
at Strasburgh, 1784, 8 vo. The original manuscript, Morelli is of 
opinion, was executed in the 14th century ; and, the numerous errors 
discoverable in it, prove that it cannot be the autograph of the trans¬ 
lator. By whom this version was made, is a question yet undeter¬ 
mined. Morelli thinks its author was a Jew ; Ammon supposes him 


1 Page 205, edit. Hoeschelii. 


2 Prol. c. xi. § 22. pp. 553, 554. 



187 


V. Sect. I. § 3.] The Syriac Versions. 

to have been a Christian monk, and perhaps a native of Syria; and 
Bauer, after Zeigler, conjectures him to have been a Christian gram¬ 
marian of Constantinople, who had been taught Hebrew by a West¬ 
ern Jew. Whoever the translator was, his style evidently shows him 
to have been deeply skilled in the different dialects of the Greek lan¬ 
guage, and to have been conversant with the Greek poets. Equally 
uncertain is the date when this version was composed : Eichorn, 
Bauer, and several other eminent biblical writers, place it between 
the sixth and tenth centuries : the late Dr. Holmes supposed the au¬ 
thor of it to have been some Hellenistic Jew, between the ninth and 
twelfth centuries. “ Nothing can be more completely happy, or 
more judicious, than the idea adopted by tliis author, of rendering the 
Hebrew text in the pure Attic dialect, and the Chaldee in its corres¬ 
ponding Doric.” 1 Dr. Holmes has inserted extracts from this version 
in his edition of the Septuagint. 2 


§ 3. ON THE ANTIENT ORIENTAL VERSIONS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 


I. Syriac Versions. — Notice of the Syriac Manuscripts brought 
from India by the late Rev. Dr. Buchanan; — Editions of the Sy¬ 
riac Version; — II. Arabic Versions, and Editions; — III. Other 
Oriental Versions. — 1 . Persian Versions; — 2. Egyptian Ver¬ 
sions ; — 3. Ethiopic or Abyssinian Version ; — 4. Armenian 
Version; — 5. Sclavonic, or Old Russian Version. 


i- Syria being visited at a very early period by the preachers of 
the Christian faith, several translations of the sacred volume were 
made into the language of that country. The most celebrated of 
these is the Peschito or Literal (Versio Simplex), as it is usually 
called, on account of its very close adherence to the Hebrew text, 
from which it was immediately made. The most extravagant as- 


1 British Critic. O. S. vol. viii. p. 259. 

2 The preceding account of antient Greek versions is drawn from Carpzov, Cri- 
tica Sacra, pp. 552—574 ; Bauer, Critica Sacra, pp. 273—288 ; Morus, Acroases 
Hermeneutic®, tom. ii. pp. 120—147; Bishop Walton, Prolegom. c. ix. § 19. pp. 
385—387 : Jahn, Introductio in Libros Sacros Veteris Foederis, pp. 66—70 ; and 
Masch’s edition of Le Long’s Bibliotheca Sacra, part ii. vol. ii. sect. I. pp. 220—229. 
Montfaucon, Prael. Diss. ad Origenis Hexapla, tom. i. pp. 46—73. In the fourth 
volume of the Commentationes Theologicse, (pp. 195—263,) edited by MM. Vel- 
thusen, Kuinoel, and Ruperti, there is a specimen of a Clavis Reliquiarum Versio- 
num Grcecarum V. T. by John Frederic Fischer : it contains only the letter A. A 
specimen of a new Lexicon to the antient Greek interpreters, and also to the apo¬ 
cryphal books of the Old Testament so constructed as to serve as a Lexicon to the 
New Testament, was also lately published by M. E. G. A. Bockel, at Leipsic, en¬ 
titled Novae. Clavis in Grcecos Interpretes Veteris Testamenti , Scriptorcsque Jlpo- 
crypkos , it a adornatce ut etiarn Lexici in Novi Foederis Libros usum puebere possit , 
atque editionis Ixx. interpretum hexaplaris, specimina , 4to. 1820. Such a work, 
when completed, must prove highly valuable to biblical students. Cappel, in his 
Critica Sacra, has given a copious account with very numerous examples ol the 
various lections that may be obtained by collating the Septuagint with the He¬ 
brew, (lib. iv. pp. 491—766.) and by collating the Hebrew text with the Chaldee 
paraphrases and the antient Greek versions, (lib. v. cc. 1—6. pp. 767—844.) tom. 
ii. ed. Scharfenberg. 





183 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch. 

sertions have been advanced concerning its antiquity , some referring 
it to the time of Solomon and Hiram, while others ascribe it to Asa 
the priest of Samaritans, and a third class to the apostle Thaddeus. 
This last tradition is received by the Syrian churches; but a more 
recent date is ascribed to it by modern biblical philologers. Bishop 
Walton, Carpzov, Leusden, Bishop Lowth, and Dr. Kennicott, fix its 
date to the first century; Bauer and some other German critics, to 
the second or third century; Jahn fixes it, at the latest, to the second 
century; De Rossi pronounces it to be very antient, but does not 
specify any precise date. The most probable opinion is that of 
Michaelis, who ascribes it to the close of the first, or to the earlier part 
of the second century, at which time the Syrian churches flourished 
most, and the Christians at Edessa had a temple for divine worship 
erected after the model of that at Jerusalem : and it is not to be sup¬ 
posed that they would be without a version of the Old Testament, 
th§ reading of which had been introduced by the apostles. The ar¬ 
guments prefixed to the Psalms were manifestly written by a Christian 
author. This version was evidently made from the original Hebrew, 
to which it most closely and literally adheres, with the exception of a 
few passages which appear to bear some affinity to the Septuagint: 
Jahn accounts for this by supposing, either that this version was con¬ 
sulted by the Syriac translator or translators, or that the Syrians 
afterwards corrected their translation by the Septuagint. Leusden 
conjectures, that the translator did not make use of the most correct 
Hebrew manuscripts, and has given some examples which appear to 
support his opinion. Dathe however speaks most positively in favour 
of its antiquity and fidelity, and refers to the Syriac version, as a cer¬ 
tain standard by which we may judge of the state of the Hebrew text 
in the second century : and both Kennicott and De Rossi have de¬ 
rived many valuable readings from this version. To its general fide¬ 
lity almost every critic of note bears unqualified approbation, although 
it is not every where equal: and it is remarkably clear and strong in 
those passages which attribute characters of Deity to the Messiah. 
Jahn observes, that a different method of interpretation is adopted in 
the Pentateuch from that which is to be found in the Book of Chro¬ 
nicles ; and that there are some Chaldee words in the first chapter of 
Genesis, and also in the Book of Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solo¬ 
mon : whence he infers that this version was the work not of one, but 
of several authors. 1 

An important accession to biblical literature was made, a few years 
since, by the late learned and excellent Dr. Buchanan, to whose 
assiduous labours the British church in India is most deeply indebted ; 
and who, in his progress among the Syrian churches and Jews of 

1 ^ ar P zov > Critica Sacra, pp. 623—626 ; Leusden, Philologus Hebraeo-Mixtus, 
pp. 67—71; Bishop Lowth’s Isaiah, vol. i. p. xci.; Dr. Kennicott, Diss. ii. p. 355 ; 
Bauer, Critica Sacra, pp. 308—320 ; Jahn, Introd. ad Vet. Feed. pp. 75, 76 ; De 
Rossi, \ arise Lectiones ad Vet. Test. tom. i. prol. p. xxxii.; Dathe, Opuscula ad 
Crisin et Interpretationem Vet. Test. p. 171; Kortholt, de Versionibus Scripturce^ 
pp. 40—-45; Walton, Proleg. c. 13. pp. 593, ct scq. Dr. Smith’s Scripture Testi 
mony of the Messiah, vol. i. pp. 396, 397. 




189 


V. Sect. I. § 3.] The Syriac Versions. 

India, discovered and obtained numerous antient manuscripts of the 
Scriptures, which are now deposited in the public library at Cam¬ 
bridge. One of these, which was discovered in a remote Syrian 
church near the mountains, is particularly valuable: it contains the 
Old and New Testaments, engrossed with beautiful accuracy in the 
Estrangelo (or old Syriac,) character, on strong vellum, in large folio, 
and having three columns in a page. The words of every book are 
numbered: and the volume is illuminated, but not after the European 
manner, the initial letters having no ornament. Though somewhat 
injured by time or neglect, the ink being in certain places obliterated, 
still the letters can in general be distinctly traced from the impress of 
the pen, or from the partial corrosion of the ink. The Syrian church 
assigns a high date to this manuscript, which, in the opinion of Mr. 
Yeates, who has published a collation of the Pentateuch, 1 was written 
about the seventh century. In looking over this manuscript, Dr. Bu¬ 
chanan found the very first emendation of the Hebrew text proposed 
by Dr. Kennicott, 2 which doubtless is the true reading. 

The first edition of this version of the Syriac Scriptures appeared 
in the Paris Polyglott; but, being taken from an imperfect MS., its 
deficiencies were supplied by Gabriel Sionita, who translated the pas¬ 
sages wanting from the Latin Vulgate, and has been unjustly charged 
with having translated the whole from the Vulgate/ This text was 
reprinted in Bishop Walton’s Polyglott, with the addition of some 
apocryphal books. There have been numerous editions of particular 
parts of the Syriac Old Testament, which are minutely described by 
Masch. 3 A new edition of the Syriac Version of the Old Testament 
is at this time printing under the editorial care of the Rev. Professor 
Lee, of Cambridge, under the patronage of the Church Missionary 
Society, and at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society. 
To his collation of the Travancore Manuscript has been added that of 
another manuscript belonging to the Rev. Dr. Adam Clarke, and one 
of the Pentateuch found by Mr. Lee in the Library of New College, 
Oxford. 4 > ' L * 

The other Syriac versions being made from the Septuagint, it may 
suffice to offer a brief notice of the Syriac translation of Origen’s 
Hexaplar edition of the lxx., which is the most celebrated and valu¬ 
able. This translation was executed in the former part of the seventh 
century ; the author of this version is unknown. The late Professor 
De Rossi, who published the first specimen of it, 5 does not decide 

1 In the Christian Observer, vol. xii. pp. 171—174, there is an account of Mr. 
Yeates’s Collation ; and in vol. ix. of the same Journal, pp. 273—275. 348—350, 
there is ffiven a very interesting description of the Syriac manuscript above no¬ 
ticed. A short account of it also occurs in Dr. Buchanan's “ Christian Research¬ 
es” respecting the Syrians, pp. 220—231. (edit. 1811.) 

2 Gen. iv. 8. And Cain said unto Abel Jus brother , Let , us go down into the 
plain. It may be satisfactory to the reader to know that this disputed addition is 
to be found in the Samaritan, Syriac, Septuagint, and Vulgate Versions, printed in 
Bishop Walton’s Polyglott. 

3 Part ii. vol. i. sect. iv. pp. 04—71. 

4 Report of the Church Missionary Society for 1817-18, p. 154. 

3 M. De Rossi’s publication is entitled, Specimen ineditae et Plexaplaris Biblio- 
rum Vcrsionis, Syro-Estranghela?, cum simplici atque utriusque fontibus, Grseco 




190 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch. 

whether it is to be attributed to Mar-Abba, James of Edessa, Paul, 
Bishop of Tela, or to Thomas of Heraclea. Assemanni ascribes it 
to Thomas, though other learned men affirm that he did no more 
than collate the Books of Scripture. This version, however, corres¬ 
ponds exactly with the text of the Septuagint, especially in those pas¬ 
sages in which the latter differs from the Hebrew. A MS. of this 
version is in the Ambrosian Library at Milan, comprising the Books 
of Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, "Wisdom, 
Ecclesiasticus, Hosea, Amos, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zecha- 
riah, Malachi, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Isaiah: it also contains the obe¬ 
lus and other marks of Origen’s Hexapla; and a subscription at the 
end states it to have been literally translated from the Greek copy, 
corrected by Eusebius himself, with the assistance of Pamphilus, 
from the books of Origen, which were deposited in the library at 
Caesarea. The conformity of this MS. with the account given by 
Masius in the preface to his learned Annotations on the Book of 
Joshua, affords strong grounds for believing that this is the second 
part of the MS. described by him as then being in his possession, and 
which, there is reason to fear, is irrecoverably lost. From this ver¬ 
sion M. Norberg edited the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel in 
1787, 4to. Londini, Gothorum ; and M. Bugati, the Book of Daniel, 
at Milan, 1788, 4toJ 

V. Although the Christian religion was preached in Arabia, as well 
as in other countries of the East, at an early period, yet it never was 
the established religion of the country, as in Syria and Egypt; for 
even the temple at Mecca was a heathen temple till the. time of Mo¬ 
hammed. Historical evidence, therefore, concerning the Arabic 
Versions, does not extend beyond the tenth century, when 

1. Rabbi Saadias Gaon, a celebrated Jewish teacher at Babylon, 
translated, or rather, paraphrased, the Old Testament into Arabic : 
of this version the Pentateuch was printed at Constantinople, in folio, 
in the year 1546, in Hebrew characters ; and in the Paris and Lon¬ 
don Polyglotts, in Arabic letters. — The prophecy of Isaiah was pub¬ 
lished by Paulus in Svo. at Jena, in 1790, 1791. * 1 2 The remaining 
books of this translation have not hitherto been discovered. Besides 
this, there are several other Arabic Versions extant, made immedi¬ 
ately from the Hebrew, either by Jews, Samaritans or Christians, of 
which the following are the principal, viz. 

2. The Arabic version of the Pentateuch, published by Erpenius 

el Hebrseo, collatse cum duplici Latin& versione et notis. Edidit, ac diatribam de 
rarissimo codice Ambrosiano, unde illud haustum est, preemisit Johannes Bern. 
Rossi. 8vo. Parmce, 1778. The specimen consists of the first psalm printed in six 
-columns. The first contains the Greek text of the Septuagint; the second, the 
Syro-Estrangelo text; the third, the Latin text translated from the Septuagint; 
the fourth, the Hebrew text; the fifth the Peschito or old Sj^riac text above no¬ 
ticed ; and the sixth, the Latin text translated from this latter version. 

1 Masch, part ii. vol. i. pp. 58—GO. Jahn, Introd. ad Vet. Feed. pp. 76—-78 
Monthly Review, O. S. vol. lix. pp. 452—454. Some other Syriac versions of less 
note are described by Masch, ut supra pp. 60—62. 

2 On this book some remarks have been published by Dr. C. D. Breithaupt at 
Rostock, entitled Commentationis in Saadianam versionem Jcsaict Arabicam fasti* 
cuius primus, 1819. Svo. 




191 


V. Sect. I. § 3.] Persic and Egyptian Versions, 

at Leyden in 1622, 4to., appears to have been executed in the thir¬ 
teenth century by some African Jew, who has very closely adhered 
to the Hebrew. 

3. The Arabic version of the book of Joshua, printed in the Paris 
and London Polyglotts, is, in the opinion of Bauer, made directly 
from the Hebrew. Its author and date are not known. 

4. The Pentateuch, Psalms, and Prophecy of Daniel, were trans* 
lated by Saadia Ben Levi Asnekot, who lived in the early part of the 
seventeenth century : they are extant only in MS. in the British Mu¬ 
seum, 1 and are of very little value. 

Besides these versions, the Arab Christians have a translation of 
the Book of Job (printed in the Paris and London Polyglotts), and 
two versions of the Psalms, still in MS. which were respectively 
made from the Peschito or Old Syriac version. All the Arabic books 
of the Old Testament, (with the exception of the Pentateuch and 
Job), which are printed in those Polyglotts, were executed from 
Hesychius’s recension of the Septuagint. The Psalms, inserted in 
Justiniani’s Polyglott Psalter, and Gabriel Sionita’s Arabic Psalter, 
were made from Lucian’s recension of that version : and the Arabic 
Psalter, printed at Aleppo in 1706, 4to., follows the Melchitic 2 
recension of the lxx . 3 

Besides the preceding Oriental versions, there are several others ; 
which, though not of equal importance in the criticism and interpreta¬ 
tion of the Sacred Writings, may still be occasionally consulted with 
advantage. Among these we may enumerate the Persic, Egyptian, 
Ethiopic, Armenian, and Sclavonic translations. 

1. The Persic Version. —Although we have no authentic ac¬ 
count of the conversion of the whole Persian nation to Christianity, 
yet we are informed by Chrysostom and Theodoret, that the Scrip¬ 
tures were very antiently translated into the Persian language. It 
does not appear, however, that any fragments of this antient version 
are extant. The translation of the Pentateuch, printed in the 4th 
volume of Bishop Walton’s Polyglott, was executed by a Jew, for the 
benefit of the Jews, in the eleventh or twelth century. The Hebrew 
text is, for the most part, faithfully rendered. Bishop Walton men¬ 
tions two Persic versions of the Psalms — one by a Portuguese monk 
at Ispahan in the year 1618, and another by some Jesuits from the 
yulgate Latin version. 4 These are yet in MS. 

1 Cat. Harl. MSS. vol. iii. num. 5505. 

2 The Melchites were those Christians in Syria, Egypt, and the Levant, who, 
though not Greeks, followed the doctrines and ceremonies of the Greek church. 
They were called Melchites, that is, Royalists, by their adversaries, by way of re¬ 
proach, on account of their implicit submission to the edict of the emperor Mar- 
cian, in favour of the council of Chalcedon. Mosheim’s Eccl. Hist. vol. ii. p. 188. 
note (w.) 

3 Carpzov. Crit. Sacr. pp. 640—644. Bauer, Crit. Sacr. pp. 321—324. Jahn, 
Introd. ad Vet. Foed. pp. 78—80. Masch, part ii. vol. i. pp. 103—110. In pp. 110 
_128. he has given an account of Arabic editions of the Old Testament, and de¬ 
tached parts of it. On Arabic editions, Schnurrers Bibliotheca Arabica, pp. 339— 
397, may also be advantageously consulted. 

4 Walton, Prol. xvi. § &—8. pp. 692—695. Kortholt, c.xix. pp. 301—303. Jahn, 
p. 80. For an account of editions consult Masch, part ii. vol. i. pp. 158—164. 



192 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part 1. Cii. 

2. Egyptian Versions. — From tlie proximity of Egypt to Ju¬ 
daea, it appears that the knowledge of the Gospel was very early 
communicated to the inhabitants of that country, whose language was 
divided into two dialects—the Sahidic or dialect of Upper Egypt, 
and the Coptic or dialect of lower Egypt. In the former of these 
dialects the ninth chapter of Daniel was published by Miinter at 
Rome in 1786; and Jeremiah, ch. ix. 17. to ch. xiii. by Mingarelli, 
in Reliquice Egyptiorum Codicum in Bibliotheca JVaniana asservatce , 
at Bologna, in 1785. 

The Coptic language is a compound of the old Egyptian and 
Greek; into which the Old Testament was translated from the Sep- 
tuagint, perhaps in the second or third century, and certainly before 
the seventh century. Of this version, the Pentateuch was published 
*by Wilkins in 1731 ; and a Psalter, by the congregation de Propa¬ 
ganda Fide , at Rome, in 1744 and 1749. 1 And in the course of 
the year 1816 M. Engelbreth published at Copenhagen, in quarto, 
some fragments of a Basmurico-Coptic version of the Old and New 
Testament (preserved in the Borgian Museum at Velitri), collated 
with other Egyptian versions. The editor has given a Latin version, 
and illustrated the work widi critical and philological notes. 2 No 
part of the Sahidic version of the Old Testament appears to have 
been published. The late Dr. Woide was of opinion that both the 
Coptic and Sahidic Versions were made from the Greek. They 
express the phrases of the Septuagint Version; and most of the ad¬ 
ditions, omissions, and transpositions, which distinguish the latter from 
the Hebrew, are discoverable in the Coptic and Sahidic Versions. 

3. The Ethiopic or Abyssinian Version, which is still extant, 
was made from the Septuagint: although its author and date are un¬ 
known, yet, from the marks of unquestionable antiquity which it bears, 
there is every reason to believe that it was executed in the second 
century. Some peculiar readings occur in this translation : but, 
where it seems to be exact, it derives considerable authority from its 
antiquity. Only a few books and fragments of this version have been 
printed. The first portions of the Ethiopic Scriptures that appeared 
in print, were the Psalms, and the Song of Solomon ; edited at Rome, 
by John Potken, a. d. 1513. In 1548, the New Testament w T as also 
printed at Rome by some Abyssinian priests, and was afterwards re¬ 
printed in the London Polyglott: but as the manuscripts used in the 
Roman edition were old and mutilated, the editors restored such 
chasms as appeared in the text, by translations from the Latin Vul¬ 
gate. These editions, therefore, are not of much value, as they do 
not present faithful copies of the antient Ethiopic text. About the 


1 Masch, part ii. vol. i. pp. 182—190. Jahn, p. 81. 

2 The following is the title of the work above noticed, of which the author has not 
been able to procure a sight: — Fragmenta Basmurico-Coptica Veteris et Novi 
Testamenti, quae in Museo Borgiano Velitris asserventur, cum reliquis versionibus 
.Egyptians contulit, Latine vertit, necnon criticis et philologicis adnotationibus 
illustravit W. F. Engelbreth, 4to. Hafniae, 1816. The only perfect copy of the 
Coptic Bible now in Europe, is said to be in the possession of Monsieur Marcel 
See M. Quartremere’s Recherches sur la Langue et la Litterature d’Egypte, p. 118 




193 


V. beet. I. § 3.] The Ethiopic or Abyssinian Eersion . 

middle of the seventeenth century appeared in print, the Book of 
Ruth; the Prophecies of Joel, Jonah, Zephaniah, and Malachi; the 
Song of Moses ; that of Hannah (1 Sam. ii.); the Prayers of Heze- 
kiah, Manasseh, Jonah, Azariah, and the three Children; Isaiah ; 
Habakkuk; the Hymns of the \ irgin Mary, Zechariah, and Simeon ; 
and the first four chapters of Genesis. In 1815, the British and 
Foreign Bible Society published a reprint of Ludolf’s edition of the 
Ethiopic Psalter. This is the whole of the Ethiopic Scriptures 
hitherto printed. It is not necessary hereto enumerate all the re¬ 
prints of the above portions of the Ethiopic Bible. 1 

There is, however, reason to expect that, in no long time, the gift 
of the entire Ethiopic Scriptures will be imparted to Abyssinia. ^ A 
manuscript copy of this version, in fine preservation, has been pur¬ 
chased by the committee ot the Church Missionary Society. From 
a memoir on this manuscript by Professor Lee, we learn, that it con¬ 
tains the first eight books ot the Old Testament, written on vellum, in 
a bold and masterly hand, in two columns on each page. The length 
of a page is that of a large quarto : the width is not quite so great. 
The volume contains 285 folios, of which the text covers 282, very 
accurately written, and in high preservation. On the first page is 
written, in Ethiopic, the invocation usually found in the books of the 
eastern Christians: “ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Ghost.” Then follows an account of the contents of the 
book, written in Latin by some former possessor, and a date a. d. 
1696, 20th September. On the reverse of the first folio is found a 
table, not unlike the tables of genealogy in some of our old English 
Bibles, which seems to be intended to show the hours appointed for 
certain prayers. Then follows the Book of Genesis, as translated 
from the Greek of the Septuagint. On the reverse of the third folio 
is the following inscription in Arabic: “ The poor Ribea, the Son of 
Elias, wrote it: O wine ! to which nothing can be assimilated, either 
in reality or appearance : O excellent drink ! of which our Lord said, 
having the cup in his hand, and giving thanks, ‘ This is my blood for 
the salvation of men.’” Folios 7 and 8 have been supplied, in pa¬ 
per, by a more modern hand. On the reverse of folio 8 is a very 
humble attempt at drawing, in the figure of a person apparently in 
prayer, accompanied by an inscription in Ethiopic, at the side of the 
figure : “ In the prayers of Moses and Aaron, to 2 Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob, am I, thy servant, O Lord, presented in the power of the 


1 Jahn, p. 81. Masch, part ii. vol. i. pp. 140—143. In pp. 145—157. is a biblio¬ 

graphical notice of all the Ethiopic editions of the Scriptures, whether entire or in 
parts, that have been published. Walton, Prol. xv. § 10—12. pp. 079—085. Kor- 
tholt, pp. 298—301. In Mr. Bruce’s Travels, vol. ii. pp. 416—420. (8vo. edit.) 
there is an interesting account of the Ethiopic Biblical books. It is not known in 
whose possession the manuscript copy of the Ethiopic Version now is, which was 
brought by Mr. B. from Abyssinia. _ ' 

2 As this inscription, which occurs on the supplied leaves, savours of the errors 
of the Romish Church, it was probably written by some Abyssinian Catholic. The 
inscriptions of Isaac, the writer of the MSS., though mutilated, and sometimes ob¬ 
scure, seem free from these errors. The figure of St. Peter, mentioned below, was 
probably traced by the same hand. 

VOL. II. 


25 




194 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch. 

Trinity, a weak, infirm, and defiled sinner. Let them implore 
Christ.” Under the drawing, in Ethiopic : “ In the same manner, 
every slayer that slays Cain, will I repay in this; and as he slew, so 
shall he be slain.” On the reverse of folio 98, at the end of the 
book of Exodus, are two figures, somewhat similar, but rather better 
drawn, and seemingly by the writer of the manuscript; and, in ano¬ 
ther place or two, there are marginal ornaments. At the end ot 
Deuteronomy is this inscription, in Ethiopic; “ The repetition ot the 
law, which God spake to Moses. Numbered 5070 1 (words.) Inter¬ 
cede for your slave Isaac.” — At the end of the volume : “ Pray for 
those who laboured in this book ; and for your slave Isaac, who gave 
this to Jerusalem, the Holy.” Then follows an inscription, in Arabic : 
“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and ot the Holy Ghost, 
one God. O Lord, save thy people from every evil! O our God, 
Jesus Christ, the speaker to men! O holy people, remember your 
slave Isaac, the poor : God shall remember you in the mercies oi this 
book. Pray, if God be willing, that I may be permitted to see your 
face. And pray for me, the sinner. Pardon my sins, O Lord ! and 
let my body be buried in Mount Sion.” Then follows, in Ethiopic : 
“ That our enemies may not say of us, ‘ We have conquered them 
be ye prudent. We have given you a lamp. Be ye the culture. — 

Sow ye the flock : reap and rejoice.”.A few lines have been 

erased. Then follows . . . . “ me, Isaac, the poor, in your prayers. 
It was completed in Beth Gabbaza, of Axuma. In thy name, O 
Lord, have I planted, that thou place me not in any other place ex¬ 
cept Mount Sion ; the mount of Christ; the house of Christians. Let 
them not be forgotten in your prayers, who have read and testified to 
you. Preserve, O Lord, this my offering for me thy servant, the 
poor ; and preserve all these books which I offer, that the brethren, 
dwelling at Jerusalem may be comforted. And pray for me, 2 forget 
me not in the holy offices, and in prayer, that w r e may all stand be¬ 
fore God in the terrible day and hours. That it might not be written 
that we were wanting, I have previously sent and given you this for 
the warfare of the testimony. Intercede, and bless. And also for 
die refreshing of the record of the Fathers : and also for Cueskam, 3 
the queen of the sons of Abyssinia; that they may be comforted, and 
thence convert our region — may, moreover migrate into other re¬ 
gions, and restore Jerusalem : — and for the Calvary of Mary. Let 
them pray for me. Let it be preserved as the widow’s mite, for ever 
and ever. Let them not sell or exchange ; nor let them carry it 

1 It is customary among the Jews, Syrians, and Ethiopians, to number the words 
in the books of Scripture. 

2 In most of the eastern churches, it is the practice to enumerate their Saints in 
a certain part of the Liturgy. 

3 The name of a region, a sea, and a mountain, in Ethiopia ; so celebrated, as to 
be esteemed by the Ethiopians as preferable to even Sinai or Mount Olivet ) and, 
as tradition says, whither Joseph and Mary, with the child Jesus, betook them¬ 
selves, making it their residence for some time, after the flight into Egypt, Cast ell, 
sub voce. — Ludolf , sub voce, says it is the name of a monastery in Upper Egypt, 
which was always had in great veneration by the Copts and Ethiopians; and where 
Christ is said to have resided with his mother, when he fled from Herod. 





195 


^ • Sect. I. § 3.] The Ethiopic or JLbyssmian Version . 

away ; nor let them cause it to be placed elsewhere. And_” the 

rest is wanting. Hence it appears, that the book was written at Axu- 
ma, the antient capital of Ethiopia ; and that it was sent by Isaac to 
the Abyssinians residing in Jerusalem. No date appears in the manu¬ 
script itself. It is, probably, about 300 years old. On the reverse 
of fol. 285, is a drawing, intended to represent Andrew the Apostle, 
with the book ot the Gospels in one hand, and the keys in the other. 
Some less ingenious draftsman, however, has, by means of the trans¬ 
parency of the vellum, traced out this figure on the first page of this 
folio, and given the name ot Peter to his humble representation. He 
has thus succeeded in assigning to St. Peter the first place, and also 
in bestowing on him the keys. Against this picture of Peter is placed 
his age, 120 years. 

The following fac-simile represents part of the remarkable prophe¬ 
cy of Balaam. 1 

Num. XXIV. 17. 

&H.: <p k honors 

JBtuf frirf,-.\0» 

SI 

I shall see him , but not now : I shall call him blessed , but he is not 
near: there shall arise a star out of Jacob , and from Israel shall it 
arise : and he shall destroy the ambassadors of Moab , and shall take 
captive all the children of Seth. 

This precious manuscript has been carefully transcribed, and is 
now printing with a fount of types, cast at the expense of the British 
and Foreign Bible Society, from the matrices (preserved at Frank¬ 
fort) of the celebrated Ethiopic scholar John Ludolph ; whose types, 

1 Eighteenth Report of the Church Missionary Society, pp. 188, 189. In p. 190. 
there is an interesting notice of the Ethiopic MSS. of the Scriptures, in the Royal 
Library at Paris. 



On the Antient Versions. 


196 


[Part I. Ch. 


as used in his printed works, have been highly approved by the 
Abyssinians. 1 

4. The Armenian Version was also made from the Alexandrian 
Septuagint: its author was Miesrob, who invented letters iully ex¬ 
pressive of the Armenian tongue, towards the close ol the fourth or 
early in the fifth century. It is said to have been subsequently alter¬ 
ed according to the Peschito or old Syriac version, and according to 
the Latin vulgate, by Uscan, an Armenian bishop, who was specially 
sent to Amsterdam to superintend the edition there printed in 1666 
The edition printed at Constantinople in 1705, 4to., was collated by 
Bredencamp, for the late Rev. Dr. Holmes’s edition of the Septua¬ 
gint. The Armenian version of the Scriptures has been attributed 
to Chrysostom, but, it does not appear, on satisfactory authority. 2 

5. The Sclavonic or Old Russian Version is derived from the 
Septuagint: it was executed in the ninth century by Cyril ol Thes- 
salonica, the inventor of Sclavonic letters, in conjunction with Me¬ 
thodius, by both of whom the Gospel was preached to the Bulgarians. 
The Pentateuch was first printed at Prague in 1519 ; and the entire 
Bible, in 1570 : the edition of the Sclavonic scriptures, executed at 
Ostrog in 1581, is the exemplar whence all the modern Russian edi¬ 
tions are printed. 3 It is said to have undergone several revisions, par¬ 
ticularly in the time of the patriarch Nicon : and the New Testament 
is rendered with more perspicuity than the Old. 


§ 4. ON THE ANTIENT LATIN VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

1. Of the Old Italic or Antc-Hieronpnian Version. —II. Account 
of the Biblical Labours and Latin Version of Jerome. — III. Of the 
Vulgate Version and its editions. —IV. Critical value of the Latin 
Vulgate version. 

i- At the commencement of the Christian sera, the Latin was gra¬ 
dually supplanting the Greek as a general language, and it soon might 
be called the language of the Western church. From the testimony 
of Augustine, it appears that the Latin church possessed a very great 
number of versions of the Scriptures, made at the first introduction of 
Christianity, and whose authors were unknown ; and that, in the pri- 


1 For other particulars relative to the Ethiopic Version of the Scriptures the read¬ 
er is referred to “ A Catalogue of the Ethiopic Biblical Manuscripts in the Royal 
Library of Paris, and in the Library of the British and Foreign Bible Society, also 
some account of those in the Vatican Library at Rome : with remarks and extracts. 
To which are added Specimens of Versions of the New Testament into the modern 
languages of Abyssinia, &c. With fac-similes of an Ethiopic and on Amharic 
Manuscript. By Thomas Pell Platt, B. A. Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. 
London, 1823. ’ 4to. — A valuable accession to biblical literature. 

2 Jahn, p. 82. Masch, pp. 169—173; in pp. 173—181 the Armenian editions 
are described ; Kortholt, pp. 304, 305. On the present state of the Armenian 
church in India, see Dr. Buchanan’s “ Christian Researches,” pp. 341—346. 

3 A eopy of this singularly rare book is in the Librnrv of Earl Spencer : it is do 
scribed by Mr. Dibdin, who has given a fac-simile of it. in his Bibliotheca Spence 
riana, vol. i. pp. 90—93. 





197 


V. Sect. I. § 4.] The Vulgate Version. 

mitive times, as soon as any one found a Greek copy, and thought 
himself sufficiently versed in both languages, he attempted a transla¬ 
tion of it. 1 In the course ol tune, this diversity of translation produced 
much confusion, parts of separate versions being put together to 
form an entire composition, and marginal notes being inserted into the 
text: but one of these Latin translations appears to have acquired a 
more extensive circulation than the others, and for several ages was 
preferably used, under the name of the Itala or old Italic, on account 
of its clearness and fidelity. 2 This version, which in the time of Je¬ 
rome was received as canonical, is by him termed sometimes the 
Vulgate and sometimes the Old , in opposition to the new translation 
undertaken by him. He mentions no other version. The Old Italic 
was translated from the Greek in the Old Testament as well as in the 
New, there being comparatively few members of the Western church, 
who were skilled in Hebrew. 3 From the above cited expressions of 
Augustine, it has been inferred that the old Italic version was made in 
the first century of the Christian aera; hut the New Testament could 
not have been translated into Latin before the canon had been formed, 
which was certainly not made in the first century: and the great 
number of Hebraisms and Syriasms observable in it, particularly in 
the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, have induced some eminent critics 
to conjecture that the authors of this translation were Jews converted 
to Christianity. 4 There is, however, every reason to believe, that it 
was executed in the early part of the second century : “ at least it 
was quoted by Tertullian before the close of that century. But, be¬ 
fore the end of the fourth century, the alterations, either designed or 
accidental, which w T ere made by transcribers of the Latin Bible, were 
become as numerous as the alterations in the Greek Bible, before it 
was corrected by Origen.” 5 

II. To remedy this growing evil, Jerome, at the request and under 
tlie patronage of Pope Damasus, towards the close of the fourth cen¬ 
tury, undertook to revise this translation, and make it more con- 


1 Augustine, de Doct. Christ. 1. ii. c. 11. 

2 Ibid. c. 15. This passage of Augustine is suspected to be incorrect, and Bishop 
Marsh, after many other critics, thinks that we ought to read ilia for Itala. Mi- 
ehaelis, vol. ii. part ii. p. G23. See also Dr. Lardner’s Works, vol. v. pp. 115, 11G, 

3 A Codex Rescriptus or Palimpsestus of an Antehieronymian Version has been 
discovered by Dr. Feder at Wurtzburg, who has transcribed nearly all that is legi¬ 
ble, comprising the prophecies of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. These portions 
supply the chasms occurring in Sabatier’s Edition, and differ materially from the 
fragments of antient versions printed in his Collection. The latter are not frag¬ 
ments of the Itala, for they want that perspicuitas sententiaj, which characterises 
it. Dr. Milnter, Bp. of Seeland, supposes them to be of African origin : and as M. 
Feder allowed him to make use of his labours, Bp.M. copied them, and announced 
his intention of publishing an edition of them. (Letter of Bp. Milnter to M. Gre- 
goire, dated Copenhagen, Feb. 7. 1819, in Revue Eneyclopedique, for March 1819, 
p. 545.) But this design has not yet been realised. 

4 « The learned and ingenious Eiehhorn, in his Introduction to the Old Testa¬ 
ment, supposes that the first Latin Version of the Bible was made in Africa; where 
Latin alone being understood, a translation was more necessary; where the Latin 
version was held in the highest veneration ; and where, the language being spoken 
with less purity, barbarisms might have been more easily introduced than in 
provincial town in Italy.” Bp. Marsh’s Michaelis, vol. ii, part ii. p. 628. 

5 Bishop Marsh’s Divinity Lectures, part i. p. 66. 



198 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch. 

formable to the original Greek. He executed the revision of the 
Old Testament according to the Hexaplar text of Origen, which he 
wait to Caesarea to consult, and the New Testament after the original 
Greek 5 and completed his task a. d. 384. Of this revision, the 
Book of Job and the Psalms (which alone have been preserved to 
our times), together with the Chronicles, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and 
Song of Solomon, are all that were ever published ; Jerome’s manu¬ 
scripts, comprising the remaining books of Scripture, being lost or de¬ 
stroyed through the wilful negligence or fraud ol some individual 
whom he has not named . 1 But before Jerome had finished his revi- 
sal, he had commenced a translation of the Old Testament from the 
Hebrew into Latin, in order that the Western Christians, who used 
this last language only, might know the real meaning of the Hebrew 
text, and thus be the better qualified to engage in controversial dis¬ 
cussions with the Jews. 

III. This version, which surpasses all former ones, was executed 
at different times, Jerome having translated particular books in the 
order requested by his friends. We learn from Augustine that it was 
introduced into the churches by degrees, for fear of offending weak 
persons : at length it acquired so great an authority from the appro¬ 
bation it received from Pope Gregory I., that ever since the seventh 
century it has been exclusively adopted 2 by the Roman Catholic 
church, under the name of the Vulgate version : and a decree of the 
Council of Trent, in the sixteenth century, commanded that the Vul¬ 
gate alone should be used whenever the Bible is publicly read, and 
in all sermons, expositions and disputations; and pronounced it to be 
authentic, —a very ambiguous term, which ought to have been more 
precisely defined, than the members of that council chose to define it. 

Upon this ground many contended, that the Vulgate version was 
dictated by the Holy Spirit ; at least was providentially guarded 
against all error; was consequently of divine authority, and more to 
be regarded than even the original Hebrew and Greek texts. And, 
in effect, the decree of the council, however limited and moderated 
by the explanation of some of their more judicious divines, has given 
to the Vulgate such a high degree of authority, that, in this instance 
at least, the translation has taken place of the original: for these trans¬ 
lators, instead of the Hebrew and Greek texts, profess to translate the 
Vulgate. Indeed, when they find the Vulgate very notoriously de¬ 
ficient in expressing the sense, they do the original Scriptures the 
honour of consulting them, and take the liberty, by following them, 
of departing from their authentic guide ; but, in general, the Vulgate 
is their original text; and they give us a translation of a translation ; 
by which second transfusion of the Holy Scriptures into another 


1 Jerome, Ep. 64. ad Augustin. 

~ With the exception of the Psalms ; which being daily chanted to music in the 
church service, made it difficult to introduce alterations. The Old Italic Psalter, 
as corrected by Jerome, has therefore been used ever since the time of Gregory I. 
The apocryphal books of Baruch, Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom, and the two books of 
Maccabees, are also retained from the old Latin version. 




V. Sect. I. § 4.] The Vulgate Version. 1-99 

tongue, still more ol the original sense must be lost, and more of the 
genuine spirit must evaporate.” 1 

The universal adoption ol Jerome’s new version throughout the 
Western church rendered a multiplication of copies necessary; and 
with them new errors were introduced in the course of time, by the 
intermixture of the two versions (the old Italic, and Jerome’s or the 
\ ulgate) with each other. Of this confusion, Cassiodorus was the 
principal cause, who ordered them to be written in parallel columns, 
that the old version might be corrected by the Vulgate ; and though 
Alcuin in the eighth century, by the command of Charlemagne, pro¬ 
vided more accurate copies, the text again fell into such confusion, 
and was so disfigured by innumerable mistakes of copyists — (not¬ 
withstanding the efforts made to correct it by Lanfranc archbishop of 
Canterbury in the eleventh century, and by Cardinal Nicholas, and 
some other divines, about the middle of the twelfth and in the thir¬ 
teenth centuries) — that the manuscripts of the middle ages materially 
differ from the first printed editions. 

Robert Stephens was the first who attempted to remedy this con¬ 
fusion, by publishing his critical editions of the Vulgate in 1528, 1532, 
1534, 1540, 2 and particularly in 1545 and 1546. These, particu¬ 
larly the last, having incurred the censures of the doctors of the Sor- 
bonne, John Hentenius, a divine of Louvain, was employed to pre¬ 
pare a new edition of the Vulgate : this he accomplished in 1547 in 
folio, having availed himself of Stephens’s previous labours with great 
advantage. A third corrected edition was published by Lucas Bru- 
gensis, with the assistance of several other divines of Louvain, in 1573, 
in three volumes 8vo., which was also reprinted in 1586 in 4to. and 
8 vo., with the critical notes of Lucas Brugensis. The labours of the 
Louvain divines not being in every respect approved by Sixtus V., he 
commanded a new revision of the text to be made with the utmost 
care : to this work he devoted much time and attention, and correct¬ 
ed the proofs himself of the edition which was published at Rome in 
1590, in folio. The text thus revised, Sixtus pronounced to be the 
authentic Vulgate, which had been the object of inquiry in the Coun¬ 
cil of Trent; and ordained that it should be adopted throughout the 
Romish church. But, notwithstanding the labours of the Pope, this 
edition was discovered to be so exceedingly incorrect, that his suc¬ 
cessor Clement VIII. caused it to be suppressed, and published ano- 


1 Bp. Lowth’s Translation of Isaiah, vol. i. Prel. Diss. p. lxxiii. 

2 The edition of 1540 was Stephens’s principal edition of the Latin Vulgate ; as 
his edition of 1550 was his principal edition of the Greek. In magnificence it sur¬ 
passes every edition of the Vulgate that ever was printed : and it is likewise of 
great value to a critic, as it contains a copious collection of readings from Latin 
manuscripts, and some of the early editions. Father Simon, (Hist. Grit, des Ver¬ 
sions du N. Test. ch. xi. p. 130.) calls it ‘ un chef d'oeuvre en fait dc Bible ;’ and 
(p. 131.) he terms this edition ‘ la meillcure de toutcs.' Hentenius, in his preface 
to the Louvain edition, calls it 1 ac cur at is sima et castigatissima. Biblia.' (See also 
the praises bestowed on it in Masch's edition of Le Long’s Bibliotheca Sacra, Part 
ii. vol. iii. p. 187.) The title page prefixed to the New Testament bears the date 
of 1539 ; though that which is prefixed to the Old Testament is dated 1540. 
(Marsh's Letters to Travis, p. 254. note.) It is by this latter date, that Stephens’s 
best edition of the Vulgate is usually known and cited. 




200 


On the Jlntient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch. 


ther authentic Vulgate in 1592, in folio : this however differs more 
than any other edition, from that of Sixtus V., and mostly resembles 
that of Louvain. These fatal variances between editions, alike pro¬ 
mulgated by pontiffs claiming infallibility, have not passed unnoticed 
by Protestant divines, who have taken advantage of them in a manner 
that sensibly affects the church of Rome ; especially Kortholt, who 
has at great length refuted the pretensions of Bellarmine in favour ol 
the Vulgate in a masterly manner, 1 and our learned countryman 
'Thomas James, in his Bellurn Pap ale, sive Concordia Discors Sixti 
,V. (London, 1600, 4to.) who has pointed out very numerous ad¬ 
ditions, omissions, contradictions, and other differences between the 
'Sixtine and Clementine editions. 2 From this very curious and now 
rare volume, the following specimens of the differences between these 
two editions are transcribed. 

1. Clauses omitted in the Sixtine, but inserted in the Clementine 

Bible. 

Num. xxx. 11. Uxor in domo viri , fyc. to the end of the verse. 

Prov. xxv. 24. Melius est sedere in angulo domatis , fyc. 

Lev. xx. 9. Patri matrique maledixit. 

Jud. xvii. 2, 3. Reddidit ergo eos matri suce , fyc. 

1 Kings iv. 21. Quia capta est area Dei. 

3 Kings (same as our first) xii. 10. Sic loqueris ad eos. 

2 Chron. ii. 10. Et vini vigenti nullia metretas. 

Matt, xxvii. 35. Ut impleretur quod dictum est per prophetam dieentem, divise- 
runt sibi vestimenta mea, et super vestem meam miserunt 
sortem. 


2 Clauses or Words introduced into the Sixtine, but omitted in the 


1 Sam. xxiv. 8. 


1 Sam. xxv. 6. 
2 Sam. vi. 12. 

2 Sara. viii. 8. 

2 Sam. xix. 10. 
Prov. xxiv. ult. 
Hab. i. 3 


Matt. xxiv. 41. 
Acts xiv. 6. 

xxiv. 18, 19. 


Clementine Bible. 

Vivit dominus, quia nisi dominus percusserit cum, aut dies 
ejus venerit ut moriatur, aut decendens in preelium periret; 
propitius mihi sit dominus ut non mittam manum meam in 
Christum Domini. 

Ex multis annis salvos faciens tuos et omnia tua. 

Dixitque David, ibo et reducam arcam. 

De quo fecit Salonw omnia vasa area in templo et mare cent¬ 
um et columnas et altare. 

Et concilium totius Israel venit ad regem. 

Usque quo piger dormis ? usque quo de somno consurges. 

Quare respicis contemptores et taces conculcante impio justi- 
orem se f Et facies homines quasi pisccs maris , et quasi 
reptilia non habentia ducem. 

Duo in lecto, unus assumetur, et unus relinquctur. 

Et commota est omnis multitude) in doctrina eorum , Paulus 
autem, fyc. 

Et apprehenderunt me clamantes et dicentes, tolle inimicum 


nostrum.. 

3. Manifest contradictions, or differences between the editions. 

Ex. xxiii. 18. Sixtine Tuce, Clementine Mecc. 

Numb, xxxiv. 4. S. Ad meridiem , C. A meridie. 

Deut. xvii. 8. S. Inter lepram et non lepram , C. Inter lepram et lepram. 
Jos. ii. 18. S. Signum non fuerit, C. Signum fuerit. 

. iv. 23. S. Deo nostro, C. Vcstro. 

xi. 19. S. Quce se non trader et, C. Qucc sc trader et. 


1 Kortholt, de variis Scripturae Editionibus, pp. 110—251. 

~ Additional instances of the contradictions between the above mentioned papal 
editions, together with a defence of the Bellurn Papale, may be seen in Mr. James’s 
“ Treatise of the Corruptions of Scripture, Councils, and fathers, by the Prelates, 
Pastors, and Pillars of the Church of Rome, for the maintenance of Popery,’' pp. 
272—358. London, 1688. 8vo. 



201 


V. beet. I. ^ 4.] The Vulgate Version. 


xiv. 3. 
1 Sam. iv. 9. 
xx. 9. 
1 Kings, vii. 9. 
Hab. i. 13. 
Heb. v. 11. 
2 Pet. i. 16. 


Ex. xxiv. 5. 
Ex. xxxii. 28. 
2 Sam. xv. 7. 
1 Kings, iv. 42. 
'2 Kings, xiv. 17. 

- xxv. 19. 

2 Chron. xiii. 17. 


1 Sam. iii. 2, 3. 

1 Kings, ii. 23. 
2 Kings, xv. 19. 
Judith, i. 2. 


Ibidem. 
Job, xxxi. 75. 

Ps. xli. 3. 
Pro. xx. 25. 
xix. 23. 

Ezek. xiv. 22. 
Sirach, xxxviii.25. 

-xlii. 9. 

Isaiah, xlvi. 12. 
Jer. xvii. 9. 


S. Tuo, C. Mco. 

S. JYobis, C. Vobis 
S. A me, C. A te. 

S. Intrinsccus, C. Extrinsecus. 

S. Quare non respicis, C. Respicis. 

S. Interpretabilis, C. Ininterpretabilis. 

S. Indoctas, C. Doctas. 

4. Differences in numbers. 

S. Vitulos duodecem, C. Vitulos. 

S. Trigenta tria millia, C. Vigcnti millia. 

S. Quatuor, C. Quadrigenta. 

S. Quinque millia , C. Quinque ct mille. 

S. Vigcnti Quinque , C. Quindecem. 

S. Sex, C. Sexagenta. 

S. Quinquagenta, C. Quingenta. 

5. Other remarkable differences. 

S- .'Yec poterat ridcrc lucernam Dei antequam extingucretur f 
C. JSec poterat vidcre ; lucerna Dei antequam extingucretur 
S. Ad Salomonen, C. Ad Jaob. 

S. In thersam, C. In terram. 

S. Fecit, ejus muros in altitudinem 70 cubitus : this is one ot 
those places where paper had been pasted on the text, the 
word first printed was latitudinem, and altitudinem was 
printed on a slip of paper and put over it, S. Latitudinem. 
S. Latitudinem, 30 cu. C. Altitudinem, 30 cubitus. 

S. Si secutus est oculus meus cor meum, C. Si secutum et ocu 
los meos cor meum. 

S. Ad Deum fontem vivum, C. Ad Deum fortem, vivum. 

S. Devorare sanctos, C. Devotarc sanctos. 

S. qui affligit patrem et fugit matrem, C. Qui affligat, &c. et 
fugat, fye. 

S. Egredicntur, C. Ingredientur. 

S. Sapientiam scribe, C. Sapientia scribce. 

S. Adultera, C. Adulta. 

S. Justum, C. Avem. 

S. Cor hominis, C. hominum. 


IV. The Vulgate is regarded by Papists and Protestants in very 
different points of view : by the former it has been extolled beyond 
measure, while by most of the latter it has been depreciated as much 
below its intrinsic merit. Our learned countryman, John Bois, (ca¬ 
non of Ely,) was the first who pointed out the real value of this ver¬ 
sion in his Collatio Veteris Interprets cum Beza aliisque recentiori- 
bus (8vo. 1655.) In this work, which is now of extreme rarity, the 
author has successfully shown that, in many places, the modern trans¬ 
lators had unduly depreciated the Vulgate, and unnecessarily depart¬ 
ed from it. Bois was followed by Father Simon, in his Histoire 
Critique du texte et des versions du Nouveau Testament , who has 
proved that the more antient the Greek manuscripts and other ver¬ 
sions are, the more closely do they agree with the Vulgate : and in 
consequence of the arguments adduced by Simon, the Vulgate has 
been more justly appreciated by biblical critics of later times. 

Although the Latin Vulgate is neither inspired nor infallible, as 
Morinus, Saurez, and other advocates of the Romish church have 
attempted to maintain, yet it is allowed to be in general a faithful 
translation, and sometimes exhibits the sense of Scripture with great¬ 
er accuracy than the more modern versions : for all those which have 
been made in modern times, by divines in communion with the 
vol. ii. 26 




202 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Cli. 

church of Rome, are derived from the Latin Vulgate, which, in con¬ 
sequence of the decree of the council of Trent above noticed, has 
been substituted for the original Hebrew and Greek texts. The La¬ 
tin Vulgate therefore is by no means to be neglected by the biblical 
critic : and since the Ante-Hieronymian Latin translations are un¬ 
questionably of great antiquity, both lead us to a discovery of the 
readings in very antient Greek manuscripts, which existed prior to the 
date of any now extant. Even in its present state, notwithstanding, 
the variations between the Sixtine and Clementine editions, and that 
several passages are mistranslated, in order to support the peculiar 
dogmas of the church of Rome, the Latin Vulgate preserves many 
true readings, where the modern Hebrew copies are corrupted. 1 

The old Latin version of the Four Gospels was published at Rome, 
by Blanchini, in two volumes folio, under the title of Evangeliarium 
quadruplex Latince Versionis antique sen veteris Italicce: and the 
remains of the different antient versions were collected and published 
by Sabatier at Rheims, in three volumes folio, 1749. The printed 
editions of the Vulgate are so numerous, that any account of them 
would occupy too large a portion of the present work : 2 the Paris 
edition of Didot in 1785, in two volumes quarto, may however be no¬ 
ticed for its singular beauty and accuracy , 3 as well as the edition of 
the New Testament, printed under the superintendence of Leander 
Van Ess, entitled Testamentum JVovurn Vulgatce editionis, juxta ex¬ 
emplar ex typographic, Apostol. Vaticana, Romeo 1592, edidit L 
Van Ess. Tubingae. 1822. 8 vo. 


SECTION II. 

ON THE ANTIENT VERSIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

I. Oriental Versions. — 1. Peschito or Antient Syriac Version. 
— 2 . The Philoxenian Syriac Version. — 3. The Syriac Trans¬ 
lation of Jerusalem .— 4. Egyptian Versions. —5. Arabic Ver¬ 
sions. — 6 . Ethiopic Version. — 7. Armenian Version. — 8. 
Persian Version. —II. Western Translations. — 1 . The 
Gothic Version. — 2 . The Sclavonic Version. — 3. The Anglo- 
Saxon Version. 

THE antient versions of the New Testament may be divided into 
three classes—the Oriental, the Latin, and the Western: and as 

1 Cappel has given numerous examples in his Critica Sacra, lib. ii. cc. vii.—ix. 
lorn. ii. pp. 858—898. (edit. Scharfenberg.) 

2 A particular description of all the editions is given by Masch. part ii. vol. iii- 
pp. 1—352; and of the principal editions by Brunet, in his Manuel du Libraire, 
tom. i. art. Biblia. 

3 The preceding account of the Latin versions has been compiled from Miehae- 
lis, vol. ii. pp. 107—129. Semler, Apparatus ad Liberalem Vet. Test. Interpreta- 
tionem, pp. 308—314. Carpzov, Critica Sacra, pp. 671—706. Leusden, Philolo- 
gus Hebraeomixtus, pp. 1-—10. Bishop Walton, Prol. c. xi. pp. 470—507 ; and 
Viser, Hermeneutiea Sacra Novi Testamenti, vol. ii. part iii. pp. 73—96. See also 
Cellejier, Introduction au Nouv. Test. pp. 195—20S. 





203 


V. Sect. II.] The Syriac Versions . 

the Latin versions have been noticed in the preceding paragraphs, we 
shall at present confine our attention to the Oriental and Western 
translations. 

1. The principal oriental versions are the Syriac, Egyptian, 
Arabic, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Persian. 

1 . The Old Syriac Version is usually called the Peschito , that 
is, right , or exact. This translation comprises only the Four Gos¬ 
pels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles of Saint Paul (including 
the Epistle to the Hebrews), the first Epistle of Saint John, Saint 
Peter’s first Epistle, and the Epistle of Saint James. The celebrat¬ 
ed passage in 1 John v. 7., and the history of the woman taken in 
adultery (John viii. 2—11.), are both wanting. All the Christian 
sects in Syria and the East make use of this version exclusively, 
which they hold in the highest estimation. Michaelis pronounces it 
to be die very best translation of the Greek Testament which he ever 
read, for the general ease, elegance, and fidelity with which it has 
been executed. It retains, however, many Greek words, which 
might have been easily and correctly expressed in Syriac : in Matt, 
xxvii. alone there are not fewer than eleven words. In like manner 
some Latin words have been retained which the authors of the New 
Testament had borrowed from the Roman manners and customs. 
This version also presents some mistakes, which can only be explain¬ 
ed by the words of the Greek text, from which it was immediately 
made. For instance, in rendering into Syriac these words of Acts 
xviii. 7., ONOMATI IOT2TOT 2EBOMENOY, the interpreter has 
translated Titus instead of Justus , because he had divided the Greek 
in die following manner ONOMA TII0Y2T0T, &c. This version is 
confessedly of the highest antiquity, and there is every reason to be¬ 
lieve that it was made, if not in the first century, at least in the be¬ 
ginning of the second century. 1 It certainly must have been exe¬ 
cuted previously to the third century, because the text which it fol¬ 
lows, according to professor Hug, does not harmonise with the re¬ 
cension adopted by the churches of Palestine and Syria, subsequently 
to die third century. 2 It is independent, it belongs to no family, and 
sometimes presents the antient and peculiar readings of the Vetus 
Itala or old Italic version, or those occurring in the Codex Canta- 
brigiensis. This version was first made known in Europe by Moses 
of Mardin, who had been sent by Ignatius, patriarch of die Maronite 
Christians, in 1552, to Pope Julius III., to acknowledge the papal 
supremacy in the name of the Syrian church, and was at the same 
time commissioned to procure the Syriac New Testament. This 
was accomplished at Vienna in 1555, under the editorial care of 
Moses and Albert Widmanstad, with the assistance of William Pos- 


1 Such is the opinion of Michaelis, in unison with those of the most eminent 
philologists. Introd. to New Test. vol. ii. part i. pp. 29—38. Bishop Marsh, how¬ 
ever, in his notes, has controverted the arguments of Michaelis, (ibid, part ii. pp. 
551—554.), which have been rendered highly probable by the Rev. Dr. Laurence, 
(Dissertation upon the Logos, pp. 67—75.) who has examined and refuted the Bi¬ 
shop of Peterborough’s objections. 

2 Cellerier, Introduction au Nouv. Test. p. 175. 



204 


On Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch. 

tell, and at the expense of 5 e emperor Ferdinand I. This editio 
prmceps is in quarto. The Syriac New Testament has since been 
printed several times : x but the best edition is that of Leusden and 
Schaaf (with an excellent Syriac Lexicon) in two volumes 4to., 
Leyden, 1708, 1709, which was reprinted in 1717. A beautiful 
and correct edition of the antient Syriac version of the New Testa¬ 
ment was executed at the press of Mr. Watts (London, 1816, 4to.) 
for the use of the Syrian Christians in India, by whom it has been 
received with the utmost gratitude. This edition was corrected for 
die press, as far as the Acts of the Apostles, by the late Rev. Dr. 
Buchanan; and was completed by the Rev. Samuel Lee, A. M. 
Professor of Arabic in the University of Cambridge, one of the most 
accomplished Oriental scholars in this country. The expense of the 
edition was defrayed by the British and Foreign Bible Society. 

There is also extant a Syriac version of the second Epistle of 
Saint Peter, the second and third Epistles of John, the Epistle of 
Jude, and the Apocalypse, which are wanting in the Peschito: these 
are by some writers ascribed to Mar Abba, primate of the East, be¬ 
tween the years 53-5 and 552. The translation of these books is 
made from the original Greek; but the author, whoever he was, pos¬ 
sessed but an indifferent knowledge of the two languages. 

The Philoxenian or Syro-Philoxenian Version , derives its name 
from Philoxenus, or Xenayas, Bishop of Hierapolis or Mabug in 
Syria, a. t>, 488—518, who employed his rural bishop ( Chorepisco - 
pus) Polycarp to translate the Greek New Testament into Syriac. 
This version was finished in the year 50S, and was afterwards re¬ 
vised by Thomas of Harkel or Heraclea, a. d. 616. Michaelis is 
of opinion, that there was a third edition, and a fourth is attributed 
to Dionysius Barsalibaeus, who was bishop of Amida from 1166 to 
1177. It appears, however, that there were only two editions — 
the original one by Polycarp, and that revised by Thomas of Har¬ 
kel ; the single copy of the Four Gospels, with the alterations of 
Barsalibaeus, in the twelfth century, being hardly entitled to the 
name of a new edition. This version was not known in Europe 
until the middle of the eighteenth century; when the Rev. Dr. 
Gloucester Ridley published a Dissertation on the Syriac versions 
of the New Testament, 1 2 three manuscripts of which he had received 
thirty years before from Amida in Mesopotamia. Though age and 
growing infirmities, the great expense of printing, and the want of a 

1 Michaelis, vol. ii. part i. pp. 4—18. has given an account of the principal edi¬ 
tions of the Syriac New Testament to which his translator has furnished some 
valuable additions, (part ii. pp. 536—546.) See also Masch, part ii. vol. i. pp. 71 
— 102 . ™ 

2 De Syriacarum Novi Foederis Versionum Indole atque Usu Dissertatio ; Philo- 
xenianam cum simplici e duobus pervetustis Codicibus, ab Amida transmissis, 
conferente Glocestrio Ridley, LL. B. 1761, 4to. This very scarce tract is reprint¬ 
ed at the end of Semler’s edition of Wetstein’s Libelli ad Crisin atque Interpreta- 
tionem Novi Testamenti, (8vo. Halse, 1766), pp. 247—339. from a copy then in the 
library of the celebrated Michaelis ; to whose elaborate account of the Syriac ver¬ 
sions, editions, and critical tracts concerning them, we are indebted for the present 
notice of the Syriac translations. See his Introduction to the New Testament, 
vol. ii. part i. pp. 1—75.; and Bishop Marsh’s Notes, ibid, part ii. pp. 533—585. 




205 


V. Sect. II.] The Egyptian Versions . 

patron, prevented Dr. Ridley from availing himself of these manu¬ 
scripts ; yet having, under circumstances of peculiar difficulty, suc¬ 
ceeded in acquiring a knowledge of the Syriac language, he employ¬ 
ed himself at intervals in making a transcript of the Four Gospels. 
These, being put into the hands of the late Professor White, were 
published by him with a literal Latin translation, in 1778, in two vo¬ 
lumes 4to., at the expense of the delegates of the Clarendon press at 
Oxford. In 1799 Professor White published from the same press 
the Acts of the Apostles and the Catholic Epistles, and in 1804, the 
Epistles of Saint Paul, also in 4to., and accompanied with a Latin 
translation. 

The Philoxenian version, though made immediately from the 
Greek, is greatly inferior to the Peschito, both in the accuracy with 
which it is executed, and also in its style. It is, however, not devoid 
of value, “ and is of real importance to a critic, whose object is to 
select a variety of readings, with the view of restoring the genuine 
text of the Greek original: for he may be fully assured that every 
phrase and expression is a precise copy of the Greek text as it stood 
in the manuscript from which the version was made. But, as it is 
not prior to the sixth century, and the Peschito was written either at 
the end of the first, or at the beginning of the second century, it is 
of less importance to know the readings of the Greek manuscript that 
was used in the former, than those of the original employed in the 
latter.” 1 

3. The Palestino-Syriac , or Syriac Translation of Jerusalem , 
was discovered in the Vatican Library at Rome by M. Adler, in a 
manuscript of the eleventh century. It is not an entire translation 
of the New Testament, but only a Lectionarium , or collection of de¬ 
tached portions, appointed to be read in the services of the church 
on Sundays and festival days. It is written in the Syriac or Chaldee 
dialect of Jerusalem, and was evidently made in a Roman province : 
for in Matt xxvii. 27. the word, <frg ariwTou soldiers , is rendered by 

as if the translator had never heard of any soldiers but Ro¬ 
mans ; and in the same verse < liretga , band or cohort is rendered by 
the Latin word castra, xntsDp' These and other indications afford 

reason to think that the manuscript contains a translation made from 
the Greek, in Palestine; it was written at Antioch, and from all these 
circumstances this version has been denominated the Jerusalem-Syri-. 
afr Version. This manuscript has not yet been collated throughout, so 
that it is very uncertain to what recension it belongs. But, from what 
is known concerning it, there is reason to think that it combines the 
readings of different families. 2 

4 . Egyptian Versions. — There are two translations of the New 
Testament extant in the Egyptian language — one in the Coptic or 


1 Michaelis, vol. ii. part i. p. G8. See also Dr. G-. H. Bernstein’s Dissertation 
on Thomas of Harkel’s revision of the Syro-Philoxenian Version, entitled De Ver? 
sione Novi Testamenti Syriaca Heracleensi Commentatio. Lipsire, 1822, 4to. 

2 Celterier, Introduction au Nouv. Test. pp. 180,181. 




206 On the Jintient Versions. [Part I. Ch. 

antient dialect of Lower Egypt, the other in the Sahidic or dialect 
of Upper Egypt. 

The Coptic version was published at Oxford in 1716, in 4to., by 
Daniel Wilkins, a learned Prussian, who has endeavoured to prove 
that it must have been executed prior to the third century ; but his 
opinion has been controverted by many learned men, and particularly 
by Louis Picques, who refers it to the fifth century. The celebrated 
passage (1 John v. 7.) is wanting in this version, as well as in the 
Syriac Peschito, and Philoxenian translations. A fragment of a 
Greek-Coptic version of the New Testament, comprising part of 
Saint John’s Gospel, was published by Father Georgi, at Rome, in 
1789, entitled Frcigmentum Evangelii Sancti Johannis Grceco- Cop- 
tico-Thehaicum, 4to. and another, comprising parts of the Old and 
New Testaments, was edited at Copenhagen, by M. Engelbreth, in 
4 to. 1 2 From the observations of Dr. Woide, it appears, that the 
Coptic inclines more to the Alexandrian than the Sahidic, — that no 
remarkable coincidence is to be found between the Coptic or Sahidic 
and the Vulgate, — and that we have no reason to Suspect that the 
former has been altered or made to conform to the latter. 

Concerning the age of the Sahidic version, critics are not yet 
agreed. Dr. Woide, however, has shown that it was most proba¬ 
bly executed in the second century ; and, consequently, it is of the 
utmost importance to the criticism of the Greek Testament. In a 
dissertation on this version, written in the German language, and 
abridged by Bishop Marsh, 3 Dr. W. observes, that there are now in 
existence two Sahidic manuscripts, —■one formerly in the possession 
of the late Dr. Askew, the other brought from Egypt by the cele¬ 
brated traveller, Mr. Bruce. The former contains a work, entitled 
Sophia, and written by Valentinus, in the second century. This 
manuscript contains various passages both from the Old and New 
Testament, which coincide with the fragments of the Sahidic version 
now extant; whence it is concluded that a Sahidic version of 
the whole Bible not only existed so early as the beginning of the 
second century, but that it was the same as that of which we have 
various fragments, and which, if put together, would form perhaps a 
complete Sahidic version of the Bible. The other manuscript to 
which Dr. Woide appeals, contains two books, the one entitled B»/3Xos 
< n)g yvw (fsog, the Other, Bi (3\os Xoyou xcwa [ivtfrrigt ov. 

Now that this was written by a Gnostic, as well as the other ma¬ 
nuscript, appears both from the title and the contents, and therefore 
it is concluded that the author lived in the second century. And as 
various passages are quoted in it both from the Old and New Testa¬ 
ment, Dr. Woide deduces the same inference as from the foregoing. 

Besides the versions in the Coptic and Sahidic dialects, Father 
Georgi discovered, in a manuscript belonging to Cardinal Borgia, a 


1 There is an interesting account of this work in the Analytical Review, vol 
xvi. pp. 418—421. 

2 The title of this publication is given supra, p. 192. note. 

a Marsh’s Michaelis, vol. ii. part ii. pp. 595, 596. 



The Arabic Versions. 


207 


V. Sect. II.] 


fragment of a version written in a still different Egyptian dialect, 
which he calls Dialectus Ammoniaca. It contains only 1 Cor. vii. 
3G.—ix. 16. and xiv. 33.—xv. 33. Dr. Frederic Miinter has printed 
the Sahidic and Ammoniac texts of 1 Cor. ix. 10—16. in his Com- 
mentaiio de Indole Versionis JVovi Testamenti Sahidiccc ( 4 to. Hafnise, 
1789), in parallel columns, in order to present the reader with a dis¬ 
tinct view of the similarity or difference between the two versions. 
On account, however, of the chief difference consisting in the ortho¬ 
graphy of single words, he is not disposed to assign to the Ammoniac 
the name of a separate dialect, in the treatise just noticed, Dr. 
Miinter, has given an account of the Sahidic version; of which some 
fragments of the Gospels of Matthew and John have likewise been 
published by Mingarelli in a work entitled JEgyptiorum Codicum 
Reliquice , Venetiis in Bibliotheca JVaniana asservatcc (Bononiae, 
1785, 4to.) But the completest collection of fragments of this ver¬ 
sion is that prepared for the press by the late Dr. Woide, who did 
not live to publish them. The work was completed and edited by 
the Rev. Dr. Ford, from the Clarendon Press, at Oxford, in folio, 
1799, as an appendix to Dr. W.’s fac-simile of the Codex Alexan- 
drinus . 1 

From the difference of their readings, and from the circumstance 
that additions in the one are omitted in the other, Bishop Marsh infers 
that the Coptic and Sahidic are independent versions, both made from 
the original Greek. Both, therefore, may be quoted as separate 
evidence for a reading in the Greek Testament. 2 

5. Arabic versions. —There are many Arabic translations of the 
New Testament besides those which have appeared in print: for, 
since the Arabic language supplanted the Syriac and Egyptian, the 
inhabitants of the countries where these had been spoken, have been 
obliged to annex Arabic translations to the antient versions, which are 
no longer understood. These Arabic translations are supposed to 
have been made at different times between the seventh and the 
eleventh centuries : in general they were not all executed from the 
original text, but from the versions which they were intended to ac¬ 
company. Thus some which are placed together with the Greek 
text, have been made from the Greek, while others have been made 
from the Syriac, the Coptic, and even from the Latin Vulgate. 
The chief Arabic translations which have been printed, are the 
following. 

i. The four Gospels, printed at Rome, 1590-91, folio : there are 
some copies with a new title-page, and dated 1619. An interlinearv 
Latin translation (taken from the Vulgate, but slightly altered to 
make it correspond to the Arabic) was published at the same time. 
This Arabic version appears to have been made from the Greek 
text: this edition of the Four Gospels was reprinted with some cor¬ 
rections in the Paris Polyglott, and again with very numerous cor¬ 
rections from manuscripts by Bishop Walton in the London Poly¬ 
glott. __ 

1 See the title of this publication at length, supra , p. 71. note 4 

2 Michaelis, vol. ii. pp. 7C—«r81. 586—597. 




208 


On the Antient Vernons. 


[Part I. Ch. 

ii. Erpenius published an Arabic translation at Leyden, in 161G, 
in 4to. from a manuscript said to be written a. d. 1342, in the mo¬ 
nastery of St. John, in the desert of Thebais : he has copied his ma¬ 
nuscript with singular accuracy, even where there appeared to be 
grammatical errors. This is the most elegant, faithful, and genuine 
edition of the Arabic version, but is unfortunately very difficult to 
be procured : it corresponds exactly with the Roman edition. 

iii. The Arabic and Latin Bible, printed at Rome by the Congre¬ 
gation De Propaganda Fide in 1761, in three volumes folio, under 
the care of Sergius Risius, bishop of Damascus, is altered from the 
Vulgate, and consequently is of no use, either in the criticism or in¬ 
terpretation of the Scriptures. 

iv. The same remark is applicable to the Arabic New Testament 
published at London by the Society for promoting Christian 
Knowledge, a. d. 1727, in 4to. for the use of the Christians in Asia. 
Its basis is the text of the Paris and London Polyglotts : but the edi¬ 
tor, Solomon Negri, has altered it in those passages which vary from 
the reading of our present Greek text. 1 

6 . Of the author of the Ethiopic version we have no historical ac¬ 
count : he is supposed to have been Frumentius, who about the year 
330 first preached Christianity in Ethiopia. This version is in the 
Gheez, or dialect appropriated to religion in Abyssinia, and was first 
published at Rome a. d. 1548-49 : it is divided into four separate 
parts : 1. The Gospels, the translation of which is much superior to 
that of the Epistles, where the translator appears to have been une¬ 
qual to the task. 2. The Acts of the Apostles. 3. The fourteen 
Epistles of St. Paul. 4. The seven Catholic Epistles. The Apoca¬ 
lypse is added as an appendix. The MS. of the Acts being very 
imperfect, its chasms were supplied from the Vulgate. The Roman 
edition was reprinted in the London Polyglott: and a Latin transla¬ 
tion of the Ethiopic version was published by Professor Bode at 
Brunswick, in 1752—1755, in 2 vols. 4to. There is also a trans¬ 
lation of the New Testament in the Amharic , or common dialect of 
Ethiopia. 2 

7. The Armenian version of the New Testament is unanimously 
ascribed to Miesrob, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet, and to 
the patriarch Isaac, at the end of the fourth or early in the fifth cen¬ 
tury. It was twice translated from the Syriac, and then from the 
Greek ; and that the copies now extant were made from the lattei 
language, is evident from their containing those books of the New 
Testament which were never admitted into the Peschito or antient 
literal Syriac version. This version, in the opinion of Sender, is of 
great importance, as faithfully representing the Greek MSS. whence 
it was made : but Michaelis observes, that it would be an inestimable 
treasure, had it descended to us unaltered by time and superstition. 
It has in several instances been made conformable to the Vulgate by 
Iiaitho or Hethom, sovereign of the Lesser Armenia from a. d. 1224 
to 1270, who was attached to the church of Rome, and skilled in the 


1 Michaelis, vol. ii. pp. 81—95, 597—CIO. Mill’s Prolegomena, § 1295, 1296. 

2 Michaelis, PP . 95—98, 610—614. 




209 


V. Sect. II.] The Persian and Gothic Versions. 

Latin language. 1 2 The first edition of the Armenian New Testament 
appeared at Amsterdam (in the entire Armenian Bible), in 1666. 
Two detaehed editions were printed at the same place in 1668 and 
1698; and another at Venice in 1789, edited by Dr. Zohrab, a 
learned Armenian divine, who had collated a few manuscripts for it, 
and who accompanied it with some short notes. In this impression 
which was reprinted verbatim in 1816, the editor marked 1 John v. 
7. with an asterisk. In 1806 the same learned editor published at 
Venice, at the expense of the college of the monks of St. Lazarus, 
his critical edition of the entire Armenian Bible, for which he made 
use of sixty-nine manuscripts, viz. eight of the entire Bible, fifteen of 
the Psalms, thirty-two of the Gospels, and fourteen of the Epistles 
and Acts of the Apostles. He took, for the basis of this edition, that 
manuscript of the whole Bible, which appeared to be the most antient 
and accurate : such errors as were discovered he corrected by means 
of other copies; and in the margin he inserted the various readings, 
together with the number of manuscripts by which they were sup¬ 
ported, and a few critical explanations when necessary. In this edi- 
tion Dr. Zohrab has expunged 1 John v. 7., it being unsupported by 
any of the manuscripts which he had collated. 8 

8. There are extant two Persian versions of the four Gospels, the 
most antient and valuable of which was first printed in the London 
Polyglott by Bishop Walton, from a manuscript in the possession of 
Dr. Pococke, dated a. d, 1314: it was made from the Syriac, having 
sometimes retained Syriac words, and subjoined a Persian translation. 
The other Persian translation was edited by Wheloc, and after his 
decease by Pierson, at London, in 1652-57, after a collation of three 
manuscripts. It is supposed to have been made from the Greek. 3 * * 

II. The principal antient western translations of the New 
Testament, which claim our notice, are the Gothic, the Sclavonic, 
;and the Anglo-Saxon versions. 

1. The Gothic version of the New Testament was made from the 
original Greek by Ulphilas, a celebrated bishop of the Maeso-Goths, 
who assisted at the council of Constantinople in 359, and was sent on 
an embassy to the emperor Valens about the year 378. He is said 
to have embraced Arianism, and to have propagated Arian tenets 
among his countrymen. Besides translating the entire Bible into the 
Gothic language, Ulphilas is said to have conferred on the Masso- 
Goths the invention of the Gothic characters. The character, how¬ 
ever, in which this version of the New Testament is written, is in fact 
the Latin character of that age ; and the degree of perfection, which 
the Gothic language had obtained during the time of Ulphilas, is a 
proof that it bad then been written for some time. 

The translation of Ulphilas (who had been educated among the 
Greeks) was executed from the Greek; but, from its coincidence in 

'1 Semler, Apparatus ad Liberalem Novi Testamenti Interpretationem, p. 69 
Michaelis, vol. ii. pp. 98—105, 614—617. 

2 Cellerier, Introduction au Nouv. Test. pp. 185, 186. 

3 Michaelis, vol. ii. pp. 105,106. 617—619. Semler, p. 69. Walton, Proi. c. m 

§9. pp. 695, 69G. 

VOL. II. 


27 





210 


On the Antient Versions . 


[Part I. Ch. 

many instances with the Latin, there is reason to suspect that it has 
been interpolated, though at a remote period, from the Vulgate. Its 
unquestionable antiquity, however, and its general fidelity, have con¬ 
curred to give this version a high place in the estimation of biblical 
critics : but, unfortunately, it has not come down to us entire. The 
only parts extant in print are a considerable portion of the Four Gos¬ 
pels, and some fragments of Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. 

The Four Gospels are contained in the celebrated Codex Argen- 
teus , which has been described in a former page. 1 2 

Of this precious relic of antiquity, which is at present deposited 
in the university library at Upsal, four editions have been printed, 
viz. I. At Dordrecht or Dort, 1665, in two vols. 4to. in Gotliie 
characters, with the Anglo-Saxon version; this is very correct, and 
was published by Francis Junius:—2. At Stockholm, 1671, 4to. 
edited by George Steirnhelm, in Latin characters, and accompanied 
with the Icelandic, Swedish, and Vulgate translations: — 3. The 
edition prepared by the learned Eric Benzel, archbishop of Upsal 
(who made a new copy from the original manuscript), and published 
after his decease by Mr. Lye, at Oxford, in 1760, in small folio, is 
executed in Gothic letters; the errors of the preceding editions are 
corrected, and many of the various lections, with which the Gothic 
version furnishes the Greek Testament, are remarked in the notes. 
But the last and best edition is, 4. That published at Weissenfels, in 
1805, by M. Zahn, in one volume, quarto : it unites every thing that 
can be desired, either for the purposes of criticism or interpretation. 
The text is given from a very beautiful and exact copy, which the 
celebrated scholar Ihre had procured to be made under his own in¬ 
spection, and with the design of printing it-. The editor has placed 
Jhre’s Latin translation by the side of the text; and has also added 
an interlineary Latin version, critical notes placed at the foot of 
each page, and an historical introduction, together with a complete 
glossary. The fragments of the Gothic version of St. Paul’s Epistle 
to the Romans, edited by Knittel from a Codex Rescriptus,* are re¬ 
printed with a Latin translation in the appendix to the second vo¬ 
lume of Mr. Lye’s Saxon and Gothico-Latin dictionary. And in 
1807, the Rev. Samuel Henshall published in 8vo. the Gothic Gospel 
of Saint Matthew, from the Codex Argenteus of the fourth century, 
with the corresponding English or Saxon, from the Durham Book 
of the eighth century, in Roman characters ; a literal English version 
of each, and notes, illustrations, and etymological disquisitions. 

2. The Sclavonic or Old Russian translation was executed from 
the original Greek in the ninth century by the two brothers, Cyril 
(who invented the Sclavonic characters) and Methodius, the trans¬ 
lators of the Old Testament. It was first printed in the edition of the 
entire Sclavonic Bible at Prague in 1570, and at Ostrog in 1581, and 
has since been several times reprinted at Moscow, Kiow, and else¬ 
where. In all the editions prior to the year 1653, the memorable 
verse, 1 John v. 7. is omitted. In the editions of 1653 and 1663 it 


1 See an account of the Codex Argenteus, and also of the other portions of the 
Gothic version discovered by signor Mat and others in pp. 91—94. supra. 

2 See a notice of it in p. 93 supra. 




211 


V. Sect. II.] The Sclavonic and Anglo-Saxon Versions. 

is inserted in the margin, but it is incorporated in the text in all sub¬ 
sequent impressions. This version is pronounced by M. Dobrowsky, 
who is profoundly skilled in Sclavonic literature, to be a very literal 
translation from the Greek, the Greek construction being very fre¬ 
quently retained, even where it is contrary to the genius of the Scla- 
vonian language ; and in general it resembles the most antient manu¬ 
scripts, with which it agrees, even where their united evidence is 
against the common printed reading. The Sclavonian version, he 
adds, has not been altered from the Vulgate, as some have supposed, 
though the fact is in itself almost incredible ; and it possesses few or 
no lectiones singulares, or readings peculiar to itself. From an edi¬ 
tion of this version, printed at Moscow in 1614, M. Alter selected the 
readings on the Four Gospels, and from a manuscript in the imperial 
library, the readings on the Acts and Epistles, which are printed in 
his edition of the Greek New Testament (Vienna, 1787, 2 vols. 8vo.) 
M. Dobrowsky states that these various lections are given with great 
accuracy, but that those which Matthai has selected from the Revela¬ 
tion are erroneous and useless. Griesbach has given a catalogue of 
the Sclavonic manuscripts collated for his edition of the New Testa¬ 
ment, communicated to him by Dobrowsky, at the end of which is a 
brief classed account of the editions of the Sclavonic New Testa¬ 
ment. 1 

3. Anglo-Saxon versions. — Although Christianity was planted in 
Britain in the first century, it does not appear that the Britons had 
any translation of the Scriptures in their language earlier than the 
eighth century. About the year 706 Adhelm, the first bishop of 
Sherborn, translated the Psalter into Saxon : and at his earnest per¬ 
suasion, Egbert or Eadfrid, bishop of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, 
soon after executed a Saxon version of the Four Gospels. 2 Not many 
years after this, the learned and venerable Bede (who died a. d. 
735) translated the entire Bible into that language. There were 
other Saxon versions, either of the whole or of detached portions of 
the Scriptures, of a later date. A translation of the book of Psalms 
was undertaken by the illustrious King Alfred, who died a. d. 900, 
when it was about half finished : and Elfric, who was archbishop of 
Canterbury in 995, translated the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judith, part of 
the book of Kings, Esther, and Maccabees, The entire Anglo-Saxon 
version of the Bible has never been printed: King Alfred’s transla¬ 
tion of the Psalms, with the interlineary Latin text, was edited by 
John Spelman, 4to. London, 1640^ and there is another Saxon in¬ 
terlineary translation of the Psalter, deposited in the Archiepiscopal 
Library at Lambeth. Of the Four Gospels, there have been three 
editions printed: 1. By Matthew Parker, 4to. London, 1571; 2. 


1 Michaelis, vol. ii. pp. 153—158, 63G, 637. Griesbach, Prolegomena, vol. i. pp. 
cxxvii.—cxxxii. Beck, Monogrammata Hermeneutices Novi Testamenti, pp. 108, 
109. 

2 The manuscript of this translation is now deposited in the Cottonian Library 
in the British Museum, (Nero, d. iv.): Mr. Astle has given a specimen of it in 
plate xiv. of his “ Origin and Progress of Writing,” and has described it in pp 
100 , 101 . 



2\2 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Ch. 

By William Lisle, 4to. London, 1638; 3. By Thomas Marshall, 4to. 
Dordrecht, 1665, with the Maeso-Gothic version, and reprinted at 
Amsterdam in 1684. The Anglo-Saxon version being evidently 
translated from the Old Latin, Michaelis is of opinion that it may be 
of use in determining the readings of that version ; and Semler has 
remarked that it contains many readings which vary both from the 
Greek and Latin texts, of which he has given some examples. Dr. 
Mill selected various lections from this version; which, from the dif¬ 
ference of style and inequalities observable in its execution, he ascribes 
to several authors: it is supposed to have been executed in the 
eighth century. 1 


SECTION III. 

ON THE USE AND APPLICATION OF ANTIENT VERSIONS. 

Observations on the respective merits of the several Antient Versions: 

— Rules for consulting them to the best advantage . 

ALTHOUGH some hints have been incidentally offered, in the 
preceding sections, relative to the use of particular translations of the 
Bible ; yet, as the antient versions are equally useful in sacred criti¬ 
cism in order to ascertain the genuine reading of passages, as well as 
in assisting us to determine the true meaning of the Scriptures, it 
may not be improper to subjoin a few general observations on the 
most beneficial mode of applying them to these important objects. 

As no version can be absolutely free from error, we ought not to 
rely implicitly on any one translation : but, if it be practicable, the 
aid of the cognate dialects should be united with reference to a ver¬ 
sion, in order that, by a comparison of both these helps, we may 
arrive at the knowledge of the genuine readings and meanings. From 
inattention to this obvious caution, many eminent men have at differ¬ 
ent times ascribed to particular versions a degree of authority to 
which they were by no means entitled. Thus, by many of the fa¬ 
thers, the Alexandrian interpreters were accounted to be divinely in¬ 
spired, and consequently free from the possibility of mistake : a simi¬ 
lar opinion was held by various eminent modern critics, particularly 
by Isaac Vossius, who asserted the Septuagint to be preferable to the 
Hebrew text, and to be absolutely free from error ! The church of 
Rome has fallen into a like mistake with respect to the Vulgate or 
Latin Version, which the council of Trent declared to be the only 
.authentic translation. 

Further, versions of versions , that is, those translations which were 
not made immediately from the Hebrew Old Testament, or from the 
Greek New Testament, are of no authority in determining either the 

1 Johnson’s Hist. Account of English Translations of the Bible, in Bishop Wat¬ 
son’s Collection of Theological Tracts, vol. iii. pp. 61—63. Bp. Marsh’s Michae- 
Tis, vol. ii. pp. 158. 637. Kortholt, pp. 351—353. Semler, Apparatus ad Lib. Novt 
Tost. Interp. pp. 72, 73. 




2V3 


V. Sect. III.] Their Use and Application. 

genuine text or meaning of the original, but only of that version from 
which they were taken. This remark applies particularly to the 
Anglo-Saxon, Old English, Spanish, French, and German transla¬ 
tions, whether of the Old or New Testament; which, being made 
before the sixteenth century, were executed immediately from the 
Latin : and subsequently, even in those examples where they are 
unanimous in a reading, their united voices are of no more authority 
than that of the Latin version alone. 1 In all cases, therefore, which 
require the aid of a version, either for the purpose of criticism or in¬ 
terpretation, recourse must be had to those translations, which, being 
more antient, or better executed, are preferable to every other. And 
in this view, the following will be found most deserving of attention - 
not only as uniting the two qualifications of antiquity and excellence, 
but also as being more generally accessible to students, being for the 
most part comprised in the Polyglott Bibles, which are to be found in 
almost every public library. 

I. The Alexandrian Version is confessedly the most antient, and 
with all its errors and imperfections, contains very much that is highly 
valuable, and on this account it has been used by nearly all the more 
antient interpreters. With the Septuagint should be consulted the 
fragments of the translations executed by Aquila, Theodotion, and 
Symmachus, as well as the fifth, sixth, and seventh versions ; the 
diligent use of all these is, perhaps, the best possible preparation ta 
the critical interpretation of the New Testament. 

II. The Syriac Peschito , whose fidelity as a version, independently 
of the excellence of its style, has received the highest commendations 
from Michaelis, is particularly serviceable for the interpretation oi 
the New Testament. 

III. The Latin Vulgate , with the exception of the Psalms, de¬ 
servedly claims the third place. 

IV. The Targums or Chaldee Paraphrases, though unequally ex¬ 
ecuted, contain many things that are exceedingly useful, and neces¬ 
sary to be known, especially the paraphrases of Jonathan Ben Uzziel : 
they not only contribute essentially to the understanding of many dif¬ 
ficult passages in the Old Testament, but also throw much light on 
the interpretation of the New Testament. Extracts from them are 
to be found in all the larger commentaries, and also in the works of 
Dr. Lightfoot. 

V. The other versions made immediately from the Hebrew and 
Greek originals follow next in order, particularly the Arabic trans¬ 
lations of the Old Testament: but no certain dependence can be 
placed, as an authority in support of a reading, on the Latin trans¬ 
lations of the Oriental versions, which are printed in the Polyglott 
Bibles. On the peculiar application of antient versions to the ascer¬ 
taining of various readings, see Chapter VIII. infra. 

It will not however be necessary to consult antient versions, ex¬ 
cept in passages that are really difficult, or unless a particular exa- 


1 Michaelis, vol. ii. p. 3. 




214 


On the Antient Versions. 


[Part I. Oil- 

mination of them be instituted for some special object of inquiry. 
In this case not one or two versions merely should be consulted, but 
every version that is accessible should be referred to : and all such 
places should be compared together as are parallel , that is, those 
passages in which the same word or the same form of speaking re¬ 
spectively occurs; and, where any thing worthy of preservation of¬ 
fers itself, it will materially facilitate future studies to note it either 
in an interleaved Bible, or, which perhaps is preferable, in an inter¬ 
leaved Lexicon. This practice will not only enable the biblical 
student to discover and correctly to appreciate the genius of a version, 
and the ability, or the reverse, with which it may be executed ; but 
it will also supply many important helps for the interpretation of 
Scripture. As, however, some of the antient versions have been al¬ 
tered or interpolated in many places, great care must be taken to dis¬ 
tinguish the modern amendments from the genuine text of the origi¬ 
nal antient translator. The various excellent concordances that are 
extant, will afford great assistance in finding out such parallel words 
-or phrases. 

In order to ascertain how far the antient versions represent cor¬ 
rectly the meaning of Hebrew or Greek words, the following rules 
will be found useful. 

1 . That meaning is to be taken and received as the true one, whick 
all the versions give to a word , and which is also confirmed by the kin¬ 
dred dialects: 

Because, the number of testimonies worthy of credit being as great as possible, 
there can be no room left for doubt. 

2 . All those significations , formerly given to Hebrew words , are to be 
considered as correctly given , which the Septuagint or other Greek 
translators express by the same or similar Greek tvords, although no 
trace of such meaning appear in any Oriented language . 

For, as no doubt ean be entertained of the diligence and scrupulous learning of 
those translators, who can presume to measure the vast copiousness of the Arabic, 
Syriac, and other Oriental languages, by the few books which in our time are ex¬ 
tant in those languages ? since no one is so ignorant as to suppose that all the 
riches of the Greek and Latin languages are comprised in the very numerous re¬ 
mains of classical literature with which our age happily abounds. With regard to 
the New Testament, “ in cases where the sense is not atfected by different read¬ 
ings, or the translator might have taken them for synonymous, the evidence of 
Greek manuscripts is to be preferred to that of an antient version. The same 
preference is due to the manuscripts wherein the translator has omitted words that 
appeared of little importance, or a passage in the Greek original is attended with 
a difficulty which the translator was unable to solve, and therefore either omitted 
tor altered according to the arbitrary dictates of his own judgment.” 1 

3 . Where the versions differ in fixing the sense of a word , the more 
antient ones, being executed with the greater care and skill , arc in the 
first place to be consultedand preferred to all others. 

For, the nearer a translator approaches to the time when the original language 
was vernacular, we may readily infer that he has expressed with so much the 
greater fidelity the true signification of words, both primary and proper, as well as 
those which are derivative and translated. There are, however, some cases in 
which antient versions are of more authority than the original itself. Most of the 
translations of the New Testament, noticed in the preceding pages, surpass in an¬ 
tiquity the oldest Greek manuscripts now extant: u and they lead to a discovery 
of th*> 'eadings in the very antient manuscript that was used by the translator 


1 Michaelis, vol. ii. p. 3. 





215- 



V. Sect. III.] Their Use and Application. 

By their means rather than from the aid of our Greek manuscripts, none of which 
is prior to the fourth or fifth century, we arrive at the certain knowledge, that 
the antient writings have been transmitted from the earliest to the present age 
without material .alteration ; and that our present text, if we except the passages? 
that are rendered doubtful by an opposition in the readings, is the .same which pro¬ 
ceeded from the hands of the apostles. Whenever the reading can be precisely 
determined, which the translator fpund in his Greek manuscript, the version is of 
equal authority with a manuscript of that period : but as it is sometimes difficult to 
acquire this absolute certainty, great caution is necessary in collecting readings? 
from the antient versions.” 1 

4. A meaning given to a word by only one version, provided this be a 
good one, is by no means to be rejected; especially if it agree with the 
author's design and the order of his discourse. 

For it is possible that the force and meaning of a word should bo unknown to 
all other translators, and no trace of it be discoverable in the kindred dialects, and 
yet that it should be preserved and transmitted to posterity by one ve rsion. This, 
remark applies chiefly to things which a translator has the best opportunity of un¬ 
derstanding from local and other circumstances. Thus, the Alexandrian inter¬ 
preters are the most ample testimony for every thing related in the Old' Testament 
concerning Egypt, while others, who were natives of Palestine, and perhaps deep¬ 
ly skilled in Jewish literature, arc the best guides we can follow in whatever be¬ 
longs to that country .2 

5. Lastly, “ Those versions ” of the New Testament , “ in which the 
Greek is rendered word for word, and the idioms of the original, though 
harsh and, often unmeaning in another language, are still retained in a 
translation, are of more value in point of criticism than those which ex¬ 
press the sense of the original in a manner more suitable to the language 
of the translator. 

The value of the latter, as far as regards their critical application, decreases in 
proportion as the translator attends to purity and elegance, and of course deviates 
from his original: but their worth is greater in all other respects, as they are not 
only read with more pleasure, but understood in general with greater ease. By 
means of the former we discover the words of the original, and even their arrange¬ 
ment : — but the latter are of no use in deciding on the authenticity of a reading, if 
the various readings of the passages in question make no alteration in the sense. 
No translation is more literal than the New Syriac, and none therefore leads to a 
more accurate discovery of the text in the antient manuscript from which the ver¬ 
sion was taken; but, setting this advantage aside, the Old Syriac is of much greater^ 
value than the New.3 


1 Michaelis, vol. ii. p. 2. I 

2 Jahn, Introduct. ad Vet. Foed. pp. 116—122. Pictet, Theologie Chretienne 

tom. i. pp. 151—152. Bauer, Herm. Sacr. pp. 147—162. 301—309. J. B. Carp 
zov, Prim. Lin. Herm. pp. 62—65. Ernesti, Inst. Interp. N. Test. p. 57. Morus i 
Ernesti, tom. i. pp. 130, 131. Gerard’s Institutes, pp. 107—111. Bishop Lowth 
Isaiah, vol. i. pp. lxxxvii — xc. 8vo. edit. Pfeiffer, Herm. Sac. c. 14. (Op. tom, il 
pp. 663—664.) I 

3 Michaelis, vol. ii. p. 3. j 







216 


*v . , 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures . [Part I. Ch 


CHAPTER VI. 

ON THE MODERN VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

SECTION 1. 

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CIRCULATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

L Scarcity and high prices of the Scriptures. — II. Rude attempts to 
convey an idea of their contents to the poor and illiterate. — Ac- 
count of the Biblia Pauperum. — III. Number and classification 
of the translations of the Bible into Modern Languages. 

i. The versions noticed in the preceding chapter are all that are 
of importance for the purposes of biblical criticism : but copies of 
them do not appear to have been very numerous in any country. 
In the early ages of Christianity, however anxious its professors 
must have been to become possessed of the sacred volume, — and 
however widely it was read in their assemblies for divine worship, 
— still the publication of a version was not what it now is, — the 
emission of thousands of copies into the world. It consisted, in a 
great measure, in translators permitting their manuscripts to be 
transcribed by others : and so long as the tedious process of copy¬ 
ing was the only one which could be resorted to, exemplars of the 
sacred writings must have been multiplied very slowly. Before the 
nventions of paper and printing, manuscripts were the only books 
n use, and bore such excessively high prices, especially those which 
vere voluminous, that few besides the most opulent could afford to 
purchase them : l even monasteries of some consideration had fre- 
qiently only a missal. So long as the Roman empire subsisted in 
f urope, the reading of the Scriptures in Latin universally prevailed : 
bit, in consequence of the irruptions of the barbarous nations, and 
tie erection of new monarchies upon the ruins of the Roman power, 
tte Latin language became so altered and corrupted, as no longer to 
bt intelligible by the multitude, and at length it fell into disuse, ex- 
cmt among the ecclesiastics. 

In the eighth and ninth centuries, when the Vulgate Latin version 
hai ceased to be generally understood, there is no reason to suspect 
anf intention in the church of Rome to deprive the laity of the 
Scriptures. “ Translations were freely made, although the acts of 
the Saints were generally deemed more instructive. Louis the 
Debonair is said to have caused a German version of the New Tes¬ 
tament to be made. Otfrid, in the same” (that is, the ninth) cen- 


1 Concerning the rarity and high prices of books, during the dark ages, the read¬ 
er will find several authentic anecdotes in the first volume of an 1 Introduction to 
the Study of Bibliography,’ (pp. 345—349.), by the author of this work. 




VI. Sect. I.] On the Circulation of the Scriptures. 


217 


tury, rendered the Gospels, or rather abridged them, into German 
Verse : this work is still extant, and is, in several respects, an object 
of curiosity. In the eleventh or twelfth century, we find translations 
of the Psalms, Job, Kings, and the Maccabees, into French. But, 
after the diffusion of heretical principles, it became expedient to se¬ 
cure the orthodox faith from lawless interpretation. Accordingly the 
council of Thoulouse, in 1239, prohibited the laity from possessing 
the Scriptures ; and this prohibition was frequently repeated upon 
subsequent occasions.” 1 

II. Although the invention of paper, in the close of the thirteenth 
or early in the fourteenth century, rendered the transcription of books 
less expensive, yet their cost necessarily placed them out of the reach 
of the middling and lower classes, who (it is well known) were im¬ 
mersed in the deepest ignorance. Means, however, were subsequent¬ 
ly devised, in order to convey a rude idea of the leading facts of 
Scripture, by means of the Block Books or Books of Images , as they 
are termed by Bibliographers, of which the following notice may be 
not unacceptable to the reader. 

The manufacturers of playing cards, which were first invented 2 and 
painted in the fourteenth century, had in the following century begun 
to engrave on wood the images of the saints, to which they afterwards 
added some verses or sentences analogous to the subject. As the art 
of engraving oil wood proceeded, its professors at length composed 
historical subjects, chiefly (if not intirely) taken from the Scriptures, 
with a text or explanation engraved on the same blocks. These form 
the Books of Images or Block Books just mentioned: they were print¬ 
ed from wooden blocks ; one side of the leaf only is impressed, and 
the corresponding text is placed below , beside , or proceeding out of 
the mouth of the figures introduced. 

Of all the Xylographic works, that is, such as are printed from 
wooden blocks, the Biblia Pauperum is perhaps the rarest, as well 
as the most antient; it is a manual, or kind of catechism of the Bible, 
for the use of young persons, and of the common people, whehce it 
derives its name, — Biblia Pauperum — the Bible of the Poor ; who 
were thus enabled to acquire, at a comparatively low price, an imper¬ 
fect knowledge of some of the events recorded in the Scriptures. 
Being much in use, the few copies of it which are at present to be 
found in the libraries of the curious, are for the most part either muti¬ 
lated or in bad condition. The extreme rarity of this book, and the 
circumstances under which it was produced, concur to impart a high 
degree of interest to it. 

The Biblia Pauperum consists of forty plates, with extracts and 
sentences analogous to the figures and images represented therein ; 
the whole are engraven on wood, on one side of the leaves of paper ; 

1 Hallam’s View of Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. ii. p. 536. 4to. edition. 

2 They appear to have been first invented in 1390 by Jacquemin Gringonneur, 
a painter at Paris, for the amusement of Charles VI. king of France, who had fall¬ 
en into a confirmed melancholy, bordering on insanity. Rees’s Cyclopeedia, vol 
vi. article Cards. 

2 $ 




218 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch. 

so that, when folded, they are placed opposite to each other. Thus, 
as the white sides of the leaves may be cemented together, the total 
number is reduced to twenty, because the first and last page remain 
blank. Copies however are sometimes found, the leaves of which 
not having been cemented on their blank side, are forty in number, 
like the plates. Each plate or page contains four busts, two at the 
top, and two at the bottom, together with three historical subjects : 
the two upper busts represent the prophets or other persons whose 
names are always written beneath them; the two lower busts are 
anonymous. The middle of the plates, wdiich are all marked by let¬ 
ters of the alphabet in the centre of the upper compartment 1 2 , is occu¬ 
pied by three historical pictures, one of which is taken from the New 
Testament; this is the type or principal Subject, and occupies the 
centre of the page between the two anti-types or other subjects, which 
allude to it. The inscriptions which occur at the top and bottom of 
the page, consist of texts of Scripture and Leonine verses. 

Thus in the fortieth plate, of which our engraving is a copy", the 
two busts of David and Isaiah are placed in the middle of the upper 
part of the page, between two passages of the Bible. Th q first of 
these, on the left of those prophets, is partly taken from the Song ol 
Solomon (chap. v. 7, 8.) and runs thus : Legitur in Caniico Canti - 
corum quarto capite , quod (or quo) sponsus aJloquitur sponsam, et cam 
sumendo dixit; “ Tot a pulchra et arnica men, et macula non est in te. 
Veni, arnica meet; veni , coronabereA Sponsus verus iste est Christus ; 
qui , in assumendo earn sponsam , qua, est anime sine macida omnis pec - 
cati, et introducit earn in requiem eternam , et coronat cum corona im- 
mortalitatis 3 

The second passage, which is on the right of David and Isaiah, is taken 
from the Book of Revelations, and runs thus : Legitur in Apocalypsi 
xxi?. capite , quod angelus Dei apprehendit Jhoannem Evangelistam , 
cum esset in spiritu , et volens sibi ostendere archani Dei dixit ad eum ; 
“ Veni , et ostendam tibi sponsam , uxorem agniA Angelus loquitur 
ad omnes in generali, ut veniant ad auscultandum in spiritu agnum 
innocentem Christum , animam innocentem coronantem. 3 

Beneath the bust of David which is indicated by his name, is a 
scroll proceeding from his hand inscribed Tanquam sponsus dominus 
procedens de thalamo suo. [See Psal. xix. 5. Vulgate Version.] 

Beneath Isaiah is ysaye vi , with a label proceeding from his hand 
inscribed Tanquam sponsus decoravit me corona. [See Isa. lxi. 10. 
Vulgate Version.] 

The letter . fo . between these two labels denotes the order of the 
plate or page, as the cuts in this work follow each other according to 
two sets of alphabets, each of which extends from 3 to only: 

1 These letters Mr. Dibdin thinks are the origin of the signatures which are used 
to denote the order of the sheets in printed books. Bib. Spenc. vol. i. p. xxvi. 

2 Made from the last plate or page of the exemplar, which was the late Mr. 
Willet’s. See the engravings facing the title-page. 

3 The above sentences are printed without the contractions, which are so nu • 
merous and so complex, as to be with difficulty understood by any who are not 
conversant in antient records and early printed books. 



VI. Sect. I.] Description of the Biblia Pauperum. 219 

■ - ’ ■ ' i 

when the first series is completed, a second is begun, the letters of 
which are distinguished by two points ♦ JJ ♦ , fo * , c ♦ &c. 

In the central compartment, between the busts above described, is 
the type or principal subject; it represents the rewards of the righteous 
in the eternal world, and the Redeemer is introduced as bestowing 
the crown of life on one of die elect spirits. The antitype on the left 
is the daughter of Sion, crowned by her spouse with’the following 
Leonine verse, 

Laus die vere : sposu bh sest here ; 
diat is, 

Laus anime vere sponsum bene sensit habere. 

The antitype on the right is an angel, speaking to St. John, with 
this verse beneath : 

Spos c 1 amat sposam X s nimis et speciosam ; 

that is, 

Sponsus amat sponsam Christus nimis et speciosam. 

From the left hand figure of die bust at die bottom of the plate, pro¬ 
ceeds this label: corona tua dculigata [circumligata] siet [sit] et cal - 

eiame [calciamenta] i peb^ [in pedibus], with a reference to Ezekiel, 
ch. xxiv. The twenty-third verse of that chapter [Vulgate Version] 
is most probably the passage intended. 

From the figure on the right (which seems to have been designed 
for the prophet Hosea, as the other figure may mean die prophet 
Ezekiel,) proceeds die label, Sponsabo te mihi in sempiternum , 
&c. with a reference to Hosea v. The passage alluded to will be found 
in Hos. ii. 19. which runs thus : — Sponsabo te mihi in sempiternum , 
et sponsabo te mihi in justitia , et in misericordia et in miserationibus. 
[Vulgate Version.] 

The last line in our fac-simile of the Biblia Pauperum may be thus 
read: ‘ ; / 

V 9 tuc gaudet aie sibi qu bonu datr ome. 

that is, 

Versus. Tunc gaudent animee sibi , quum bonum datur omne. 

Bibliographers are by no means agreed concerning the age 1 * * * * * 7 which 

1 Baron Heinecken, who has examined several copies of this work with minute 

attention, has discovered five different editions of the Biblia Pauperum; the fifth is 

easily known, as it has fifty plates. In executing the other four editions, the en¬ 

gravers, he observes, have worked with such exactness, that there is very little 
difference between any of them, so that it is impossible to determine which is the 
first. The attentive bibliographer however will discover several variations. These 
are pointed out by Heinecken, who has described the subjects of the different plates 
or leaves with much minuteness ; as his interesting work is in the hands of every 
bibliographer and amateur, it will be sufficient to refer to his Idee dune Collection 
d'Estampes, pp. 293—333 ; from which Santander has abridged his neat account. 

Diet, du xv. Siecle, vol. ii. pp. 207—210. Lambinet (Recherches sur rimprimerie, 

pp. (,]_72 ;) and Daunou (Analyse des Opinions sur l’Origine de rimprimerie, pp. 

7 _ 15 .) have short but interesting notices, relative to this and the other Books of 

Images which will repay the trouble of perusal to those who have not the dear 
volume*of Heinecken, or the elaborate work of Santander. 





220 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Cb. 

they assign to the curious volume above described. Mr. Dibdin 1 , it 
is apprehended, dates it too low, in fixing it to the year 1450 : and 
though the cuts are not designed in so heavy and Gothic a style as 
Baron Heinecken ascribes to them, yet the execution ol them on the 
wood-blocks is confessedly very coarse, as our specimen (which is an 
exact fac-simile) will abundantly prove. The form ol the letters also 
is too Gothic, and too void of proportion to bear so late a date : in¬ 
deed, if they be compared with the letters exhibited in some ol the 
fac-similes in the Bibliotheca Speencriana (which are supposed to 
have been executed between 1420 and 1430), the similarity ol 
coarseness in the shape of the letters, will render it probable that the 
Biblia Pauperum is nearly of equal antiquity. In fact, it is this very 
coarseness of the letters (as Heinecken has remarked) which has 
caused the edition above described to be preferred to every other ot 
the Biblia Pauperum. 2 

III. The discoveiy of the art of printing in the fifteenth century, 
and the establishment of the glorious Reformation throughout Europe, 
in the following century, facilitated the circulation of the Scriptures. 
Wherever its pure doctrines penetrated, the nations that embraced it, 
adopting its grand principle — that the Bible contains the Religion of 
Protestants, were naturally desirous of obtaining the sacred volume in 
their respective languages. And even in those countries, into which 
the Reformed Doctrines were but partially introduced, it was found 
necessary to yield so far to the spirit of the times,.as to admit, in a 
limited degree, vernacular translations among the people. 3 Since the 
Reformation, wherever learned and pious missionaries have carried 
the Christian Faith, the Scriptures have been translated into the lan¬ 
guages of its professors. 

The total number of dialects, spoken in any part of the world, is 
computed to be about five hundred; and of these somewhat more 
than one hundred appear to constitute languages generically distinct, 
or exhibiting more diversity than resemblance to each other. Into 
upwards of one hundred and fifty of these various dialects, the sacred 

1 Bibliotheca Spenceriana, vol. i. p. xxvi. 

2 The rarity of the Biblia Pauperum has caused the few copies of it, which are 
known to be extant, to be sold for the most exorbitant prices. These indeed have 
varied according to the condition and difference of the several editions. The copy 
which Heinecken describes as the first (and which is noticed above ; cost at the 
sale of M. de Boze, in 1753, 1000 livres, (431. 15s.) ; at the sale of M. Gaignat in 
1769. 830 livres, (361. 6 s.) ; at the sale of M. Paris in 1791, 511.; and at that of 
Mr. Willet, in 1813, two hundred and forty-five guineas ! The edition, described by 
Heinecken as the second, produced at M. Verdussen’s sale, in 1776, 250 florins of 
exchange, (about 241.) ; at that of M. la Valliere, in 1783, 780 livres, (341. 2s. (id.) ; 
and at that of M. Crevenna, in 1789, 946 livres, (411. 7s. 9d.) Copies of the Biblia 
Pauperum are in his Majesty’s library (formerly Gaignat’s copy) ; in that of 
Earl Spencer ; the Bodleian and Corpus Christi Libraries, at Oxford ; Bennet 
College Library, Cambridge ; in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow, (it is very im¬ 
perfect) ; in the Royal Library at Paris (formerly Valliere’s copy, it is imperfect) ; 
and in the Public Library at Basle. For an account of the Speculum Humanaae 
Salvationis and other curious Books of Images, see the author’s Introduction to 
Bibliography, vol. ii. Appendix, pp. v—xiv.; and Baron Heinecken’s Idee Gene- 
rale d’une Collection complettc d'Estampes. Leipsic, 1771. 8 vo. 

3 Historical Sketch of the Translation and Circulation of the Scriptures, by the 
Rev. Messrs. Thomson and Orme, (Perth, 1815, 8vo.) p. 44. 



VI. Sect. II.] On the Modern Latin Versions. 221 

Scriptures have been translated, either wholly or in part; and not less 
than sixty of them are versions in the languages and dialects of Asia. 
It ^ obvious that very few modern versions can be of service in the 
criticism or interpretation ol the Bible; but as the author has been 
censured for omitting them in the first edition of this work, he has en¬ 
dear oured to supply that deficiency, and to procure the best informa¬ 
tion possible, on a topic so interesting to every sincere professor of 
Christianity. 

The modern versions of the Scriptures are twofold, viz. in the 
Latin language, and in the vernacular languages of all the countries 
m which Christianity has been propagated: and both are made either 
by persons in communion with die "church of Rome or by Protes¬ 
tants. 


SECTION II. 

ON THE MODERN LATIN VERSIONS OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. 

I. Modern Latin Versions of the entire Bible executed by persons in 
communion with the church of Rome. — 1. Of Pagninus. —2. Of 
Montanus. — 3. Of Malvenda and Cardinal Cajetan. — 4. Of 
Houbigant. — II. Modern Latin Versions of the whole Bible ex¬ 
ecuted by Protestants. —1. Of Munster. —2. Leo Juda. — 3. 
Of Castalio. — 4. Of Junius and Tremellius. — 5. Of Schmidt . 
— 6. Of Bathe. — 7. Of Schott and Winzer .—III. Modern 
Revisions and Corrections of the Vulgate Latin Version , by Ca¬ 
tholics and Protestants. — IV. Modern Latin Versions of the 
JYeiv Testament. — 1. Of Erasmus. — 2. OfBeza. — 3. Of Se- 
bastiani. — Other modern Latin Versions of less note. 

i. Of the modern Latin versions of the Old Testament, made by 
individuals in communion with die church of Rome, those of Pagninus, 
Montanus, Malvenda, Cajetan, and Houbigant, are particularly worthy 
of notice. 1 

1. Sanctes Pagninus, a Dominican monk, was the first modern 
oriental scholar who attempted to make a new translation of the 
Scriptures from the original languages. Having, in the course of his 
studies, been led to conceive that the Vulgate Latin Version of Je¬ 
rome (of which an account has been given in the preceding chapter), 
was greatly corrupted, he undertook to form a new translation of the 
Old Testament from the Hebrew, following Jerome only where he 
diought that his version corresponded to the original. Under the Pa¬ 
tronage of the Popes Leo X. Hadrian VI. and Clement VI., he de¬ 
voted twenty-five yearn to this great work ; which was first printed at 
Lyons in 1528. The Jews who read it, attested its fidelity. The 
great fault of Pagninus is, that lie has adhered too closely and ser- 

1 The materials of this section are derived from Masch’s and Boerner’s Edition 
of Le Long^s Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. ii. Walchii Bibliotheca Theologica Selecta, 
•vol. iv. pp. 04—76. Carpzovii Critiea Sacra Veteris Testament!, pp. 707 — 757. 
Simon’s Hist. Critique du Vieux Testament, livre ii. ch, xxii. 





222 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. CIl 

vilely to the original text; and this scrupulous attachment has made 
his translation obscure, barbarous, and full of solecisms. He has also 
altered the commonly received names of men and cities, and has 
substituted others in their place, which are pronounced according to 
the pronunciation of the Masorites. Though this translator’s labours, 
were very severely criticised by Father Simon, yet he acknowledges 
his great abilities and learning : and all the latter commentators and 
critics concur in justly commending his work, as being remarkably 
exact and faithful, and admirably adapted to explain the literal sense 
of the Hebrew text. Pagninus afterwards translated the New Testa¬ 
ment from the Greek, which he dedicated to his patron, Pope Cle¬ 
ment VII. It was printed with the former at Lyons, in 1528. In 
1557, Robert Stephens printed a new edition of his translation in two 
volumes folio, with corrections, but it contains only the Old Testa¬ 
ment of Pagninus’s version. The New Testament is given in the 
Latin version of Beza, which is noticed in p. 225. infra . 

2. The translation of Pagninus was revised by Benedict Arias 
Montanus, who has erroneously been considered as a new translator 
of the Bible in the Latin language. His chief aim was, to translate 
the Hebrew words by the same number of Latin ones; so that he has 
accommodated Ills whole translation to the most scrupulous rules of 
grammar, without any regard to the elegance of his Latinity. Mon- 
tanus’s edition, therefore, may be considered rather as a grammatical 
commentary, than a true version, and as being adapted to instruct 
young beginners in the Hebrew than to be read separately : being 
printed interlinearily, with the Latin word placed exactly over the 
Hebrew, it saves the student the trouble of frequently referring to his 
Lexicon. In the New Testament, Montanus changed only a few 
words in the Vulgate version, where he found it to differ from the 
Greek. This translation has been very frequently printed in various 
sizes ; but the best edition is the first, which is in folio, and printed at 
Antwerp in 1571. 

3. The translation of Thomas Malvenda, a Spanish Dominican, 
being more grammatical and barbarous than that of Montanus, is but 
little esteemed, and has fallen into oblivion. The version, which bears 
the name of Cardinal Cajetan, strictly speaking, is not his produc¬ 
tion ; having been made by two persons (one a Jew, the other a 
Christian), both of whom were well skilled in the original language of 
the sacred volume. The whole of the New Testament was likewise 
translated, except the Revelation. Cajetan carefully avoided those 
barbarous expressions which he must have used, if his version had 
been grammatically literal. 

4. The Latin version of the Old Testament, printed by Father 
Houbigant in his critical edition of the Hebrew Bible (noticed in p. 
122. supra ) is not framed according to the present Hebrew text, but 
according to the text, as he thought it should be corrected by manu¬ 
scripts, antient versions, and critical conjectures. 

II. Since the Reformation, several Latin versions of the Old Tes¬ 
tament have been made from the original Hebrew by learned Protes- 


Modern Latin Versions. 


223 


VI. Sect. II.] 

tants. The most esteemed are those of Munster, Leo Juda, Castalio, 
Junius and Tremellius, Schmidt, Dathe, Schott and Winzer. 

L In the year 1534, Sebastian Munster printed at Basle a new 
translation ol the Old JTestament from the original Hebrew : and in 
1546 he published a second edition, with the Hebrew text, and with 
the addition of some notes, which Father Simon thinks useful for un¬ 
derstanding the style of the sacred writings. Without rigidly adhering 
to the grammatical signification of the words, like Pagninus and Mon- 
tanus, lie has given a more free and intelligible version: but by not 
deviating from the sense ol the Hebrew text, he has retained some of 
its peculiar idioms. He has also availed himself of the commentaries 
of the best of the rabbinical writers. Though Simon freely censures 
particular parts of Munster’s version, he decidedly prefers it to those 
of Pagninus and Montanus : and Huet gives him the character of a 
translator well versed in the Hebrew language, whose style is very 
exact and conformable to the original. 

2. The translation which bears the name of Leo Juda was com¬ 
menced by him, but being prevented by death from finishing the 
work, he left it to be completed by Theodore Bibliander, professor of 
divinity at Zurich. With the assistance of Conrad Pellican, who was 
professor of Hebrew in the same place, Bibliander translated the rest 
of the Old Testament from the Hebrew; the New Testament was 
undertaken by Peter Cholin and Rodolph Gualter, two learned Pro¬ 
testants, at that time resident at Zurich. This version was first printed 
in 1543, and was reprinted by Robert Stephens at Paris, in 1545, 
with the addition of the Vulgate version, in two columns, and with 
short notes or scholia, but without specifying the translator’s name. 
Though it was condemned by the divines at Paris, it was favourably 
received by those of Salamanca, who reprinted it with some trifling 
alterations. It is acknowledged to be very faithful; and its style is 
more elegant than that of Munster; but the translators have in some 
instances receded too far from the literal sense. 

3. The Latin version of Sebastian Chatillon or Castalio (as 
he is generally called) was begun at Geneva, in 1542, and finished at 
Basle in 1550, where it was printed in the following year, with a 
dedication to Edward VI. king of England. His design was, to ren¬ 
der the Old and New* Testaments in elegant Latin like that of the 
antient classic authors ; but his style has been severely censured by 
some critics, as being too much affected, and destitute of that noble 
simplicity, grandeur, and energy, which characterise the sacred origi¬ 
nals. Professor Dathe, however, has vindicated this learned Protes¬ 
tant from these changes. Castalio’s version has been frequently re¬ 
printed : the best edition of it is said to be that printed at Leipsic, in 
1738, in 4 vols. 12mo., but the folio edition, printed in 1573, is in 
most request, not only on account of its beauty, but also because it 
contains the author’s last corrections, together with a very complete 
table of matters. 

4. The version of Francis Junius and Immanuel Tremellius 
w T as first published in 1575 ; it w*as subsequently corrected by Junius, 


'224 Modern Versions of the Scriptures . [Part I. Ch. 

and has been repeatedly printed. By the Protestant churches it was 
received with great approbation, and to this day it is held in great 
esteem for its simplicity, perspicuity, and fidelity. Father Simon 
criticised it with great severity; but our learned countryman, Matthew 
Poole, in the preface to his Synopsis Criticorum Sacrorum , reckons 
it among the best versions: and the ecclesiastical historian, Dupin, 
commends it for its close adherence to the Hebrew. Junius and 
Tremellius have been very particular in expressing the article by de¬ 
monstrative pronouns. 

5. In 1696, was published (after the author’s decease) a new Latin 
translation of the Bible, by Sebastian Schmidt, who was professor 
of oriental languages at Strasburgh. Of this version there have been 
several editions. It is strictly literal; and is chiefly useful to young 
students in the Hebrew language. 

6. The version of John Augustus Dathe, who was professor of 
oriental literature at Leipsic, is deservedly in high repute for its gene¬ 
ral fidelity and elegance, both in this country and on the continent. 
It was originally published in detached octavo volumes: the Penta¬ 
teuch, in 1781; the Historical Books, in 1784; the Greater Pro¬ 
phets, in 1779, and again in 1785; the Minor Prophets in 1773 (the 
third edition in 1790); the Psalms, in 1787; and the Books of Job, 
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, in 1789. Pro¬ 
fessor Dathe “never published any part, until he had repeatedly ex¬ 
plained it in his public lectures, and convinced himself that no diffi¬ 
culties remained, but such as could not be removed. In this manner 
was his translation produced, which may be considered as a perpetual 
commentary.” 1 

7. In the year 1816, another new translation of the Old Testament, 
from the Hebrew, was commenced by M. M. Henry Augustus 
Schott and Julius Frederick Winzer. One volume only has 
appeared, comprising the Pentateuch. This version professes to be 
very close. 

III. Besides the preceding new modern Latin versions, there have 
been several editions of the Latin Vulgate, so much corrected from 
the original Hebrew and Greek as in some degree to be considered 
new translations. Of this number are the Latin Bibles published by 
Clarius, Eber, and the Osianders. 

Isidore Clarius’s edition of the Vulgate first appeared at Venice, in 
1542, and is of extreme rarity : it was reprinted at the same place in 
1557 and 1564. He has not only restored the antient Latin text, 
but has also corrected it in a great number of places which he con¬ 
ceived to be erroneously translated, so as to make them conformable 
to the Hebrew original. Although he corrected more than eight 
thousand places, as he states in his preface, yet he omitted some, lest 
he should offend the Roman Catholics by making too many alterations 
in the Vulgate version. 

The method ol Clarius was followed by Paul Eber, who corrected 
the Vulgate from Luther’s German version. His edition was pub- 
1 Aikin’s Biographical Dictionary, vol. x. Supplement, p. 300 



Modern Latin Versions. 


225 


VI. Sect. II.] 

lished at Wittemberg, in 1565, with the addition of Luther’s transla¬ 
tion, under the authority of Augustus, Elector of Saxony; and was 
reprinted in 1574, in ten volumes, quarto. 

The edition of Luke Osiander appeared in 1578, and has since 
been very often reprinted ; as also has a German translation of it, 
which was first published at Stutgard, in 1600. Andrew Osiander’s 
edition was also printed in 1600, and frequently since. They have 
both corrected the Vulgate, according to the Hebrew originals ; and 
have occasioned some confusion to their readers, by inserting their 
emendations in a character different from that in which the Vulgate 
text is printed. 

IV. There are likewise several Latin versions of the New Testa¬ 
ment, made both by Catholics and Protestants, of which those of 
Erasmus, Beza, and Sebastiani are particularly worthy of notice. 

1. The celebrated Erasmus has the honour of being the first trans¬ 
lator of the New Testament into the Latin language from the original 
Greek. His object was, to give a faithful and clear version; in which 
it is admitted that he succeeded as far as it was possible at that time. 
Irt this version he followed not only the printed copies, but also four 
Greek manuscripts ; according to the example of Jerome, he varied 
but little from the Vulgate. The first edition of his translation ap¬ 
peared in 1516, and was dedicated to Pope Leo X., by whom it Was 
highly commended in a letter of thanks which he wrote to Erasmus. 
The pontiff’s praises, however, did not prevent his labours from being 
censured with great severity by certain Roman Catholic w r riters, 
against whom Erasmus defended himself with great spirit. His ver¬ 
sion has been frequently printed, and corrected, both by himself and 
by his editors. 

2. The Latin version of Theodore Beza was first published in 
1556, and has since been repeatedly printed. On account of its 
fidelity, it has always been highly esteemed by Protestants of every 
denomination. Bishop Walton, indeed, was of opinion that he was 
justly charged with departing unnecessarily from the common readings* 
without the authority of manuscripts; but a careful examination of 
Beza’s translation will shew that that distinguished prelate was in this 
instance mistaken. 

3. In the year 1817, a new T Latin version of the New Testament 
was published by Leopoldo Sebastiani, the very learned editor of 
Lvcophron (Romse, 1803, royal 4to), justly celebrated throughout 
the East, and not altogether unknown in England, for the losses he 
sustained, and misfortunes he suffered, in consequence of important 
services which he gratuitously rendered to the British government, 
while resident in Persia as president of the missionaries sent out by 
the church of Rome, at the time that Buonaparte attempted to es¬ 
tablish relations with the court of Ispahan. The version is made 
from the Alexandrian manuscript, with which the translator states 
that he collated several manuscripts and collections of various read¬ 
ings, availing himself also of every critical aid he could procure, and 
particularly "of the writings of the Greek fathers, and the assistance of 

vol. ii. 29 


226 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch. 

die most learned of the modern Greek clergy. To obtain the latter, 
M. Sebastiani expressly travelled through the whole ol Greece. In 
all doctrinal points, this version is made conformable to the tenets in¬ 
culcated hy the church of Rome. 1 

The Latin version of M. Schott, which is printed with his critical 
edition of the Greek Testament, has already been noticed in page 
137. supra: to this professor Keil 2 has added the two following, 
neither of which has fallen under the writer’s observation. 

(1.) Chr. Guil. Thalemanni Versio Latina Evangeliorum Matthau, 
Lucae, et Johannis, itemque Actuum Apostolorum, edita a C. C. Titt- 
manno. Berolini, 1781, 8vo. The remaining books of the New 
Testament were translated by M. Iaspis, and intitled, 

Versio Latina Epistolarum Novi Testamenti, perpetua annotatione 
illustrata a Godofredo Sigismundo Iaspis. Lipsiae, Vol. 1.1793, \ ol. 
II. 1797, 8vo. 

(2.) Sacri Novi Testamenti Libri omnes, veteri Latinitate donati 
ab Henrico Godofredo Reichardo. Lipsise, 1799, 8vo. 


SECTION III. 


VERSIONS IN THE MODERN LANGUAGES OF EUROPE. 

I. German Version of Luther. — JYotice of Ten Versions derived 
from it. — JYotice of other German Versions hy Protestants , and 
by Roman Catholics. — Jewish German Versions. — II. Versions 
in the languages spoken in the British Isles. — 1. English 
Versions , particularly Wicklijfe's Bible. — Tindul's Bible. — 
Coverdales Bible. — Matthewe's .— Cranmcrs or the Great Bi¬ 
ble. — Geneva Bible. — English Versions by Roman Catholics at 
Rheims and Douay. — King James's Bible , or the authorised Ver¬ 
sion now in use. — History of it. — JYotice of its best editions. — 
Its excellency vindicated against recent Objectors. — Testimonies 
of eminent critics to its fidelity and excellency. — 2. Welsh Version. 

— 3. Irish Version. — 4. Gaelic Version. — 5. Manks Version. 

— III. French Versions. — IV. Dutch Version.— V. Ita¬ 
lian Version. — VI. Spanish Versions. — VII. Russian Ver¬ 
sion.— VIII. Croat Version. — IX. Basque Version. — X. 
Hungarian Version. — XI. Polish Versions. — XII. Bohe¬ 
mian Version.— XIII. Romaic or Modern Greek Versions. 

— XIV. XV. Bulgarian and Wallachian Versions. — XVI. 
Romanese Versions. — XVII. Turkish Versions.— XVIII. 
Portuguese Version.— XIX. Albanian Version. — XX. 
Maltese Version. 


The translations of the Scriptures into the different modern lan¬ 
guages of Europe are so numerous, that it is difficult to obtain cor- 


1 M. Sebastiani’s translation is intitled “Novum Testamentum, ob frequentes om¬ 
nium Interpretationum Hallucinationes, nunc demum ex Codice Alexandrino, adlii- 
bitis etiam compluribus manuscriptis variantibusque Lectionibus editis, summa fide 
ac cur& Latine redditum. Omnibus Sacris Auctoribus Grsecis, Sacris Criticis, 
Glossariis, et Instructioribus per totam Graeciam Ecclesiasticis Viris diligentissime 
eonsultis. Iuterprete Leopoldo Sebastiani Romano. Londini, 1817.” Royal 8vo 

2 Keilii Elementa Hermeneutices Novi Testamenti, p. 158. Lipsire, 1811,12mo 





VI. Sect. III.] Modern Versions of the Scriptures. 227 

rect accounts of all of them. The following table exhibits at one 
view the chief translations which have been made, together with the 
years of their appearance, the names of their authors where these 
could be ascertained, and the places where they were severally print¬ 
ed. 1 


Language. 

N.T. 

Bible, or 
Old Test 

I 

j Author. 

Place of Printing. 

Spanish (Valencian \ 
dialect of) - } 

- 

1473 

Boniface Ferrer 

V alencia 

German 

1522 

1534 

Martin Luther 

Wittemberg 

English 

1526 

1535 

Tindal & Coverdale - 

Uncertain 

French 

- 

1535 

Robert Olivetan 

Geneva 

Swedish 

1534 

1541 

Olaus Petri 

Upsal, Sweden 

Danish 

Dutch 

1524 

1550 

1560 

Palladius and others - 

Copenhagen 

Italian 

- 

1562 

! ( Antonio Bruccioli’s ] 
\ revised. } 

Geneva 

Spanish 

1556 

1569 

Cassiodorus de Reyna 

Frankfort or Basil 

Russian 

1519 

1581 

Cyril and Methodius. 

Ostrog 

Helvetian dialect 

1525 

1529 


Zurich 

Lower Saxon dialect 
Finnish 

1548 

1533 

1642 

- 

Lubeck 

Stockholm 

Croation - * - 

Basque 

1553 

1571 

- 

Unknown < 

Tubingen 

Rochelle 

Welsh 

1567 

1583 

s- 

London 

Hungarian - 

1574 

1589 

- 

Vienna 

VV endish 

- 

1584 

> 

Wittemberg 

Icelandic 

• 

1584 

Thorlack 

Holum, Iceland 

Pomeranian dialect 

- 

1588 

Unknown 

Barth 

Polish 

1585 

1596 

Several 


Bohemian 

• 

1593 

Several 

Cralitz, Moravia 

Hebrew 

1599 J 

- 

Elias Hutter 

Nuremberg 

Modern Greek 

1638 

- 

Maximus Calliergi 

Geneva 

Wallachian - 

1648 

- 


Belgrade 

Romanese 

. 

1657 


Schuol 

Lithuanian - 

• I 

1660 

S. B. Chylinsky 

London 

Turkish 

1666 

. 

Lazarus Seaman 

Oxford 

Irish - 

1602 

1685 

Dr. Daniel, Bp. Bedell 

London 

Livonian 

1685 

1689 

... 

Riga 

Esthonian 

1685 

1689 

. . - 

Riga 

Esthonian, dialect of 
Dorpatian dialect - 

1686 

• . • 

. * 

Riga 

1727 




Grisons 

• - I 

1719 

... 

Coire 

Upper Lusatian 

1706 

1728 

Several 

Bautzen 

Lapponic 

1755 


l 


Manks - - j 

1748- 

11772 

5 Bishop Wilson and } 

London and 

63-67 

) Hildesley ( 

Whitehaven 

Gaelic 

1767 

1802 

\ James Stewart and ( 

) others - £ 

Edinburgh 

( 

1712 

1748-53 

) Ferreira d’Almoida,) 

Amsterdam ami 

Portuguese - < 


} (Cath.) ) 

Batavia 

( 

1781 

1783 

Antonio Pereira, (Cath.) 

Lisbon 

Italian 

1769 

1776 

Antonio Martini,(Cath.) 

Turin 

Spanish 

- - I 

1793,4 

Padre Scio, (Cath.) 

Madrid 

Maltese 

t 

1820 


i Rev.W.Jowett,M.A.) 

; and Signor Carmolo $ 

Malta 


Of the various translations above enumerated, the following are 
more particularly worthy of notice. 


1 This table is copied from Messrs. Thomson and Orme’s Historical Sketch of 
the Translation and Circulation of the Scriptures, p. 45. with some corrections. 






























223 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. 


[Part I. Ch. 


1. German Versions. — As Germany has the honour of being 
the country where the art of printing was first discovered, so it was 
distinguished in the annals of sacred literature, by being the first in 
which the Holy Scriptures were issued from the press in the verna¬ 
cular language of its inhabitants. So early indeed as the year 1406, 
a German translation from the Latin Vulgate was printed, the author 
of which is unknown. 1 Scarcely, however, had the Reformation 
commenced, when Luther meditated a new version of the Scriptures 
for the general use of his countrymen. His first publication com¬ 
prised the seven penitential Psalms, from the Latin of John Reuchlin. 
These appeared in 1517, and were followed by the New Testament 
in 1522 ; by the Pentateuch, in 1523 ; by the Book of Joshua, and 
the remaining historical Books, in 1524 ; in which year also appeared 
the books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of 
Songs. In 1526 were published the prophecies of Jonah and Ha- 
bakkuk ; in 1528, those of Zechariah and Isaiah; in 1529, the apoc¬ 
ryphal book of Wisdom; in 1530, the book of Daniel, together with 
the remaining apocryphal books; in 1531, the entire book of Psalms; 
and 1531 and 1532, the rest of the prophetical books. All these 
portions of Luther’s translation are of extreme rarity: in the revision 
of it he received very important assistance from the learned and can¬ 
did Philip Melancthon, who also corresponded with eminent men on 
various topics of biblical criticism, in order to render the translation 
as correct as possible. Further to ensure its accuracy, a select party 
of learned men assembled daily with Luther at Wittemberg, to revise 
every sentence which he had made directly from the Hebrew and 
Greek. Melancthon collated the Greek original, Cruciger the Chal¬ 
dee, and other professors the Rabbinical Writings. Justus Jonas, John 
Bugenhagen, and Matthew Aurogallus, also contributed their aid. 
The whole Bible thus revised was first published in 1530, and again 
in 1534, 1541, and 1545. 2 Luther made his version directly from 
the original Hebrew and Greek, and not one of his numerous enemies 
ever durst charge him with ignorance of those languages. His trans¬ 
lation is represented as being uncommonly clear and accurate, and 
its style in a high degree pure and elegant. Having originally been 
published in detached portions, as these were gradually and succes- 

1 A copy of this very rare work is in the splendid collection of Earl Spencer. 
See a description of it in Mr. Dibdin’s Bibliotheca Spenceriana, vol. i. pp. 42—47. 

2 For further particulars relative to Luther’s German Version of the Scriptures, 
the reader is referred to the life of Philip Melancthon, by Francis Cox, M. A. pp. 
206—213. (2d edit.) and also to Mr. Townley’s Illustrations of Biblical Literature, 
vol. ii. pp. 271—300. Of the editions of Luther’s version above noticed, the vene¬ 
rable Reformer bestowed the greatest care in revising and correcting that of 1541. 
It was beautifully printed in two folio volumes, and ornamented with wood-cuts. 
An Unique Copy of this edition upon vellum, which had been Luther’s own copy , 
and constantly used by him until his decease, was in the possession of the late Mr. 
Edwards, (formerly an eminent bookseller) of Manor House, near Harrow-on-the- 
Hill. On the sale of his choice Library by auction, in 1813, these precious volumes 
were purchased by Geo. Hibbert, Esq. for the sum of 89Z. 5s. 6d. See a descrip¬ 
tion of these volumes copied from the sale catalogue (No. 812.) in Mr. Dibdin’s 
Bibliograpical Decameron, vol. iii. pp. 123,124. or in the Gentleman’s Magazine, 
vol. lxxxv. part i. p. 254. 



The German Versions . 


229 


VI. Sect. III.] 

sively circulated among the people, Luther’s version produced sudden 
and almost incredible effects, and contributed more than any other 
'cause, to extirpate the erroneous principles and superstitious practices 
of the church of Rome, from the minds of a prodigious number of 
persons. 1 Since that time it has been printed times without number ; 
and as the reformation spread, it served as the basis of several other 
translations, viz. 

1. The Lower Saxon Translation was printed at Lubeck, in 1533-4. 
Its authors are not known. 2 This version was undertaken at the 
suggestion of Luther himself, and under the direction of John Bu- 
genhagius, who wrote a preface, and supplied short notes, and also 
arguments to the different books. 

2. The Pomeranian Version was printed in 1588, in quarto, by the 
command of Bogislaus XIII. duke of Pomerania : it was made from 
the Wittemberg edition of Luther’s Bible, printed in 1545. 

3. The Danish Version was undertaken by command of Christian 
III. king of Denmark, and at the suggestion of Bugenhagius : it was 
printed at Copenhagen in 155C, and is of extreme rarity. Previously 
to the publication of this version, the New Testament had been trans¬ 
lated from the Vulgate, as well as the Psalms, and the five books of 
Moses. The Danish version was subsequently revised and corrected, 
in the reigns of Frederick II. and Christian IV. kings of Denmark ; 
the revision, made by command of the last-mentioned monarch, is, 
we believe, the standard of the succeeding editions of the Danish 
Scriptures, which, however, are said to vary considerably from Lu¬ 
ther’s German version.—In 1823 the gospel of Matthew was printed 
at Copenhagen, in the dialect of the Danish language spoken by the 
inhabitants of the Faroe Islands: the Danish and Faroese texts ore 
printed in parallel columns. 

4. The Icelandic Translation of the entire Bible was printed at. 
Holum, in Iceland, in 1584, under the patronage of Frederick II. 
The New Testament had been translated by Oddur Gottshalkson 
(whose father filled the episcopal see of Holum,) and printed in Den¬ 
mark, in 1539, at the expense of Christian III, This was followed 
by an Icelandic Version of the Epistles and Gospels, for all the Sun¬ 
days in the year, published in 1562, by Olaf Hialteson, the first Lu¬ 
theran Bishop of Holum; which may be considered as a second edi¬ 
tion of certain portions of Oddur’s New Testament, the compiler 
having availed himself chiefly of that version, in writing out the les ¬ 
sons of which the work consists. In 1580, the Proverbs of Solomon 

» were translated by Gissur Eincerson, the first Lutheran Bishop of 
Skalholt, who also translated the book of Sirach, printed in the same 
year at Holum. At length, in 1584, as above noticed, the whole of 
the Old and New Testaments was printed in Icelandic, through the 
unremitting zeal and pious liberality of Gudbrand Thorlakson, Bi¬ 
shop of Holum, who not only contributed largely to the undertaking 
himself, but also obtained a munificent donation from Frederick I). 
with authority to raise a rix-dollar in aid of the work from every 

1 Mosheim’s Ecclesiastical History, vol. iv. p. 60. 

2 Another Lower Saxon Version from the Vulgate was printed at Lubeck in 
1494, in two folio volumes. The reader will find a bibliographical notice of it in 
the Bibliotheca Spenceriana, vol. i. pp. 55 — 56. 


* 


I 





230 Modern Versions of the Scriptures . [Part J. Ch. 

church in Iceland. It is not known what share this eminent prelate 
had in the translation, which is considered as the production of dif¬ 
ferent hands. Gottshalkson’s version of the New Testament, as well 
of some parts of the Old Testament, was adopted, alter having been 
revised by Gudbrand. This edition has always been very highly es¬ 
teemed, on account of the purity of its diction; and, even at this day, 
it is preferred before more modern translations. A second edition 
of the Icelandic Bible appeared at Holum in 1644, under the edito¬ 
rial care of Thorlak Skuleson, bishop of that see ; by whom it was 
carefully revised and corrected. This is the standard text from 
which the two most recent impressions of the Icelandic Version have 
been printed. 1 

5. The Sivedish Version was made from the first edition ot Luther’s 
German translation : it was begun by Laurence Andreas, and finish¬ 
ed by Laurence Petri, and was printed atUpsal, in 1541, by the com¬ 
mand of Gustavus I., king of Sweden. 

6. The Dutch Translation appeared in 1560, and after being re¬ 
peatedly printed, was superseded by a new Protestant translation, of 
which an account is given in page 264. infra. 

7 — 10. The Finnish Version was printed at Stockholm, in 1642 2 , 
and again in 1644 3 , the Lettish (or Livonian) at Riga 1689 4 5 ; the 
Sorabic or I Vendish (a dialect spoken in Upper Lusatia), at Bautzen 
(Budissse), in 1728, and again in 1742; and the Lithuanian , at Kon- 
igsberg (Regiomonti), in 1735. 

Valuable as Luther’s German translation of the Scriptures con¬ 
fessedly is, it was severely attacked, on its publication, by the enemies 
of the reformation, whose productions are enumerated by Walchius/' 
Luther’s translation, reformed by the Zuinglians and Calvinists, was 
printed, in various editions at Neustadt, between the years 1679 and 
1695 ; at Herborn in 1695, 1698,1701-5-8, and 21 ; at Heidelberg 
in 1617 and 161S, and many times since; at Cassel in 1602; and 
at Basle in 1651, 1659, and in the last century very frequently. 

Between the years 1525 and 1529, Leo Juda published at Zurich 
a German-Swiss translation of the Scriptures. As far as he could, he 
availed himself of such parts of Luther’s version as were then printed. 
In 1667 a new and revised edition of Leo Juda’s translation tvas pub¬ 
lished at Zurich: the alterations and corrections in it are so nume- 


1 The above particulars are abridged from the Rev. Dr. Henderson’s ‘Historical 
View of the Translation and different editions of the Icelandic Scriptures,’ in the 
second volume, (p. 249—306.) of his very interesting Journal of a Residence in Ice¬ 
land, during the years 1814 and 1815, 8vo. Edinburgh, 1818. 

2 This edition was accompanied with a translation in the Esthonian language, 
spoken in the province of Esthland or Esthonia. It is a totally distinct language, 
being closely allied to the Finnish. Bp. Marsh’s History of Translations, p. 4. note. 
There is also a dialect of the Esthonian, called the Dorpatian Esthonian , into which 
the New Testament was translated and published in the year 1727. 

3 A translation of the Scriptures into the Karelian language (spoken in Karelia, 
a province of East Finland), was printed in 1822 under the direction of the St. 
Petersburg Bible Society ; but it is not known whether this version is made from 
the Finnish, or not. 

4 An edition of the New Testament, both in Livonian and Esthonian, had been 
already printed at Riga, in 1685 and 1686. The Lettish or Livonian is a Sclav© 
nian dialect. 

5 Walchii Bibliotheca Theologica Selecta, vol. iv. pp. 79— 81. 



The German Versions. 


231 


VI. Sect. III.] 

rous, that it is considered as a new translation, and is commonly called 
the New Zurich Bible, in order to distinguish it from the Old Zurich 
version of Leo Juda. “ It was undertaken by Hottinger, Muller, 
Zeller, Hoffmeister, and others, and conducted with great care and 
precision. As their plan seems to have had some resemblance to that 
pursued by our own admirable translators, and may, perhaps, have 
been copied from it, this version is more particularly deserving of no¬ 
tice. When these learned men met together, Hottinger and Muller 
had each of them the Hebrew text put into their hands ; Zeller had 
the old Zurich version, Wasser took the Italian of Giovanni Diodati* 
and Pareus’ edition of Luther’s Bible, Hoffmeister had the Septuagint 
and the Junio-Tremellian version before him, and Freitz the Belgian 
Bible. When any difference arose, the point was argued by them 
all; each was called upon to give his opinion of the translation which 
w as in his hands : and that reading was adopted, which, after mature 
consideration, seemed most agreeable to the Hebrew.” 1 

As the Zurich version differs very materially from that of Luther, 
John Piscator undertook another, from the Latin version of Junius and 
Tremellius, wdiicli he has followed very closely. It appeared in de¬ 
tached portions between the year 1602 and 1604, and was repeatedly 
printed during the seventeenth century. Piscator’s version, having 
become very scarce, has lately been revised by the Biblical and Di¬ 
vinity Professors, and three Pastors of the Helvetic church, w r ho have 
corrected its orthography, and such words as have become obsolete, 
previously to an edition of 8000 copies of the entire Bible, and 4000 
copies of the New r Testament, which has been executed by the Bern 
Bible Society, aided by a pecuniary grant from the British and Fo¬ 
reign Bible Society of London. 

Besides the preceding German Versions made by Protestants, 
there are also translations made by Roman Catholic divines; some of 
them appeared almost as early as that of Luther, to which, however, 
they are greatly inferior in point of perspicuity. Three of these are 
particularly mentioned by Walchius, viz. 

1. That of John Detemberger, whose translation clearly evinces 
that he was utterly unfit for the task he undertook, and who hesitated 
not to acknowledge that he was totally ignorant of Hebrew. He took 
much from Luther, against whom he vehemently inveighs. His trans¬ 
lation was first published at Mayence in 1534, and has been several 
times printed since that time. 

2. The Version, which bears the name of John Eckius. He trans¬ 
lated only the Old Testament, the New being executed by Jerome 
Emser. It was first published in 1537, and has also been repeatedly 
printed. 

3. The Version of Caspar Ulenberg, which was undertaken under 
die patronage of Ferdinand, archbishop and Elector of Cologne, is 
preferred by those of his own communion to all the other German 
Versions. He follows the Sixtine edition of the Latin Vulgate. This 

l Whittaker’s Inquiry into the Interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures in Eu 
rope, p. 33. — Cambridge, 1819, 8vo. 




232 Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I Ch. 

translation first appeared in 1630, and has undergone very numerous 
impressions. 

The three translations just noticed, include the Old and New Tes¬ 
taments. In addition to them, three new versions of the New Testa¬ 
ment have, within a few years, been circulated very largely among 
the Roman Catholics of Germany, who have evinced an ardent desire 
for the Scriptures, notwithstanding the fulminations of the papal see 
against them. Of two of these versions, the Ratisbon edition, and 
that executed by M. Gossner, a learned Catholic priest, formerly of . 
Munich, the author has not been able to obtain any authentic particu¬ 
lars ; the third was executed about the year 1812, by the Rev. Le- 
ander Van Ess, professor of divinity in the university of Marburg, in 
conjunction with his brother. It is made directly from the Greek, 
and has been recommended by the first Protestant clergymen at Dres¬ 
den and Zurich 1 , as well as by several authorities among the Roman 
Catholic literati, as exhibiting a pure and correct version of the Sacred 
Original. 2 

There are also two translations of the Old Testament in the dialect 
spoken by the Jews in Germany, called the Jewish-German. One 
was made by Joseph Josel Ben Alexander, and was printed by Jo¬ 
seph Athias at Amsterdam, in 1679 : previously to publication it was 
revised by Rabbi Meir Stern, chief rabbi of the synagogue at Am¬ 
sterdam. The other Jewish-German translation was executed by 
Rabbi Jekuthiel Ben Isaac Blitz, and was printed by Uri Veibscb 
Ben Aaron, also at Amsterdam, in 1679. Kortholt terms this trans¬ 
lator a blasphemous impostor, and charges him with having disguised 
certain prophecies relative to the Messiah, in consequence of his Jew¬ 
ish predilections. Of these two semi-barbarous, unfaithful, and now 
almost universally neglected translations, which can be of no use 
whatever in scripture criticism, Carpzov has given an account, with 
specimens. 3 And as the German Jews are at this time animated by 
a spirit of candid inquiry, a Jewish German translation of the New 
Testament has lately been printed for their benefit, at the expense of 
the London Society for promoting Christianity among the Jews. 

II. OF THE VERSIONS IN THE LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN THE BRITISH 

ISLES. 

1. English Versions. 4 — Akhough it is impossible, at this dis- 

1 The late Rev. Dr. Reinhart, first chaplain to the court of Saxony, and the 
present venerable superior of the Zurich clergy, Antistes Hess. 

2 Owen’s History of the British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. ii. p. 229. From 
the Seventeenth Report of that Society, it appears, from the month of September 
3812 to December 31st 1820, that the learned and pious professor Van Ess lias dis¬ 
tributed not fewer than three hundred and ninety-four thousand unci sixty-seven 
copies to persons of his own communion, who have received them with the liveliest 
gratitude ; besides which, he has distributed 5,394 New Testaments of other Ro¬ 
man Catholic and Protestant Versions, in various languages, and 8,749 Roman 
Catholic and Protestant Bibles. In all, 408,210 copies of the Holy Scriptures 
have been put into circulation through the professor and his friends. 

3 Carpzovii Critica Sacra Veteris Testamenti, pp.757—786. 

4 Our account of English Translations is drawn from Lewis’s History of the 
translations of the Bible, perfixed to his edition of Wickliffe’s New Testament, 



233 


VI. Sect. III.] The English Versions. 

tance of time, to ascertain when or by whom Christianity was first 
planted in this island, as well as the earliest time when the Scriptures 
were translated into the language of its inhabitants, yet we know that, 
for many hundred years, they were favoured with the possession of 
part, at least, of the sacred volume in their vernacular tongue. The 
earliest version of which we have any account, is a translation of the 
Psalms into the Saxon tongue by Adhelm or Adelme, the first bi¬ 
shop of Sherborne, about the year 706. A Saxon version of the four 
Gospels was made by Egbert, bishop of Lindisfern, who died, a. d. 
721; and, a few years after, the venerable Bede translated the entire 
Bible into that language. Nearly two hundred years after Bede, 
King Alfred executed another translation of the Psalms, either to sup¬ 
ply the loss of Adhelm’s (which is supposed to have perished in the 
Danish wars), or to improve the plainness of Bede’s version. A 
Saxon translation of the Pentateuch, Joshua, part of the books of 
Kings, Esther, and the apocryphal books of Judith, and the Macca¬ 
bees, is also attributed to Elfric or Elfred, who was archbishop of 
Canterbury, a. d. 995. 

A chasm of several centuries ensued, during which the Scriptures 
appear to have.been buried in oblivion, the general reading of them 
being prohibited by the papal see. The first English translation of 
tlie Bible, known to be extant, was executed by an unknown indi¬ 
vidual, and is placed by Archbishop Usher to die year 1290: of this 
there are three manuscript copies preserved, in the Bodleian library, 
and in the libraries of Christ Church and Queen’s Colleges at Ox¬ 
ford. Towards the close of the following century, John de Trevisa, 
vicar of Berkeley in the county of Gloucester, at the desire of his 
patron, Lord Berkeley, is said to have translated the Old and New 
Testaments into die English tongue. But as no part of this work 
appears ever to have been printed, the translation ascribed to him is 
supposed to have been confined to a few texts, which were painted 
on die walls of his patron’s chapel at Berkeley Castle, or which are 
scattered in some parts of his works, several copies of which are 
known to exist in manuscript Nearly contemporary with him was 
die celebrated John Wickliffe, who, about the year 1380, trans¬ 
lated the entire Bible from the Latin Vulgate into the English lan¬ 
guage as dien spoken, not being sufficiently acquainted with the He¬ 
brew and Greek languages to translate from the originals. * 1 Before 
die invention of printing, transcripts were obtained with difficulty, and 
copies were so rare, that, according to the registry of William Alne- 
wick, bishop of Norwich, in 1429, the price of one of Wickliffe’s 

folio 1731 ; Johnson’s Historical Account of the several English Translations of 
the Bible, originally published in 1730, in 8vo. and reprinted in the third volume 
of Bishop Watson’s Collection of Theological Tracts ; Archbishop Nevvcome's 
View of the English Biblical Translations, Dublin, 1792, 8vo. ; and Mr. Whitta¬ 
ker’s learned and elaborate Inquiry into the Interpretation of Hebrew Scriptures, 
pp. 38—114. 

1 The New Testament of Wickliffe was published in folio by Mr. Lewis in 1731; 
and was handsomely re-edited in quarto, in 1810, by the Rev. Henry Hervy Ba¬ 
ber, one of the librarians of the British Museum, who prefixed a valuable memoif 
of this il Apostle of England,” as Wickliffe has sometimes been called. 

30 




£34 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch. 

Testaments was not less than four marks and forty pence, or two 
pounds sixteen shillings and eight-pence, a sum equivalent to more 
than forty pounds at present. 1 This translation of the Bible, we are 
informed, was so offensive to those who were for taking away the key 
of knowledge and means of better information, that a bill was brought 
into the House of Lords, 13 Rich. II. a. d. 1390, for the purpose of 
suppressing it. On which the Duke of Lancaster, the king’s uncle, 
is reported to have spoken to this effect: “We will not be the dregs 
of all: seeing other nations have the law of God, which is the law of 
* our faith, written in their own language.” At the same time he de¬ 
clared in a very solemn manner, “ That he would maintain our hav¬ 
ing this law in our own tongue against those, whoever they should 
be, who first brought in the bill.” The duke was seconded by others, 
who said, “ That if the Gospel, by its being translated into English, 
was the occasion of running into error, they might know that there 
were more heretics to be found among the Latins than among the 
people of any other language. For that the Decretals reckoned no 
fewer than sixty-six Latin heretics; and so the Gospel must not be 
read in Latin, which yet the opposers of its English translation al¬ 
lowed.” Through the Duke of Lancaster’s influence the bill was 
rejected; and this success gave encouragement to some of Wickliffe’s 
followers to publish another and more correct translation of the Bible. 
But in the year 1408, in a convocation held at Oxford by Archbishop 
Arundel, it was decreed by a constitution, 4 That no one should there¬ 
after translate any text of Holy Scripture into English, by way of a 
book, or little book or tract; and that no book of this kind should be 
read, that was composed lately in the time of John Wickliffe, or since 
his death.’ This constitution led the way to great persecution, and 
many persons were punished severely, and some even with death y 
for reading the Scriptures in English. 2 

In England, as in other parts of Europe, the spread of the pure 
doctrines of the Reformation was accompanied with new translations 
into the vernacular language. For the first printed English transla¬ 
tion of the Scriptures we are indebted to William Tindal, who, having 
formed the design of translating the New Testament from the original 
Greek into English, removed to Antwerp in Flanders, for this pur¬ 
pose. Here, with the assistance of the learned John Fry, or Fryth, 
who was burnt on a charge of heresy in Smithfield, in 1552, and a 
friar, called William Roye, who suffered death on the same account 
in Portugal, he finished it, and in the year 1526 it was printed either 
at Antwerp or Hamburg, without a name in a middle sized 8vo. vo¬ 
lume, and without either calendar, references in the margin, or table 
at the end. 3 Tindal annexed a pistil at the close of it, in which he 
“desyred them that were learned to amende if ought were found 

1 Townley’s Illustrations of Biblical Literature, vol. ii. pp. 80, 8L 

2 Lewis’s History, pp. 7—18. 

3 Specimens of Tindal’s translation of the New Testament, as well as of the 
other early English translations of the Old and New Testament, are given (toge 
tiler with concise bibliographical descriptions) in the appendix to the Rev. Dt 

Cotton’s “ List of Editions of the Bible and of parts thereof” <&c» pp- 85—140. 




235 


VI. Sect. III.] The English Versions. 

amysse.” Le Long calls this “the New Testament translated into 
English, from the German version of Lutherbut for this degrading 
appellation he seems to have no other authority besides a story related 
by one Cochlceus 1 , an enemy of the Reformation, with a view of de¬ 
preciating TindaPs translation. Many copies of this translation found 
their way into England ; and to prevent their dispersion among the 
people, and the more effectually to enforce the prohibition published 
in all the dioceses against reading them, Tonstal, bishop of London, 
purchased all the remaining copies of this edition, and all which he 
could collect from private hands, and committed them to the flames 
at St. Paul’s cross. The first impression of TindaPs translation being 
thus disposed of, several other numerous editions were published in 
Holland, before the year 1530, in which Tindal seems to have had 
no interest, but which found a ready sale, and those which were im¬ 
ported into England were ordered to be burned. On one of these 
occasions, Sir Thomas More, who was then chancellor, and who con¬ 
curred with the bishop in the execution of this measure, inquired of 
a person, who stood accused of heresy, and to whom he promised in¬ 
demnity, on consideration of an explicit and satisfactory answer, how 
Tindal subsisted abroad, and who were the persons in London that 
abetted and supported him; to which inquiry the heretical convert 
replied, “ It was the Bishop of London who maintained him, by send¬ 
ing a sum of money to buy up the impression of his Testament.” 
The chancellor smiled, admitted the truth of the declaration, and suf¬ 
fered the accused person to escape. The people formed a very un¬ 
favourable opinion of those who ordered the word of God to be burned, 
and concluded, that there must be an obvious repugnance between 
the New Testament and the doctrines of those who treated it with this 
indignity. Those who were suspected of importing and concealing 
any of these books, were adjudged by Sir T. More to ride with their 
faces to the tails of their horses, with papers on their heads, and the 
New Testaments, and other books which they had dispersed, hung 
about their cloaks, and at the standard in Cheapside to throw them 
into a fire prepared for that purpose, and to be fined at the king’s 
pleasure. 

When Tonstal’s purchase served only to benefit Tindal, and those 
who were employed in printing and selling successive editions of his 
Testament, and other measures for restraining their dispersion seemed 
to have little or no effect, the pen of the witty, eloquent, and learned 
Sir Thomas More, was employed against the translator; and the 
bishop granted him a licence, or faculty, dated March 7, 1527, to 
have and to read the several books which Tindal and others publish¬ 
ed ; and at his desire Sir Thomas composed a dialogue, written with 
much humour, and designed to expose Tindal’s translation, which 
was published in 1529. In this dialogue lie alleges, among other 
charges, that Tindal had mistranslated three words of great impor¬ 
tance, viz. the words priests, church, and charity; calling the first 


8 In Actis Martini Lutkeri ad an. 1526, p. 132. 




236 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch. 

seniors, the second congregation, and the third love. He also charges 
him with changing commonly the term grace into favour, confession 
into knowledging, penace into repentance, and a contrite heart into a 
troubled heart. The Bishop of London had, indeed, in a sermon, 
declared, that he had found in it no less than 2000 errors, or mis¬ 
translations ; and Sir Thomas More discovered (as he affirmed) above 
1000 texts by tale, falsely translated. In 1530, a royal proclamation 
was issued, by the advice of the prelates and clerks, and of the uni¬ 
versities, for totally suppressing the translation of the scripture, cor¬ 
rupted by William Tindal. The proclamation set forth, that it was 
not necessary to have the Scriptures in the English tongue, and in 
the hands of the common people ; that the distribution of them, as to 
allowing or denying it, depended on the discretion of their superiors; 
and that, considering the malignity of the time, an English translation 
of the Bible would rather occasion the continuance, or increase of er- 
Tors, than any benefit to their souls. However, the proclamation an¬ 
nounced the king’s intention, if the present translation were abandoned, 
at a proper season, to provide that the Holy Scriptures should be by 
great, learned, and catholic persons, translated into the English tongue, 
if it should then seem convenient. In the mean time, Tindal was 
busily employed in translating from the Hebrew into the English the 
five books of Moses, in which he was assisted by Miles Coverdale. 
But his papers being lost by shipwreck in his voyage to Hamburgh, 
where he designed to print it, a delay occurred, and it was not put to 
press till the year 1530. It is a small 8vo. printed at different press¬ 
es, and with different types. In the preface he complained, that there 
was not so much as one i in his New Testament, if it wanted a tittle 
over its head, but it had been noted, and numbered to the ignorant 
people for an heresy, who were made to believe, that there were many 
thousand heresies in it, and that it was so faulty as to be incapable of 
amendment or correction. In this year he published an answer to 
Sir Thomas More’s dialogue, containing his reasons for the changes 
which he had introduced into his translation. The three former edi¬ 
tions of Tindal’s English New Testament being all sold off, the Dutch 
booksellers printed a fourth in this year, in a smaller volume and let¬ 
ter. In 1531, Tindal published an English version of the prophet 
Jonah, with a prologue, full of invective against the church of Rome. 
Strype supposes that before his death he finished all the Bible but the 
Apocrypha, which was translated by Rogers; but it seems more 
probable that he translated only the historical parts. In 1534, was 
published a fourth Dutch edition, or the fifth in all, of Tindal’s New 
Testament, in 12mo. In this same year, Tindal printed his own edi¬ 
tion of the New Testament in English, which he had diligently revised 
and corrected ; to which is prefixed a prologue ; and at the end are 
the pistils of the Old Testament, closing with the following advertise¬ 
ment, “ Imprinted at Antwerp, by Marten Emperour, anno m. d. 
xxxiv.” Another edition was published this year, in 16mo. and 
printed in a German letter. Hall says, in his Chronicle, printed dur¬ 
ing the reign of Henry VIII. by Richard Grafton, the benefactor and 


237 


VI. Sect. III.] The English Versions . 

friend of Tindal; “ William Tindal translated the New Testament, 
and first put it into print; and he likewise translated the five books of 
Moses, Joshua, Judicum, Ruth, the books of Kings, and books of 
Paralipomenon, Nehemiah, and the first of Esdras, and the prophet 
Jonas ; and no more of the Holy Scriptures.” Upon his return to 
Antwerp, in 1531, King Henry VIII. and his council, contrived 
means to have him seized and imprisoned. After long confinement 
he was condemned to death by the emperor’s decree in an assembly 
' at Augsburgh ; and in 1536, he was strangled at Villefort, near Brus¬ 
sels, the place of his imprisonment, after which his body was reduced 
to ashes. He expired, praying repeatedly and earnestly, “ Lord, open 
the King of England’s eyes.” Several editions of his Testament were 
printed in the year of his death. Tindal had little or no skill in the 
Hebrew, and therefore he probably translated the Old Testament from 
the Latin. The knowledge of languages was in its infancy ; nor was 
our English tongue arrived at that degree of improvement, which it 
has since attained; it is not, therefore, surprising, that there should 
be many faults in this translation which need amendment. This, in¬ 
deed, was a task, not for a single person, but. requiring the concur¬ 
rence of many, in circumstances much more favourable for the exe¬ 
cution of it than those of an exile. Nevertheless, although this 
translation is far from being perfect, few first translations, says Dr. 
Geddes 1 , will be found preferable to it. It is astonishing, says this 
writer, how little obsolete the language of it is, even at this day; and 
in point of perspicuity, and noble simplicity, propriety of idiom, and 
purity of style, no English version has yet surpassed it. 

In 1535 the whole Bible, translated into English, was printed in 
folio, and dedicated to the king by Miles Coverdale, a man greatly 
esteemed for his piety, knowledge of the Scriptures, and diligent 
preaching ; on account of which qualities King Edward VI. advanced 
him to the see of Exeter. In his dedication and preface, he observes 
to this purpose, that, as to the present translation, it was neither his la¬ 
bour nor his desire to have this work put into his hand ; but “ when 
others were moved by the Holy Ghost to undertake the cost of it,” he 
was the more bold to engage in the execution of it. Agreeably, there¬ 
fore, to desire, he set forth this “ special ” translation, not in contempt 
of other men’s translation, or by way of reproving them, but humbly 
and faithfully following his interpreters, and that under correction. 
Of these, he said, he used five different ones, who had translated the 
Scriptures not only into Latin, but also into Dutch. He further de¬ 
clared, that he had neither wrested nor altered so much as one word 
for the maintenance of any manner of sect, but had with a clear con¬ 
science purely and faithfully translated out of the foregoing interpre¬ 
ters, having only before his eyes the manifest truth of the Scriptures. 
But because such different translations, he saw, were apt to offend 
weak minds, he added, that there came more understanding and 
knowledge of the Scripture by these sundry translations, than by all 


1 Prospectus for a New Translation of the Bible, p. 88. 



238 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. 


[Parti. Ch. 


the glosses of sophistical doctors ; and he therefore desires, that of¬ 
fence might not be taken, because one translated “ scribe,” and an¬ 
other “ lawyer,” one “ repentance,” and another “ penace,” or 
“ amendment.” This is the first English Bible allowed by royal au¬ 
thority ; and also the first translation of the whole Bible printed in 
our language. It was called a “ special ” translation, because it was 
different from the former English translations; as Lewis has shewn 1 
by comparing it with Tindal’s. It is divided into six tomes or parts, 
adorned with wooden cuts, and furnished with scripture references in 
the margin. The last page has these words : “ Prynted in the yeare 
of our Lorde m. d. xxxv. and fynished the fourth day of October.” 
Of this Bible there was another edition in a large 4to, 1550, which 
was republished, with a new title, 1553 5 and these, according to 
Lewis, were all the editions of it. Coverdale, in this edition of the 
English Bible, prefixed to every book the contents of the several 
chapters, and not to the particular chapters, which was afterwards the 
case : and he likewise omitted all Tindal’s prologues and notes. Soon 
after this Bible was finished, in 1536, Lord Cromwell, keeper of the 
privy seal, and the king’s vicar-general and vicegerent in ecclesiastical 
matters, published injunctions to the clergy by the king’s authority, 
the seventh of which was, that every parson, or proprietary of any 
parish church within this realm, should, before the first of August, 
provide a book of the whole Bible, both in Latin and in English, and 
lay it in the choir, for every man that would, to look and read there¬ 
in ; and should discourage no man from reading any part of the Bible 
either in Latin or English, but rather comfort, exhort, and admonish 
every man to read it, as the very word of God, and the spiritual food 
of a man’s soul, he. 

In 1537, another edition of the English Bible was printed by Graf¬ 
ton and Whitchurch, at Hamburgh, as some think, or, as others sup¬ 
pose, at Malborow, or Harpurg in Hesse, or Marbeck in the duchy of 
Wittemberg, where Rogers was superintendant. It bore the name of 
Thomas Matthewe, and it was set forth with the king’s most gracious 
licence. Mr. Wanley is of opinion, that, to the end of the book of 
Chronicles, this edition is Tindal’s translation; and from thence to 
the end of the Apocrypha, Coverdale’s : but Lewis 2 thinks it probable 
that the prophecy of Jonah should be excepted, which Tindal finished 
in his life-time, and which is the same in this edition, and in Cover- 
dale’s Bible of 1535. Mr. Wanley also observed, that the whole 
New Testament was Tindal’s. Bale says, Rogers translated the 
Bible into English, from Genesis to the end of Revelation, making 
use ol the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German, and English (i. e. Tin¬ 
dal’s) copies. This book contained Tindal’s prologue and notes; 
and, as Heylin says 3 , it was no other than the translation of Tindal 
and Coverdale somewhat altered. The name of Matthewe is allowed 
to have been fictitious, for reasons of prudence; one of which was, 
that the memory of Tindal had become odious to many. It may 


1 Hist. Engl. Transl. 98. 


2 p. 107. 


3 Hist. Ref. fol. 20. 





239 


VI. Sect. III.] The English Versions. 

well be admitted, that John Rogers, a learned academic, and the first 
who was condemned to the flames in the reign of Queen Mary, was 
employed by Cranmer to superintend this edition, and to furnish the few 
emendations and additions that were thought necessary. This must 
have been the general persuasion in 1555, as the condemning sentence 
preserved by Fox 1 , is “ against Rogers, priest, alias called Matthew.” 
Cranmer presented a copy of this book to Lord Cromwell, desiring 
his intercession with the king for the royal licence, that it might be 
purchased and used by all. There are extant two letters 2 from the 
archbishop, on the subject of Lord Cromwell’s intercession, expressing 
warm approbation and acknowledgment. “ I doubt not,” says he, 
“ but that hereby such fruit of good knowledge shall ensue, that it 
shall well appear hereafter what high and excellent service you have 
done unto God and the king; which shall so much redound to your 
honour, that, besides God’s reward, you shall obtain perpetual memo¬ 
ry for the same within this realm.” — “ This deed you shall hear of 
at the great day, when all things shall be opened and made manifest.” 
In the year 1558, an injunction was published by the vicar-general of 
the kingdom, ordaining the clergy to provide, before a certain festival, 
one book of the whole Bible, of the largest volume in English, and 
to set it up in some convenient place within their churches, where 
their parishioners might most commodiously resort to read it. A royal 
declaration was also published, which the curates were to read in their 
several churches, informing the people, that it had pleased the king’s 
majesty to permit and command the Bible, being translated into their 
mother tongue, to be sincerely taught by them, and to be openly laid 
forth in every parish church. But the curates were very cold in this 
affair 3 , and read the king’s injunctions and declarations in such a man¬ 
ner, that scarcely any body could know or understand what they read. 
Johnson 4 adds, that they also read the word of God confusedly; and 
that they bade their parishioners, notwithstanding what they read, which 
they were compelled to read, “ to do as they did in times past, and 
to live as their fathers, the old fashion being the best.” Fox observes 5 , 
that the setting forth of this book much offended Gardiner and his 
fellow bishops, both for the prologues, and especially because there 
was a table in the book chiefly about the Lord’s supper, the marriage 
of priests, and the mass, which was there said not to be found in 
Scripture. Strype, however, says 6 , it was wonderful to see with what 
joy this book was received, not only among the more learned, and 
those who were noted lovers of the reformation, but generally all over 
England, among all the common people ; and with what avidity God’s 
word was read, and what resort there was to the places appointed for 
reading it. Every one that could, bought the book, and busily read 
it, or heard it read, and many elderly persons learned to read on pur¬ 
pose. During a vacancy in the see of Hereford, it was visited by 

1 Acts, &c. vol.iii. 125. 2 Strype’s Life of Crammer, p. 58. 

3 Lewis, p. 108. 

4 Hist. Account, &c. in Bishop Watson’s Collection, vol. iii. p. 94. 

5 Acts, &c. vol. ii. 516. 6 Life of Cranmer, p. 64. 



240 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch. 

Cranmer, who enjoined the clergy to procure, by the 1st of August, 
a whole Bible in Latin and English, or at least, a New Testament in 
these languages ; to study every day one chapter of these books, con¬ 
ferring the Latin and English together, from the beginning to the end ; 
and not to discourage any layman from reading them, but encourage 
them to it, and to read them for the reformation of their lives and 
knowledge of their duty. In the course of the year 1538, a quarto 
edition of the New Testament, in the Vulgate Latin, and Coverdale’s 
English, bearing the name of Hollybushe, was printed, with the king’s 
licence, by James Nicolson. Of this another more correct edition 
was published in 1539, in 8vo., and dedicated to Lord Cromwell. In 
1538, an edition in 4to. of the New Testament, in English, with 
Erasmus’s Latin translation, was printed, with the king’s licence, by 
Redman. In this year it was resolved to revise Matthewe’s Bible, 
and to print a correct edition of it. With this view Grafton went to 
France, where the workmen were more skilful, and the paper was 
both better and cheaper than in England, and obtained permission 
from Francis I. at the request of king Henry VIII. to print his Bible 
at Paris. But notwithstanding the royal licence, the inquisition inter¬ 
posed, and issued an order, dated December 17, 1538, summoning 
the French printers, their English employers, and Coverdale the cor¬ 
rector of the work, and prohibiting them to proceed ; and the im¬ 
pression, consisting of 2500 copies, was seized, confiscated, and con¬ 
demned to the flames. Some chests, however, of these books, escaped 
the fire, by the avarice of the person who was appointed to superin¬ 
tend the burning of them ; and the English proprietors, who had fled 
on the first alarm, returned to Paris as soon as it subsided, and not 
only recovered some of these copies, but brought with them to London 
the presses, types, and printers, and resuming the work, finished it in 
the following year. 

As soon as the papal power was abolished in England, and the 
king’s supremacy settled by parliament in 1534, Cranmer was very 
assiduous in promoting the translation of the Holy Scriptures into the 
vulgar tongue ; well knowing how much the progress of the reforma¬ 
tion depended upon this measure. Accordingly, he moved in convo¬ 
cation, that a petition should be presented to the king for leave to 
procure a new translation of the Bible. This motion was vigorously 
opposed by Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, and his party : but Cran¬ 
mer prevailed. The arguments for a new translation, urged by Cran¬ 
mer, and enforced by Queen Anne Bullen, who had then great interest 
in the king’s affections, were so much considered by him, that, not¬ 
withstanding the opposition, public and private, on the part of Gardiner 
and his adherents, Henry gave orders for setting about it immediately. 
To prevent any revocation of the order, Cranmer, whose mind was 
intent on introducing a free use of the English Scriptures by faithful 
and able translators, proceeded without delay to divide an old English 
translation of the New Testament into nine or ten parts, which he 
caused to be transcribed into paper-books, and to be distributed among 
the most learned bishops and others; requiring that they would per- 


241 


VI. Sect. III.] The English Versions . 

fectly correct their respective portions, and return them to him at a 
limited time. When the assigned day came, every man sent his ap¬ 
propriate portion to Lambeth, except Stokesly, bishop of London. 
This laudable design of the archbishop failed ; but the business was 
executed by other persons, whom he countenanced and encouraged. 
In April 1539, Grafton and Whitchurch printed the Bible (called the 
u Great Bible”) in large folio, “ cum privilegio ad imprimendum so¬ 
lum.” A beautiful frontispiece, designed by Holbein, and particularly 
described and exhibited in an engraving by Lewis, was prefixed to 
it: and in the text, those parts of the Latin version, which are not 
found in the Hebrew or Greek, are inserted in a smaller letter-; such, 
for instance, as the three verses of the 14th Psalm, which are the 5th, 
6th, and 7th, in the translation of the English liturgy, and the contro¬ 
verted clause in 1 John v. 7, 8 ; and a mark is used to denote a dif¬ 
ference of reading between the Hebrew* and Chaldee, afterwards ex¬ 
plained in a separate treatise. In this edition Matthew*e’s Bible was 
revised, and several alterations and corrections were made in the 
translation, especially in the book of Psalms. Tindal’s prologues and 
notes, and die notes added by others, in the edition of 1537, were 
wholly omitted.- Pointing hands, placed in the margin and in the 
text, shew the passages on which these notes were to have been writ¬ 
ten. Johnson 1 calls this third edition of the Scriptures the Bible in 
the large or great volume, ascribes it to the year 1539, and supposes 
it to have been the same which Grafton obtained leave to print at Pa¬ 
ris. He says, that Miles Coverdale compared the translation with the 
Hebrew, mended it in many places, and was the chief director of the 
work. Agreeably to this, Coverdale, in a sermon at Paul’s cross, de¬ 
fended his translation from some slanderous reports which w*ere then 
raised against it, confessing “ that he himself now* saw* some faults, 
which, if he might review the book once again, as he had twice be¬ 
fore, he doubted not he should amend ; but for any heresy, he was 
sure that there were none maintained in his translation.” This is re¬ 
lated by Dr. Fulke, who was one of Coverdale’s auditors. A second 
edition of this Bible seems to have been printed either in this or the 
next year, by Edward Whitchurch ; but the copy is imperfect, and 
has no date. 

In the course of the year 1539, another Bible was printed by John 
Byddell, called “ Taverner’s Bible,” from the name of its conductor, 
Richard Taverner ; who was educated at Christ-church, Oxford, pa¬ 
tronised by Lord Cromwell, and probably encouraged by him to 
undertake the w r ork, on account of his skill in the Greek tongue. 
This is neither a bare revisal of the English Bible just described, nor 
a new* version ; but a kind of intermediate work, being a correction 
of what is called “Matthewe’s Bible,” many of whose marginal notes 
are adopted, and many omitted, and others inserted by the editors. 
It is dedicated to the king. After his patron’s death, Taverner was 
imprisoned in the Tower for this work; but he had the address 


VOL. II. 


1 In Bp. Watson’s Tracts, vol. iii. p. 7li. 

31 


1 -« 






242 Modern Versions of the Scriptures . [Part I. Ch. 

to reinstate himself in the king’s favour. Wood 1 gives a particular 
account of Taverner ; attributes his imprisonment to the influence oi 
those bishops who were addicted to the Romish religion ; and informs 
us, that his version was read in churches by royal authority. In No¬ 
vember 1539, the king, at the intercession of Cranmer, appointed 
Lord Cromwell to take special care that no person, within the realm, 
should attempt to print any English Bible for five years, but such as 
should be admitted by Lord Cromwell; and assigns this reason for 
the prohibition, that the Bible should be considered and perused in 
one translation, in order to avoid the manifold inconveniences to which 
human frailty might be subject from a diversity of translations, and the 
ill use that might be made of it. In the year 1540, two privileged 
editions of the Bible, which had been printed in the preceding year, 
issued from the press of Edward Whitchurch. Lewis mentions 
three other impressions of the “ Great Bible,” which appeared in 
the course of this year; two printed by Whitchurch, and one by 
Petyt and Redman. Cranmer wrote a preface for the editions 
of the year 1540, from which we learn the opinions and practice 
of those times. In May of this year, the curates and parishioners 
of every parish were required, by royal proclamation, to provide 
themselves with the Bible of the largest volume before the feast of 
All Saints, under the penalty of 40s. for every month during which 
they should be without it. The king charged all ordinaries to enforce 
the observance of this proclamation; and he Apprised the people, 
that his allowing them the Scriptures in their mother-tongue was not 
his duty, but an evidence of his goodness and liberality to them, of 
which he exhorted them not to make any ill use. In May 1541, one 
edition of Cranmer’s Bible was finished by Richard Grafton ; who,, 
in the November following, completed also another Bible of the larg¬ 
est volume, which was superintended, at the king’s command, by 
Tonstal, bishop of Durham, and Heath, bishop of Rochester. 

In consequence of the king’s settled judgment “ that his subjects 
should be nursed in Christ by reading the Scriptures,” he again, on 
tlie 7th of May, published a brief or decree, for setting up the Bible 
of the great volume in every parish church throughout England. 
However, this decree appears to have been very partially and reluctant¬ 
ly observed; and the bishops were charged, by a writer in 1546, with at¬ 
tempting to suppress the Bible, under pretence of preparing a version of 
it for publication within seven years. After the death of Cromwell in 
1540, the bishops inclined to popery gained strength ; and the English 
translation was represented to the king as very erroneous and heretical, 
and destructive of the harmony and peace of the kingdom. In the 
convocation assembled in Feb. 1542, the archbishop, in the king’s 
name, required the bishops and clergy to revise the translation of the 
New Testament, which, for that purpose, was divided into fourteen 
parts, and portioned out to fifteen bishops ; the Apocalypse, on ac¬ 
count of its difficulty, being assigned to two. Gardiner clogged this 


l Hist, et Ant. Univ. Oxon. fol. 1674, 1 . ii p. 264. 




243 


VI. Sect. III.] The English Versions . 

business with embarrassing instructions ; and Cranmer clearly perceiv¬ 
ing the resolution of the bishops to defeat the proposed translation, 
procured the king’s consent to refer the matter to the two universities* 
against which the bishops protested : but the archbishop declared his 
purpose to adhere to the will of the king his master. With this 
contest the business terminated ; and the convocation was soon 
after dissolved. The Romish party prevailed also in parliament, 
which enacted a law that condemned and abolished Tindal’s transla¬ 
tion, and allowed other translations to remain in force, under certain 
restrictions. After the passing of this act, Grafton, the king’s printer, 
was imprisoned; nor was he released without giving a bond of 300). 
neither to print nor sell any more English Bibles, till the king and the 
clergy should agree on a translation. In 1544, the Pentateuch was 
printed by John Day and William Seres; and in 1546, the king pro¬ 
hibited by proclamation the having and reading of Wickliffe’s, Tin¬ 
dal’s, and Coverdale’s translations, and forbad the use of any other 
than what was allowed by parliament. From the history of English 
translations during the reign of Henry VIII. we learn, that the friends 
to the reformation conducted themselves with zeal and prudence in 
the great W'ork of introducing and improving English translations of 
the Bible; that they encountered many difficulties from the danger¬ 
ous inconstancy of a despotic prince, and from the inveterate preju¬ 
dices of a strong Romish party ; and that the English scriptures were 
sought after and read with avidity by the bulk of the people. 

Upon the accession of Edward VI. the severe stat, 34 and 35 
Henry VIII. c. 1. was repealed, and a royal injunction was publish¬ 
ed, that not only the whole English Bible should be placed in churches, 
but also the paraphrase of Erasmus in English to the end of the four 
Evangelists. It was likewise ordered by this injunction, that every 
parson, vicar, curate, &c. under the degree of a bachelor of divinity, 
should possess the New Testament, both in Latin and English, with 
the paraphrase of Erasmus upon it; and that the bishops, &ic. in their 
visitations and synods should examine them, how they had profited in 
the study of the Holy Scriptures. It was also appointed, that the 
epistle and gospel of the mass should be read in English; and that 
on every Sunday and holiday, one chapter of the New Testament in 
English should be plainly and distinctly read at matins, and one chap¬ 
ter of the Old Testament at even-song. But in the year 1549, when 
the book of common prayer, &c. was finished, what nearly resembles 
our present custom was enjoined, viz. that after reading the Psalms 
in order at morning and evening prayer, two lessons, the first from 
the Old Testament, and the second from the New Testament, 
should be read distinctly with a loud voice. During the course of 
this reign, that is, in less than seven years and six months, eleven 
impressions of the whole English Bible were published, and six of the 
English New Testament; besides an English translation of the whole 
New Testament, paraphrased by Erasmus. The Bibles were reprint¬ 
ed, according to the preceding editions, whether Tindal’s, Coverdale’s, 
Matthewe’s, Cranmer’s, or Taverner’s; that is, with a different text, 


244 Modem Versions of the Scriptures. [Part 1. Ch. 

and different notes. But it is doubted by the writer of the preface to 
King James’s translation* whether there were any translation, or cor¬ 
rection of a translation, in the course of this reign. 

In 1562, the “ Great Bible,” viz. that of toverdale’s translation, 
which had been printed in the time of Henry VIII. and also in the 
time of King Edward, was revised by Archbishop Parker, and reprint¬ 
ed for the use of the church; and this was to serve till that projected 
by his grace was ready for publication. 

Many of the principal reformers having been driven to Geneva 
during the persecutions of Queen Mary’s reign, they published, in 
1557, an English New Testament, printed by Conrad Badius; the 
first in our language which contained the distinctions of verses by nu¬ 
merical figures, after the manner of the Greek Testament, which had 
been published by Robert Stephens in 1551. R. Stephens, indeed, 
published his figures in the margin; whereas the Geneva editors pre¬ 
fixed theirs to the beginning of minute subdivisions with breaks, after 
our present manner. When Queen Elizabeth passed through London 
from the tower to her coronation, a pageant was erected in Cheapside, 
representing Time coming out of a cave, and leading a person clothed 
in white silk, who represented Truth, his daughter. Truth had the 
English Bible in her hand, on which was written “ Verbum veritatis.” 
Truth addressed the queen, and presented her with the book. She 
kissed it, held it in her hand, laid it on her breast, greatly thanked the 
city for their present, and added, that she would often and diligently 
read it. Upon a royal visitation in 1559, the Bible, and Erasmus’s 
paraphrase, were restored to the Churches; and articles of inquiry 
were exhibited whether the clergy discouraged any from reading any 
part of the Scriptures. “ Ministers were also enjoined to read every 
day one chapter of the Bible at least; and all who were admitted 
readers in the church were daily to read one chapter at least of the 
Old Testament, and another of the New, with good advisement, to the 
encrease of their knowledge.” 

During the year 1559, the exiles at Geneva published the book of 
Psalms in English, with marginal notes, and with a dedication to the 
queen, dated February 10. In 1560, the whole Bible in 4to. was 
printed at Geneva by Rowland Harle ; some of the refugees from 
England continuing in that city for this purpose. The translators were 
Bishop Coverdale, Anthony Gilby, William Whittingham, Christopher 
Woodman, Thomas Sampson, and Thomas Cole ; to whom some add 
John Knox, John Bodleigh and John Pullain; all zealous Calvinists 
both in doctrine and discipline : but the chief and most learned of 
them were the three first. Professing to observe the sense, and to 
adhere as much as possible to the words of the original, and in many 
places to preserve the Hebrew phraseology, after the unremitting la¬ 
bour and study ol more than two years, they finished their translation, 
and published it; with an epistle dedicatory to the queen, and ano¬ 
ther, by way of preface, to their brethren of England, Scotland, and 
Ireland. Besides the translation, the editors of the Geneva Bible 
noted in the margin the diversities of speech and reading, especially 


245 


VI. Sect. III.] The English Versions. 

according to the Hebrew ; they inserted in the text with another kind 
of letter, every word that seemed to be necessary for explaining any 
particular sentence : in the division of the verses, they followed the 
Hebrew examples, and added the number to each verse ; they alsp 
noted the principal matters, and the arguments, both for each book and 
each chapter ; they set over the head of every page some remarka¬ 
ble word or sentence, for helping the memory ; they introduced brief 
annotations lor ascertaining the text, and explaining obscure words; 
they set forth with figures certain places in the books of Moses, of the 
Kings, and Ezekiel, which could not be made intelligible by any other 
description ; they added maps of divers places and countries, men¬ 
tioned in the Old and New Testament; and they annexed two tables, 
one for the interpretation of Hebrew names, and the other containing 
all the chief matters of the whole Bible. Of tliis translation, there 
were above 30 editions in folio, 4to, or 8vo, mostly printed by the 
queen’s and king’s printer, between die years 1560 and 1616. Edi¬ 
tions of it were likewise printed at Geneva, Edinburgh, and Amster¬ 
dam. To some editions of the Geneva Bible, (as to those of 1599 
and 1611), is subjoined Beza’s translation of the New Testament, 
Englished by L. Thompson. 

In the year 1568, the Bible, proposed by Archbishop Parker three 
years before, was completed. This edition, according to Le Long, 
was undertaken by royal command ; and it is mentioned by Strype, 
to the honour of the archbishop, that he had resolution to perform 
what Cranmer, as opposed by the bishops of his days, had in vain en¬ 
deavoured to accomplish. In this performance, distinct portions of 
the Bible, at least 15 in number, were allotted to select men of learn¬ 
ing and abilities, appointed, as Fuller says, by the queen’s commis¬ 
sion ; and, accordingly, at the conclusion of each part, the edition of 
1568 has the initial letters of each man’s name to the end of the first 
epistle to the Corinthians; e. g. at the end of the Pentateuch, W. E, 
for William, bishop of Exeter, whose allotment ended there ; at the 
end of Ruth, R. M. for Richard Menevensis,or bishop of St. David’s, 
to whom pertained the second allotment; and so of the rest. But it 
still remains uncertain, who, and whether one or more, revised the 
rest of the New Testament. Eight of the persons employed were 
bishops; whence the book was called the “ Bishops’ Bible,” and the 
“ Great English Bible.” The archbishop employed other critics to 
compare this Bible with the original languages, and with the former 
translations ; one of whom was Laurence, a man famous in those 
times for his knowledge of Greek, whose castigations the Bishops’ Bible 
followed exactly. His grace also sent instructions concerning the 
method which his translators were to observe; and recommended the 
addition of some short marginal notes., for the illustration or correction 
of the text. But the particulars of these instructions are not known. 
The archbishop, however, directed, reviewed, and finished the whole ; 
which was printed and published in 1568, in a large folio size, and 
with a beautiful English letter, on royal paper; and embellished with 
several cuts of the most remarkable things in the Old and New Tes* 


'246 Modern Versions of the Scriptures . [Part I. Cl u 

taments, and in the Apocrypha, with maps cut in wood, and other en¬ 
gravings on copper. It has numerous marginal references and notes, 
and many useful tables. It also has numerous insertions between 
brackets, and in a smaller character; which are equivalent to the 
italics afterwards used by James’s translators. Dr. Geddes is ol opin¬ 
ion 1 , that italic supplements were first used by Montanus, who 

•died in 1598. The several additions from the vulgar Latin, inserted 
in the “ Great Bible,” are omitted; and verse 7 ol 1 John v. which 
was before distinguished by its being printed in a different letter, is 
here printed without any distinction; and the chapters are divided 
into verses. In the following year, 1569, it was again published in 
large 8vo, for the use of private families. This Bible was reprinted in 
1572, in large folio, with several corrections and amendments, and 
several prolegomena ; this is called “ Matthew Parker’s Bible.” 
With regard to this Bible, Lewis 2 observes, that the editions of it are 
mostly in folio and 4to, and that he never heard but of one in 8vo ; 
for which he supposes this to be the reason, that it was principally de¬ 
signed for the use of churches. In the convocation of the province 
of Canterbury, which met in April 1571, a canon was made enjoining 
the churchwardens to see that the Holy Bible be in every church in 
the largest volumes, if convenient; and it was likewise ordered, that 
every archbishop and bishop, every dean and chief residentiary, and 
every archdeacon, should have one of these Bibles in their cathedrals 
and families. This translation w T as used in the churches for forty 
years; though the Geneva Bible was more read in private houses. 

In the year 1582, the Romanists finding it impossible to withhold 
the Scriptures any longer from the common people, printed an Eng¬ 
lish New Testament at Rheims : it was translated, not from the ori¬ 
ginal Greek, but from the Latin Vulgate. The editors (whose names 
are not known) retained the words azymes, tunike, holocaust , pasche , 
and a multitude of other Greek w 7 ords untranslated, under the pretext 
of wanting proper and adequate English terms, by which to render 
them; and thus contrived to render it unintelligible to common rea¬ 
ders. Hence the historian Fidler took occasion to remark that it was 
a 1 translation which needed to be translated ;’ and that its editors, 

4 by all means laboured to suppress the light of truth under one pre¬ 
tence or other.’ Our learned countryman, Thomas Cartwright, was 
solicited by Sir Francis Walsingham, to refute this translation: but 
after he had made considerable progress in the work, he was prohibit¬ 
ed from proceeding further by Archbishop Whitgift; who, judging it 
improper that the defence of the doctrine of the Church of England 
should be committed to a puritan, appointed Dr. William Fulke in his 
place. By him the divines of Rheims were refuted with great spirit 
and ability. Fulke’s work appeared in 1617, and in the following 
yeaT, Cartwright’s confutation was published under the auspices of 
Archbishop Abbot; both of them were accompanied with the Rhemish 
translation of the New Testament. The Old Testament was translated 


1 Letter to the Bishop of London, p. 33. 


2 Hist. Eng. Transl. p. 61 





247 


VI. Sect. TIL] The English Versions . 

from the Vulgate at Douay (whence it is called the Douay Bible) in 
two volumes 4to, the first of which appeared in 1609, and the second 
in 1610. Annotations are subjoined, which are ascribed to one Tho¬ 
mas Worthington : the translators were William (afterwards Cardinal) 
Allen, Gregory Martin, and Richard Bristow. This translation, with 
tlie Rhemish version of the New Testament above noticed, forms the 
English Bible, which alone is used by the Romanists of this coun¬ 
try. 1 ^ 

The last English version that remains to be noticed, is the autho¬ 
rised translation now in use, which is commonly called King James’s 
Bible. He succeeded to the throne of England in 1603; and, seve¬ 
ral objections having been made to the Bishop’s Bible at the confe¬ 
rence held at Hampton Court in the following year, the king command¬ 
ed a new version to be undertaken, and fifty-four learned men were 
appointed to this important labour; but, before it was commenced, 
seven of the persons nominated were either dead or had declined the 
task ; for the list, as given us by Fidler 2 , comprises only forty-seven 
names. All of them, however, were pre-eminently distinguished for 
their piety and for their profound learning in the original languages of 
the sacred writings ; and such of them as survived till the commence¬ 
ment of the work were divided into six classes. Ten were to meet at 
Westminster, and to translate from the Pentateuch to the end of the 
second book of Kings. Eight, assembled at Cambridge, were to finish 
the rest of the Historical Books, and the Hagiographa. At Oxford, 
seven were to undertake the four greater prophets, with the Lamenta¬ 
tions of Jeremiah, and the twelve minor prophets. The four Gospels, 
Acts of the Apostles, and the Apocalypse, were assigned to another 
company of eight, also at Oxford : and the epistles of St. Paul, to¬ 
gether with the remaining canonical epistles, were allotted to another 
company of seven, at Westminster. Lastly, another company at 
Cambridge, were to translate the apocryphal books, including the 
prayer of Manasseh. To these six companies of venerable translators, 
the King gave the following instructions : 

“ 1. The ordinary Bible read in tlie church, commonly called the 
Bishops’ Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the original 
will permit. 

“ 2. The names of the prophets and the holy writers, with the 
other names in the text, to be retained as near as may be, accord¬ 
ingly as they are vulgarly used. 

“ 3. The old ecclesiastical words to be kept, as the word church not 
to be translated congregation. 

“ 4. When any word hath divers significations, that to be kept, 
which hath been most commonly used by the most eminent fathers, 
being agreeable to the propriety of the place and the analogy of faith. 

1 In 1805 a new edition of tlie Douay English Bible, with notes by Bishop Chal- 
oner, was printed at Edinburgh in five volumes, 8vo. Editions have also been 
lately published at Manchester, Liverpool, Dublin, and Cork. For a review of the 
dangerous tenets of the Rhemish Testament, “ corrected, and revised, and approved 
of by the most reverend Dr. Troy, R. C. Archbishop of Dublin,” (Dublin, 1816), 
see the British Critic (N. S.) vol. viii. pp. 296—303. 

2 Church History, book x. pp. 44 —46. 




248 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch. 

“5. The division of the chapters to be altered either not at all, or 
as little as may be, if necessity so require. 

“ 6. No marginal notes at all to be affixed, but only for the expla¬ 
nation of the Hebrew or Greek words which cannot without some 
circumlocution, so briefly and fitly be expressed in the text. 

“ 7. Such quotations of places to be marginally set down, as shall 
serve for the fit references of one scripture to another. 

“ 8. Every particular man of each company to take the same chap¬ 
ter or chapters ; and having translated or amended them severally 
by himself, where he thinks good, all to meet together, to confer what 
they have done, and agree for their part what shall stand. 

“ 9. As anyone company hath dispatched any one book in this man¬ 
ner, they shall send it to the rest, to be considered of, seriously and 
judiciously : for his majesty is very careful in this point. 

“ 10. If any company, upon the review of the book so sent, shall 
doubt or differ upon any places, to send them word thereof, to note 
the places, and therewithal to send their reasons ; to which if they 
consent not, the difference to be compounded at the general meeting, 
which is to be of the chief persons of each company, at the end of 
the work. 

“ 11. When any place of special obscurity is doubted of, letters to 
be directed by authority, to send to any learned in the land for his 
judgment in such a place. 

“ 12. Letters to be sent from every bishop to the rest of his clergy, 
admonishing them of this translation in hand, and to move and charge 
as many as, being skilful in the tongues, have taken pains in that 
kind, to send their particular observations to the company, either at 
Westminster, Cambridge, or Oxford, according as it was directed be¬ 
fore in the king’s letter to the Archbishop. 

“ 13. The directors in each company to be the Deans of Westmin¬ 
ster and Chester for Westminster, and the King’s Professors in He¬ 
brew and Greek in the two Universities. 

“ 14. These translations to be used, when they agree better with 
the text than the Bishops’ Bible, viz. Tyndal’s, Coverdale’s, Mat- 
thewe’s, Whitchurch’s, Geneva. 

[ “ 15. Besides the said directors before mentioned, three or four 
of the most antient and grave divines in either of the universities, 
not employed in translating, to be assigned by the Vice-Chancellor, 
upon conference with the rest of the heads, to be overseers of the 
translation, as well Hebrew as Greek, for the better observation of 
the 4th rule above specified.” 1 ] 

According to these regulations, each book passed the scrutiny of 
all the translators successively. In the first instance, each individual 
translated every book, which was allotted to his division. Secondly, 
the readings to he adopted were agreed upon by the whole of that 
company assembled together, at which meeting each translator must 
have been solely occupied by his own version. The book, thus 
finished, was sent to each of the other companies to be again examin- 


1 The preceding rules are given from a corrected copy in the Rev. H. J. Todd’s 
Vindication of our authorised translation and translators of the Bible, pp. 9—12, 
London, 3819, 8vo. 



249 


VI. Sect. III.] The English Emersions. 

ed; and at these meetings it probably was, as Selden informs us, that 
u one read the translation, the rest holding in their hands some Bible, 
either of the learned tongues, or French, Spanish, Italian, he. If 
they found any fault, they spoke ; if not, he read on.” 1 Further, 
the translators were empowered to call to their assistance any learned 
men, whose studies enabled them to be serviceable, when an urgent 
occasion of difficulty presented itself. The translation was com¬ 
menced in the spring of 1607, and the completion of it occupied 
almost three years. At the expiration of that time, three copies of 
the whole Bible, thus translated and revised, were sent to London, — 
one from Oxford, one from Cambridge, and a third from Westminster. 
Here a committee of six, two being deputed by the companies at Ox¬ 
ford, two by those at Cambridge, and two by those at Westminster, 
reviewed and polished the whole work : which was finally revised by 
Dr. Smith (afterwards bishop of Gloucester), who wrote the preface, 
and by Dr. Bilson, bishop of Winchester. This translation of the 
Bible was first published in folio in 1611, with the following title : 

The Holy Bible, conteyning the Old Testament and the New, 
newly translated out of the Originall Tongues, and with the former 
Translations diligently compared and revised by his Majesties spe- 
ciall Comandement. Imprinted at London, by Robert Barker, 
Printer to the King’s most excellent Majestie. 1611.” 

There are copies of it which have the dates of 1612 and 1613. In 
some of the very numerous editions printed between the years 1638 
and 1685, an alteration is introduced in Acts vi. 3.; where, instead 
of we may appoint , we read ye may appoint. This alteration has 
been charged upon the Independents during the time of Cromwell’s 
usurpation ; but, as the first Bible, in which it was observed, is that 
printed at Cambridge by Buck and Daniel, in 1638, it is in all proba¬ 
bility an error of the press, without any design to favour any particular 
party. 2 In 1653, an edition was printed by John Field, at Cam¬ 
bridge, in 24mo, which is of extreme rarity and beauty: it is called 
the Pearl Bible , from the very small type with which it was printed, 
but is disgraced by very numerous errata, some of which are of im¬ 
portance. 3 An imitation of it was made in Holland, in 1658; but the 
genuine edition is known by having the four first psalms on a page, 
without turning over. In 1660, the same printer executed a splendid 


1 Selden’s Table Talk, article Bible. —Works, vol. iii. col. 2009. 

2 Another material error has crept into many modern editions of the English 
Bible, in 1 Tim. iv. 1G., where we read Take heed unto thyself and thy doctrine 
instead of the doctrine. The origin of this mistake (which the author of this 
work has found in various editions printed between the year 1690 and the com¬ 
mencement of the present century) it is now impossible to ascertain. It was first 
pointed out by the eminently learned Bishop Horsley. 

3 Mr. D'Israeli has an interesting article on the above noticed “ Pearl Bibles 

and Six Thousand Errata,” from which the following instances are copied. — Rom. 
yi. 13 . “ Neither yield ye your members as instruments of righteousness unto 

sin” — for unrighteousness. — 1 Cor. vi. 9. “Know ye not that the unrighteous 
shall inherit the kingdom of God ? — for shall not inherit .” “ This erratum,” Mr. 

D. remarks, “ served as the foundation of a dangerous doctrine ; for many liber¬ 
tines urged the text from this corrupt Bible, against there proofs of a divine.” Cu- 
riosities^of Literature. (2d Series.) vol. iii. p. 318. 


32 



250 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. 


[Pail I. Ch, 


folio edition of the Bible, which was illustrated with chorographical 
plates, engraved by Ogilby, an eminent artist of that time : he also 
printed several other editions in 8vo. and 12mo. but they are not con¬ 
sidered as typographical curiosities. From the time of Field to the 
end of the seventeenth century, several curious flat Bibles were print¬ 
ed, which are denominated preaching Bibles , from the use made of 
them in the pulpit during that period. The typographical execution 
of them is very clear, the type being a broad-faced letter, upon thin 
paper, with a few marginal notes, which gives them a superiority over 
many of the thick and heavy volumes that have since been printed. 

In 1683, this translation was corrected, and many references to 
parallel texts were added by Dr. Scattergood ; and in 1701, a very 
fine edition was published in large folio under the direction of Dr. 
Tenison, archbishop of Canterbury, with chronological dates, and an 
index by Bishop Lloyd, and accurate tables of Scripture weights and 
measures by Bishop Cumberland : but this edition is said to abound 
with typographical errors. The latest and most complete revision is 
that made by the late Rev. Dr. Blayney, under the direction of the 
Vice-chancellor and delegates of the Clarendon Press, at Oxford. In 
this edition, which was printed both in quarto and folio, in 1769, the 
punctuation was thoroughly revised ; the words printed in Italics were 
examined and corrected by the Hebrew and Greek originals; the 
proper names , to the etymology of which allusions,are made in the 
text, were translated and entered in the margin, the summaries of 
chapters and running titles at the top of each page corrected; some 
material errors in the chronology rectified; and the marginal referen¬ 
ces were re-examined and corrected, and thirty thousand four hun¬ 
dred and ninety-five new references were inserted in the margin. 1 
From the singular pains bestowed, in order to render this edition as 
accurate as possible, it has hitherto been considered the standard edi¬ 
tion, from which all subsequent impressions have been executed. 
Notwithstanding, however, the great labour and attention bestowed by 
Dr. Blayney, his edition must now yield the palm of accuracy to the 
very beautiful and correct edition published by Messrs. Eyre and 
Strahan, his Majesty’s Printers, but printed by Mr. Woodfall in 1806, 
and again in 1812, in quarto ; as not fewer than one hundred and 
sixteen errors were discovered in collating the edition of 1806 with 
Dr. B.’s, and one of these errors was an omission of considerable im¬ 
portance. 2 Messrs. Eyre and Strahan’s editions may therefore be 

1 A full account of Dr. Blayney’s Collation and Revision was communicated by 
him to the Gentleman’s Magazine for November 1769 . vol. xxxix. pp. 517 — 519 . 

2 In Dr. Blayney’s quarto edition of 1769 , the following words are omitted in Rev. 
xviii. 22. after the words “ no more,” viz. u at all in thee ; and no craftsmen, of 
whatsoever craft he, he , shall be found any more.” It is proper to add that 
this omission was caused in over-running the folio edition of 1769 into the quarto 
size. Similar errors have been detected in other editions of the Bible, some of which 
are sufficiently curious. Thus, in 1632 Barker and Lucas (the king’s printers) ex¬ 
ecuted an edition of the English Bible, consisting of one thousand copies, in which 
a very serious error was committed by leaving out the word not in the seventh com¬ 
mandment, which ran thus : Thou shalt commit adultery. This fact being 
proved before the high commission court, the whole impression was called in, and 



VI. Sect. III.J The English Versions. 25 f 

regarded as approaching as near as possible to what bibliographers 
term an immaculate text. * 1 It will gratify the reader to know that they 
have been recommended by the General Convention of the Protes¬ 
tant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, as the Stan¬ 
dard Editions to which future editions of the English Version of the 
Holy Scriptures, (for the use of the members of "that church) are to 
be made conformable. 2 3 

After the publication of the present authorised translation, all the 
other versions gradually fell into disuse, with the exception of the 
Psalms, and the Epistles and Gospels in the book of Common Prayer, 
which were still continued, the former according to the translation of 
Cranmer’s Bible, and the latter according to that of the Bishops* 
Bible, until the final revision of the Liturgy, in 16G1 ; at which time 
die Epistles and Gospels were taken from the present version, but the 


a very heavy fine was imposed upon the printers. (Townley’s Illustrations of 
Biblical Literature, vol. iii. pp. 318—320.) The splendid folio Bible, printed by 
Basket at Oxford in 1717, is commonly termed the Vinegar Bible , from an error in 
the running title at Luke xxii. where we read the “ parable of the vinegar" instead 
of the '‘parable uj the vineyard !” The octavo Oxford Bible, printed in 1702, is 
remarkable for a mistake in Luke xxii. 34. where Philip, instead of Peter , is named 
as the disciple who should deny Christ: And the octavo bible, printed at the same 
place, in 1811, is remarkable tor this mistake in Isa. lvii. 12. “ I will declare thy 

righteousness and thy works, for they shall profit thee ; instead of “ they shall not 
profit thee." The existence of such errors as these, presents a most powerful in¬ 
ducement to the superintendants of the two university presses, as well as of his 
Majesty's printers, to give the utmost possible vigilance and correctness to the 
final revision of their proof sheets: especially as, since the adoption of the stereo¬ 
type process, a single error may be perpetuated through many thousand impres¬ 
sions,— as many indeed as may be taken from the stereotype plates. (Brit. Crit. 
N. S. vol; xvii. p. 201.) 

1 Only one erratum, we believe, has been discovered in the edition of 1806. The 
following particulars relative to the above-mentioned London editions of the Bible 
may not be unacceptable to the bibliographical reader, at the same time they will 
shew that their claims to be considered as standard editions are not altogether un¬ 
founded.— The booksellers of the metropolis, having applied to his Majesty’s 
Printers to undertake a handsome edition of the Bible, confided the execution of it 
to Mr. George Woodfall in 1804. The copy printed from was the current Cam¬ 
bridge edition, with which Mr. W.’s edition agrees page for page. It was after¬ 
wards read twice by the Oxford impression then in use, and the proofs were 
transmitted to the Rev. Launcelot Sharpe, by whom they were read with Dr. Blay- 
ney’s 4to. edition of 1769. After the proofs returned by Mr. S. for press had been 
corrected, the forms were placed upon the press at which they were to be worked, 
and another proof was taken. This was read by Mr. Woodfall’s superintendant, 
and afterwards by Mr. W. himself, with Dr. Blayney’s edition, and any errors that 
had previously escaped were corrected ; the forms not having been removed from 
the press after the last proofs had been taken off. By this precaution, they avoid¬ 
ed the danger of errors (a danger of very frequent occurrence, and of no small 
magnitude), arising from the removal of the forms from the proof press to the 
presses on which the sheets were finally w'orked off. Of this edition, which was 
ready for publication in 1806, five hundred copies were printed on imperial 4to., 
two thousand on royal, and three thousand on medium quarto size. In the course 
of printing this edition from the Cambridge copy, a great number of very gross 
errors was discovered in the latter, and the errors in the common Oxford editions 

above noticed were not so few as 1200 ! The London edition of 1806 being ex¬ 
hausted, a new impression w r as put to press in 1810, and completed, with equal 
beauty and accuracy, in 1812, and published in 1813. 

3 Journal of the Proceedings of the Bishops, Clergy, and Laity of the Prptestant 
Episcopal Church in the United States of America, in a general Convention held 
in the city of Philadelphia, from the lOth to the 24th day of May 1820 p. 54. 






252 Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch. 

Psalms are still retained according to the translation of Cranmer’s 
Bible. 1 v • tt 

Upwards of two centuries have elapsed, since the authorised Eng¬ 
lish Version of the Holy Scriptures, now in use, was given to the 
British nation. During that long interval, though many passages in 
particular books have been elucidated by learned men, with equal 
felicity and ability; yet its general fidelity, perspicuity, and excel¬ 
lence, have deservedly given our present translation a high and dis¬ 
tinguished place in the judgment of the Christian world, wherever 
the English language is known or read. Of late years, however, this 
admirable version — the guide and solace of the sincere Christian — 
has been attacked with no common virulence, and arraigned as being 
deficient in fidelity, perspicuity, and elegance ; ambiguous and incor¬ 
rect, even in matters of the highest importance; and, in short, totally 
insufficient for teaching “all things necessary to salvation.” The 
principal antagonists of this version, in the present day, (to omit the 
bold and unmeasured assertions of the late Dr. Geddes and others), 
are Mr. John Bellamy 1 2 , in the prospectus, preface, and notes of his 
new translation of the Bible, and Sir James Bland Burges, in his 
■ Reasons in favour of a New Translation of the Scriptures,’ (8vo. 
London, 1819) ; both of whom, among other things, have affirmed, 
that our authorised translation is insufficient for teaching all things 
necessary to salvation: and they declare that it is not made from the 
original Hebrew, but from the Septuagint or Greek translation, and 
from the Vulgate or Latin Version. The assertions of these writers 
have been answered in detail, particularly by the Reverend Messrs. 
Whittaker and Todd, in their works cited below 3 , to which the reader 
is referred. In refutation of the assertion that our version was not 
made from the original Hebrew and Greek, it is sufficient to refer to 
the account given of it in the preceding pages 4 * * * * ; to which we may 


1 The reader will find concise but interesting bibliographical notices of the 
editions of the English Bible, especially of the earlier versions, in the Rev. Dr. 
Cotton’s 11 List of Editions of the Bible and of parts thereof from the year MDV., 
to the year MDCCCXX. Oxford, at the Clarendon Press, 1821.” 8vo. — About the 
time when King Jamesresolved on a new translation of the Scriptures, another trans¬ 
lation was finished by Mr. Ambrose Usher, elder brother of the eminently learned 
primate of Armagh, of the same name. It is still in manuscript, and is preserved 
in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. There are likewise extant in print se¬ 
veral English translations of the Old and New Testament, and of detached parts 
thereof: but as these are more or less accompanied with commentaries, the ac¬ 
count of them is necessarily referred to the Appendix to this Volume, No. VI. 

2 A notice of Mr. Bellamy’s work will be found infra, in the Appendix to this 
Volume, No. VI. Sect. IV. § 30. 

3 A Vindication of our authorised Translation and Translators of the Bible, and 
of preceding English Versions authoritatively commended to the notice of those 
Translators, &c. &c. By the Rev. H. J. Todd, M. A. London, 1819, 8vo. — An 
Historical and Critical Enquiry into the Interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures, 
with Remarks on Mr. Bellamy’s New Translation. By J. W. Whittaker, M. A. 
London, 1819, 8vo. 

4 See pp. 248, 249. supra. The seventh section of Mr. Todd's Vindication of the 

authorised translation of the Bible contains an account of the forty-seven transla¬ 

tors who were employed on it, and of the state of learning in their time. This 

does not admit of abridgment, but the result is highly satisfactory, and proves that 

those venerable men were eminently skilled in the Oriental and Greek languages, 



253 


VI. Sect. III.] The English Versions. 

add that a collation of the present authorised version with different 
editions of the Hebrew Bible will prove, beyond dispute , that our vene¬ 
rable translators did not servilely follow any of the versions then ex¬ 
isting in the modern languages of Europe. The following few ex¬ 
amples will confirm this remark : — 


Book. Chap. Ver. 

Joshua iv. 6. The English Authorised Version reads “ their fathers," in Italics, 
because it was not in their copy of the Hebrew Bible. It is 
wanting in llabbi Jacob Ben Chajim's Masoretic edition (folio, 
Venice. 1525-6) ; and is found in the Anti-Masoretic editions of 
Munster. 


v. 1. The English Version reads “ until we were passed over:” in this 

rendering the translators followed Chajim, and not Munster, whose 
editions of 1534 and 1546 read “ they" 

vi. 7. The English Version reads “ he said,” as do all Munster’s editions. 

Chajim has “ they said" 

vi. 8. The English Version reads “before the Lord,” following Chajim; 

Munster’s two editions, above cited, read “ before the Ark ot the 
“ Lord.” 

x. 8. The English Version reads “ thine hand” with Munster’s editions, 
and not “ hands,” which is the lection in Chajim. 

xv. 40. The English Version reads “ Lahmam” with Munster ; and not 
“ Lachman,” with Chajim. 

xxi. 16. The English Version puts and in Italic before Bethshemesh : it is 
wanting in Chajim. Munster’s editions readi, and. 

xxi. 34. The English Version reads “ and” in Roman letters before Kar- 
tah. The connecting particle i, and , is in Munster’s editions, but 
is absent in Chajim. 


xxi. 36, 37. These two verses are altogether wanting in Chajim's edition. 


For the preceding examples the author is indebted to the re¬ 
searches of the Rev. George Hamilton, A. M. Rector of Killermogh, 
in Ireland ; whose valuable contributions to Hebrew Literature are 
noticed in a subsequent part of this volume. Similar instances, he 
remarks, may be observed in every book of the Bible : and the only 
way, by which he can account for this seeming inconsistency in fol¬ 
lowing sometimes one edition, and sometimes another, is, by sup¬ 
posing that the translators of our authorised version executed it 
from an edition of one class; and that the Committee of Revision 
corrected their version by reference to an edition of another class. 
If this be so (and it is highly probable that this is the case), it affords 
a proof of extraordinary and minute attention in our venerable and 
much-traduced translators. 

We shall conclude the present notice of their admirable version, 
with a few of the very numerous testimonies to its value, which have 
been collected by Archbishop Newcome and Mr. Todd, and shall 
subjoin two or three others that appear to have eluded their re¬ 
searches. 


and consequently were, in every respect, fitted for the high and honourable task 
assigned to them by their sovereign. 












254 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch. 

1. John Selden . 1 “ The English translation of the Bible is the 
best translation in the world, and renders the sense of the original 
best, taking in for the English translation the Bishop’s Bible as well 
as King James’s. The translators in King James’s time took an ex¬ 
cellent way. That part of the Bible was given to him, who was 
most excellent in such a tongue : as the apocrypha to Andrew 
Downs : and then they met together, and one read the translation, 
the rest holding in their hands some Bible, either of the learned 
tongues, or French, Spanish, Italian, &c. If they found any fault, 
they spoke ; if not, he read on. There is no book so translated as 
the Bible for the purpose. If I translate a French Book into En¬ 
glish, I turn it into English phrase, not into French-English. II fait 
froid ; I say, ’tis cold , not, makes cold. But the Bible is rather trans¬ 
lated into English words than into English phrase. The Hebraisms 
are kept , and the phrase of that language is kept.” 

2. Bishop Walton . 2 “ The last English translation made by 
divers learnod men at the command of King James, though it may 
justly contend with any now extant in any other language in Europe, 
was yet carped and cavilled at by diverse among ourselves ; espe¬ 
cially by 3 one, who being passed by, and not employed in the work, 
as one, though skilled in the Hebrew, yet of little or no judgment in 
that or any other kinde of learning, was so highly offended that he 

1 Selden, Works, iii. 2009. This is cited by Abp. Newcome, without addition. 
Selden was the contemporary of the translators. He died in 1654, at the age of 70. 

2 Dr. Bryan Walton’s Considerator Considered, or a Defence of his Polyglott 
Bible, &c. 1659, p. 5. This is not noticed by Abp. Newcome. But a most impor¬ 
tant testimony it is. He was one of those most learned divines, who, in 1656, 
were publicly requested to consider of the translations and impressions of the Bible, 
and to offer their opinion therein to the committee for religion ; Bulstrode White- 
lock having the care of this affair, at whose house they met. They pretended to 
discover some mistakes in the last English translation ; but the business came to 
nothing. See Lewis, &c. p. 355. Johnson, &c. p. 99. In the above citation we 
have the opinion of Walton, (than whom a more competent judge neither friends 
nor foes of our translation can produce,) three years subsequent to this meeting, 
upon the excellence of this version, together with his notice of an impotent attack 
made upon it. He has also, in the Prolegomena to his Biblia Polyglotta, 1657, 
placed our own in the highest rank of European translations. 

3 This person was undoubtedly Hugh Broughton, fellow of Christ College, 

Cambridge ; who had certainly attained great knowledge in the Hebrew and Greek 
tongues. But a more conceited or arrogant man hardly existed. With the Bishops’ 
Bible he had found great fault; insisted upon the necessity of a new translation ; 
pronounced his own sufficiency to make one exactly agreeable to the original text 
of the Hebrew; boasted of encouragement to this purpose from men of all ranks ; 
and at length excited a very warrantable suspicion, that, in so important a task, he 
was unfit to be trusted. Thus discountenanced, he went abroad ; lpaving behind 
him this quaint character, expressive at once of his vanity and learning, “ that he 
was gone to teach the Jews Hebrew !” See Sir J. Harrington's Brief View of the 
state of the Church, 1653, p. 75. He returned to England, however, in 1611, and 
commenced the defamation against the new translation to which Walton adverts. 
By the contents of a little tract, whicli he published in 1608, entitled “ A Petition 
to the Lords to examine the religion and carriage of Archbishop Bancroft,” he 
gives us no cause to lament that he had no share in the new translation. I question 
if his countrymen would have understood his language ; as the case lias been with 
another partial translator, who was not of the authorised selection. Broughton 
thus rails at Bancroft: {i Bancroft., seeing himself in Judaisme, and as I heard in 
his allowed libel equal scoffer, as of a mist soone scattered, raved against me for 
pearls to such, and holy things to such !” p. 2. “ Bancroft is a deadly enemy to 

both Testaments, and unallowable in this course to be a teacher or to rule in 
learning !” p. 8. After this foolery and slander, the reader will not be surprised 
to hear that he abuses Lively and Barlow also, two of our authorised translators. 



255 


VI. Sect. Ill/] The English Eersions. 

would needs undertake to show how many thousand places they had 
falsely rendered , when as he could hardly make good his undertaking in 
any one!" 

3. Bishop Lowth . 1 “The vulgar translation of the Bible — is 
the best standard of our language.” 

4. Bishop Horsley . 2 “ When the translators in James the 
First’s time began their work, they prescribed to themselves some 
rules, which it may not be amiss for all translators to follow. Their 
reverence for the sacred scriptures induced them to be as literal as 
they could, to avoid obscurity ; and it must be acknowledged, that 
they were extremely happy in the simplicity and dignity of their ex¬ 
pressions. Their adherence to the Hebrew idiom is supposed at once 
to have enriched and adot'ncd our language; and as they laboured for 
the general benefit of the learned and the unlearned, they avoided 
all words of Latin original, when they could find words in their own 
language, even with the aid of adverbs and prepositions, which 
would express their meaning.” 

5. Bishop Middleton . 3 “ The style of our present version is 
incomparably superior to any thing which might be expected from 
the finical and perverted taste of our own age. It is simple, it is 
harmonious, it is energetic ; and, which is of no small importance, 
use has made it familiar, and time has rendered it sacred.” 

6. Dr. Geddes . 4 “ The highest eulogiums have been made on 
the translation of James the First, both by our own writers and by 
foreigners. And indeed, if accuracy, fidelity, and the strictest at¬ 
tention to the letter of the text, be supposed to constitute the quali¬ 
ties of an excellent version, this of all versions must , in general , be 
accounted the most excellent. Every sentence, every word, every 
syllable, every letter and point, seem to have been weighed with the 
nicest exactitude, and expressed either in the text, or margin, with 
the greatest precision. Pagninus himself is hardly more literal; 
and it was well remarked by Robertson, above a hundred years 
ago, that it may serve for a Lexicon of the Hebrew language, as well 
as for a translation .” 

7. Rev. J. W. Whittaker . 5 “The highest value has always 
been attached to our translation of the Bible. Sciolists, it is true, 
have often attempted to raise their own reputation on the ruin of 
that of others; and the authors of the English Bible have frequently 
been calumniated by charlatans of every description: but it may 
safely be asserted, without fear of contradiction, that the nation at 
large has always paid our translators the tribute of veneration and 
gratitude which they so justly merit. Like the mighty of former 
times, they have departed and shared the common fate of mortality ; 
but they have not, like those heroes of antiquity, gone without their 
fame, though but little is known of their individual worth. Their 

1 Lowth, Introd. to Eng. Grammar, 2d ed. p. 93., cited by Archbishop New- 
come. 

2 Review of Dr. Geddes’s Translation of the Holy Bible, Brit. Crit., July 1794, 
p. 7. The reviewer is now known to have been the late Bishop Horsley. 

3 Dr. Middleton (late Bishop of Calcutta) on the Greek Article, p. 328. 

4 Dr. Geddes’s Prospectus of a New Translation of the Holy Bible, p. 92. Cited 
by Abp. Newcome, with a longer extract from the author. — Todd’s Vindication, 
pp. 68, 70, 75, 80. 

5 Whittaker, Hist, and Crit. Enq. p. 92. 




256 Modern Versions of the Scnptures. [Part I. Ch, 

reputation for learning and piety has not descended with them to the 
grave, though they are there alike heedless of the voice of calumny, 
and deaf to the praise which admiring posterity awards to the great 
and good. Let us not therefore too hastily conclude that they have 
fallen on evil days and evil tongues, because it has occasionally 
happened that an individual , as inferior to them in erudition as in ta¬ 
lents and integrity , is found questioning their motives , or denying their 
qualifications for the task which they so well performed. Their version 
has been used, ever since its first appearance, not only by the church, 
but by all the sects which have forsaken her ; and has justly been 
esteemed by all for its general faithfulness, and the severe beauty of 
its language. It has survived the convulsion both of church and 
state, being universally respected by the enemies of both, when the 
established religion was persecuted with the most rancorous malig¬ 
nity ; as if its merits w ere independent of circumstances, and left at 
a distance all the petty rivalships of sectarianism, and the effer¬ 
vescence of national phrenzy. It may he compared with any transla¬ 
tion in the world, without fear of inferiority; it has not shrunk from 
the most rigorous examination ; it challenges investigation; and, in 
spite of numerous attempts to supersede it, has hitherto remained unri¬ 
valled in the affections of the country .” 

8. Dr. Doddridge. — “ On a diligent comparison of our transla¬ 
tion with the original, we find that of the New Testament, and I 
might also add that of the Old, in the main, faithful and judicious. 
You know, indeed, that we do not scruple, on some occasions, to 
animadvert upon it ; but you also know, that these remarks affect 
not the fundamentals of religion, and seldom reach any further than 
the beauty of a figure, or at most the connection of an argument. 1 

9. The testimony of Dr. John Taylor, of Norwich, author of the 
excellent Hebrew and English Concordance (whose theological 
creed we regret to say w r as Arian), is yet more striking. 

“ In above the space of one (now two) hundred years,” says he r 
“ learning may have received considerable improvements ; and by 
that means some inaccuracies may be found in a translation more 
than a (two) hundred years old. But you may rest fully satisfied, 
that as our English translation is, in itself, by far the most excellent 
hook in our language, so it is a pure and plentiful fountain of divine 
knowledge, giving a true, clear, and full account of the divine dis¬ 
pensations, and of the gospel of our sedvation: insomuch that whoever 
studies the Bible, the English Bible, is sure of gaining that know¬ 
ledge and faith, which, if duly applied to the heart and conversation, 

WILL INFALLIBLY GUIDE HIM TO ETERNAL LIFE !” 2 

10. Dr. James Beattie. — “ It is a striking beauty in our English 
Bible, that, though the language is always elegant and nervous, and 
for the most part very harmonious, the words are all plain and coim 
mon; — no affectation of learned terms, or of words of Greek or 
Latin etymology. 3 v 

11. The last testimony we shall adduce, is that of the eminent 
orientalist and commentator, Dr. Adam Clarke. — “ Those,” (says 

1 Dr. Doddridge’s Works, vol. ii. p. 329, Leeds edit. 

~ Scheme of Scripture Divinity, ch. xl. in Bishop Watson’s Collection of Theo 
logical Tracts, vol. i. p. 188. 

3 Sir William Forbes’s Life of Dr. Beattie, vol. ii. p. 198, 8vo edit. 



25? 


VT. Sect. III.] The English Versions. 

he), “ who have compared most of the European translations with 
the original, have not scrupled to say that the English translation 
of the Bible, made under the direction of king James the First, is 
the most accurate and faithful of the whole. Nor,” adds Dr. C., 
44 is this its only praise : the translators have seized the very spirit and 
soul of the original, and expressed this almost every where , with pathos 
and energy . Besides, our translators have not only made a standard 
translation; but they have made their translation the standard of 
our language: the English tongue in their day was not equal to such 
a work —but God enabled them to stand as upon Mount Sinai, and 
crane up their country’s language to the dignity of the originals, so 
that, after the lapse of two hundred years, the English Bible is, 
with very few exceptions, the standard of the purity and excel¬ 
lence of the English tongue. The original , from which it was 
taken, is alone, superior to the Bible translated by the authority of 
king James.” 1 

Notwithstanding these decisive testimonies to the superior excel¬ 
lency of our authorised version, it is readily admitted that it is not 
immaculate, and that a complete correction of it is an object of desire 
to the friends of religion, were it only to silence the perpetually re¬ 
peated cavils of the opposers of divine revelation; who, studiously 
disregarding the various satisfactory answers which have been given 
to their unfounded objections, persevere in repeating them, so long 
as they find a very few mis-translated passages in the authorised ver¬ 
sion. But that such a correction is a work of immediate or pressing 
necessity — or that the existing translation is faulty in innumerable 
instances, and ambiguous and incorrect even in matters of the highest 
importance,—or that saered criticism is yet so far advanced as to 
furnish all the means that may be expected, we hesitate not to deny. 
Indeed, when we consider the very few real faults, which the most 
minute and scrupulous inquirer has been able to find in our present 
translation; when we perceive such distinguished critics as Arch¬ 
bishop Newcome and Bishop Horsley (to mention no more), produc¬ 
ing very discordant interpretations of the same text or word, we 
cannot but call to mind, with gratitude and admiration, the integrity, 
wisdom, fidelity, and learning of the venerable translators, of whose 
pious labours we are now reaping the benefit; who, while their reve¬ 
rence for the Sacred Scriptures induced them to be as literal as they 
could, to avoid obscurity, have been extremely happy in the simplicity 
and dignity of their expressions, and who, by their adherence to the 
Hebrew idiom, have at once enriched and adorned our language. 
And instead of being impatient for a revision of the present text, we 
shall (to adopt the energetic expression of Mr. Todd) ‘ take up the 
book, which from our infancy we have known and loved, with in¬ 
creased delight; and resolve not hastily to violate, in regard to itself, 
the rule which it records, — “ forsake not an old friend, for 

THE NEW IS NOT COMPARABLE TO HIM.” ’ 

u Happy, thrice happy, hath our English nation been, since God 
hath given it learned translators, to express in our mother tongue the 

•l Dr. A. Clarke’s General Preface to has Commentary on the Bible, vol. i. p. xxi, 

VOL. II. 33 






-258 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch. 

heavenly mysteries of his holy word, delivered to his church in the 
Hebrew and Greek languages; who, although they may have in some 
matters cf no importance unto salvation, as men, been deceived and 
mistaken, yet have they faithfully delivered the whole substance of the 
heavenly doctrine contained in the Holy Scriptures, without any 
heretical translations or wilful corruptions. With what reverence, joy, 
and gladness, then, ought we to receive this blessing ! Let us read 
the Scriptures with an humble, modest, and teachable disposition : 
with a willingness to embrace all truths which are plainly delivered 
there, how contrary soever to our own opinions and prejudices ; and 
in matters of difficulty, readily hearken to the judgment of our teach¬ 
ers, and those that are set over us in the Lord ; check every pre¬ 
sumptuous thought or reasoning which exalts itself against any of 
those mysterious truths therein revealed; and if we thus search after 
the truth in the love of it, we shall not miss of that knowledge, which 
will make us wise unto salvation.” 1 

2. Welsh Versions. — From an epistle of Dr. Richard Davis, 
Bishop of St. David’s, prefixed to the Welsh New Testament, printed 
in 1567, we learn that there was a British or Welsh version of the 
Pentateuch extant about (if not before the year) 1527, though the 
translator’s name is not known. Some other small and detached 
passages of Scripture appear also to have been translated into this 
language in the reign of King Edward VI., which were printed, in all 
probability, for the use of his Liturgy. But it was not until the reign 
of Elizabeth that efficient steps were taken to supply the inhabitants 
of the principality of Wales with the Holy Scriptures in their verna¬ 
cular dialect. In 1563 an act of parliament was passed (5 Eliz. c. 
28.) enacting that the Old and New Testaments, together with the 
Book of Common Prayer, should be translated into the British or 
Welsh tongue; and committing the direction of the work to the 
Bishops of Saint Asaph, Bangor, Saint David’s, Llandaff, and Here¬ 
ford. They were to view, peruse, and allow the translation, and to 
take care (under a penalty of £40 on each of them), that such a 
number should be printed and distributed by March 1, 1566, as would 
furnish copies to every cathedral, collegiate and parish church, and 
chapel of ease, within their respective dioceses, where Welsh was 
commonly spoken. In 1567, was printed at London, the first trans¬ 
lation of the New Testament. The translators were Thomas Huet, 
Chanter ol Saint David’s, Dr. Richard Davis, Bishop of Saint Da¬ 
vid’s, and William Salesbury, a man of great industry, learning, and 
piety. But there was no edition or version of the Old Testament in 
the British tongue, till more than twenty years after the publication 
of the New Testament. The person chiefly concerned in rendering 
this important service to the antient Britons, was William Morgan, 
D. D. who was bishop of Llandaff in 1595, from which see he was, 
in 1604, translated to that of Saint Asaph. He first translated the 

1 Johnson’s Historical Account of the several English Translations of the Bible 
in the concluding paragraph. Bishop Watson’s Collection of Tracts, vol. iii p 





The Welsh Versions. 


259 


VI. Sect. III.] 

entire Old Testament, together with the Apocrypha, into Welsh, and 
also revised and corrected the former version of the New Testament, 
both of which were printed, in one volume folio, in 1588. During 
the reign of James I. the Welsh Version underwent a further exa¬ 
mination and correction from Dr. Parry, Morgan’s successor in the 
sep of Saint Asaph. This corrected version, which is usually called 
Parry’s Bible, is the basis of all subsequent editions. It was printed 
at London in 1620. Seventy years afterwards, another folio edition 
was printed at Oxford, under the inspection of Bishop Lloyd, in 
1690. These folio impressions were intended principally, if not 
wholly, for the use of churches: so that, for upwards of seventy 
years, from the settlement of the reformation by Queen Elizabeth, 
there was no provision made for furnishing the country or people in 
general with copies of the Scriptures. The honour of the first sup¬ 
ply of this kind is due to one or more citizens of London, at whose 
private expense an octavo edition was printed in 1630. In 1654 
and 1678 two other octavo editions appeared; the latter of these con¬ 
sisted of 8,000 copies, to the publication of which the Rev. Thomas 
Gouge, a learned non-conformist minister, 1 not only contributed very 
largely out of his private fortune, but procured ample subscriptions 
from numerous opulent and benevolent individuals. The next octavo 
edition of the Welsh Bible was published in 1690, under the patro¬ 
nage of Thomas Lord Wharton, by Mr. David Jones ; who was as¬ 
sisted in the undertaking by some ministers and citizens of London. 
This was the last edition that appeared in the seventeenth century, 
and also the most numerous ; the editor, it is said, having distributed 
not fewer than ten thousand copies. 2 During the eighteenth century, 
six editions of the Welsh Bible were printed chiefly, if not wholly at 
the expense of the venerable Society for promoting Christian 
Knowledge, viz. in 1718, 1727, 1746, 1752, 1769 or 1770, and 
1799. This last edition consisted of ten thousand copies of the 
Welsh Bible, Common Prayer, and singing Psalms, besides two 
thousand extra copies of the New Testament. Ample as this edition 
was, in a few years, copies of the Scriptures became extremely 
scarce and dear in the Principality; and in 1802, some pious and 
benevolent individuals projected a new impression, the circumstances 
connected with which ultimately led to the formation of the British 
and Foreign Bible Society. 3 Their attention was immediately 
directed to the wants of the Principality : in 1806, a large and very 
correct stereotype impression of the New Testament was issued, 
which obtained a rapid sale, and subsequent editions have been 

1 The reader will find a pleasing account of Mr. Gouge’s various benevolent and 
pious undertakings in Archbishop Tillotson’s Sermon on his Death. Works, vol. 
ii. pp. 340—349, 8vo. London, 1820. 

2 The preceding account of Welsh Bibles is abridged from an Historical Account 

of the British or Welsh Versions and Editions of the Bible. By Thomas Llewllyn, 
LL. D. 8vo. (London, 1768), pp. 1—50. In an appendix (pp. 91—112) this author 
has printed the dedications which were prefixed by the translators to the first im¬ 
pressions. , ... 

3 See the Rev. John Owen’s History of the British and Foreign Bible Society, 
vol. i. pp. 1—12. 138—150. 262. 391. 




260 Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch, 

4 

printed. In 1821, the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge 
defrayed the expense of a large edition, in crown octavo, of the 
Welsh Bible, with the Liturgy and Psalms. It was executed at the 
press of the University of Oxford, and is one of the most beautiful 
specimens of typography ever printed ; so that the inhabitants of 
Wales are now abundantly supplied with the Scriptures in their native 
tongue. 

3. Irish Bibles. — The New Testament having been translated 
into Irish by Dr. William Daniel, archbishop of Tuam, Dr. Bedell 
(who was advanced to the see of Kilmore and Ardagh in 1629), 
procured the Old Testament to be translated by a Mr. King; who 
being ignorant of the original languages, executed it from the En¬ 
glish Version. Bedell, therefore, revised and compared it with the 
Hebrew, the Septuagint, and the Italian version of Diodati. He 
supported Mr. King, during his undertaking, to the utmost of his abi¬ 
lity ; and when the translation was finished, he would have printed it 
in his own house, and at his own charge, if he had not been pre¬ 
vented by the troubles in Ireland. The translation, however, escaped 
the hands of the rebels, and was subsequently printed in 1685, at the 
expense of the Hon. Robert Boyle. 1 What editions were printed 
during the eighteenth century, the author of the present work has not 
been able to ascertain. The British and Foreign Bible Society early 
exerted itself to supply the want of the Bible in the Irish language. 
In 1811, an edition of the New Testament was completed ; and in 
1813, the Bible was stereotyped. Another edition, in three octavo 
volumes, is at this time in progress at the expense of the Society for 
promoting Christian Knowledge. 

4. Manks Bible. — Towards the close of his life, the truly vene¬ 
rable bishop of Sodor and Mann, Dr. Thomas Wilson, formed a plan 
for translating the New Testament into the Manks language ; but he 
did not live to make a further progress than to procure the four Gos¬ 
pels and Acts of the Apostles to be translated, and to print at his 
own expense, the Gospel of St. Matthew. His exemplary successor, 
bishop Hilclesley, revised the manuscript, and completed the version 
of the New Testament, which, by the munificent aid of the Society for 
promoting Christian Knowledge, and of other benevolent individuals, 
he was enabled to print between the years 1756 and 1760. In 1766, 
he was encouraged, by the influx of benefactions, to undertake a 
Manks Version of the Old Testament, which was completed only 
two days before his decease, on the 30th November, 1772. 2 In the 
following year, the entire Bible, together with the apocryphal books, 
was printed at the expense of the same venerable society. 

5. Gaelic Bibles. —The Society in Scotland for propagating 
Christian Knowledge, has the honour of giving to the inhabitants of 
the Highlands the Holy Scriptures, in their vernacular dialect. The 
New Testament was translated by the late Rev. James Stuart, mi- 

1 Biographia Britannica, article Bedell, vol. ii. p. 136. 2d edition. 

2 Chalmer’s Biographical Dictionary, vol. xvii. pp. 480—482. from Mr. Butler’s 
Memoirs of Bp. Hildesley. 




26] 


VI. Sect. III.] The Gaelic and French Versions. 

nister of Killin, and printed at their expense in 1765: it bears a 
high character for fidelity and accuracy. The several books of the 
Old Testament were translated and published, in detached portions 
or volumes, at different times, as the Society’s funds would permit, 
viz. The prophetical books, by the Rev. Dr. Smith, in 1783, and 
the remaining books by the Rev. Dr. John Stuart, minister of Luss 
(son of the translator of the New Testament), in three parts, which 
appeared successively in the years 1783, 1787, and 1801. In 1796, 
the first edition of the New Testament being exhausted, the Society 
published another, consisting of twenty thousand copies. And as 
some of the first printed volumes of the Old Testament were so 
much reduced in number, in 1802, as to be insufficient to supply 
the urgent demands of the Highlands in general, and of the Society’s 
own schools in particular, a new edition of twenty thousand copies 
was printed. Three parts out of four, into which this portion of the 
Bible had been divided, were rendered from the Hebrew with great 
simplicity, and with as literal an adherence to the original text as 
the idiom of the respective languages would admit. As the style of 
the fourth part (containing the prophetical books) had receded from 
this simplicity, it was revised and corrected with the utmost care. 
From this corrected text (a copy of which was furnished by the So¬ 
ciety in Scotland as soon as it was finished), the British and Foreign 
Bible Society executed their stereotype editions in 1807, which (as 
the Scottish Society was unable to supply the urgent and very nume¬ 
rous demands for the sacred writings) were purchased at reduced 
prices by the poor Highlanders, with the liveliest expressions of grati¬ 
tude. 1 In 1816, this Gaelic Version of the Bible received the appro¬ 
bation of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. 

III. French Versions. —The earliest French translation of the 
Scriptures is that of Guiars de Moulins, a canon of St. Pierre d’Aire, 
in the diocese of Touraine, who was employed in this work from the 
Vulgate, from 1291 to 1294. Several copies of this translation are 
in the Royal Library at Paris; and an edition of it tvas printed by 
order of Charles VIII. to whom it was dedicated, at Paris in 1487. 
In 1512, James Le Fevre, of Estaples (better known by the name 
of Jacobus Faber, Stapulensis,) published a translation of St. Paul’s 
Epistles, with critical notes and a commentary, in which he freely 
censures the Vulgate ; and in 1523 he published at Paris, in a similar 
manner, the whole of the New Testament. This was followed by 
detached books of the Old Testament, and by an edition of the en¬ 
tire French Bible translated by himself. It was printed at Antwerp 
by Martin L’Empereur, in 1530, (again in 1534, and 1541,) and 
was revised by the divines of Louvain, whose edition appeared in 
1550, and has since been repeatedly printed. The translation of Le 


1 Address of the Society in Scotland for propagating Christian Knowledge, 1803. 
Owen’s History of the Bible Society, vol. i. pp. 205, 200, 314—316. In 1820, a 
Gaelic translation of the Book of Common Prayer was completed and printed, at 
the expense of the incorporated London Society for promoting Christian Know- 



262 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch. 

Fevre is said to be the basis of all the subsequent French Bibles, 
whether executed by Roman Catholics or Protestants. The first 
Protestant French Bible was published by Robert Peter Olivetan, 
with the assistance of his relative, the illustrious reformer, John Cal¬ 
vin, who corrected the Antwerp edition, wherever it differed from the 
Hebrew. It was printed at Neufchatel, in 1535, in folio ; and at Ge¬ 
neva in 1540, in large quarto, with additional corrections by Calvin. 
Both these editions are of extreme rarity. Another edition appeared 
at the same place in 158S, revised by the College of pastors and 
professors of the Reformed Church at Geneva, (Beza, Genlart, Jaque- 
mot, Bertram, and others,) who so greatly improved Olivetan’s Bible, 
both in correctness and diction, that it thenceforth obtained the name 
of the Geneva Bible, by which it is now generally known. It has 
gone through very numerous editions, the latest of which is that of 
Geneva, 1805, in folio, and also in three volumes Svo. revised by the 
College of Pastors, at Geneva. This is, confessedly, the most elegant 
French version extant; but many Protestants have wished that it 
were a little more literal , and continue to prefer David Martin’s Re¬ 
vision of the Genevan Version of the French Bible, (of which the 
New Testament was printed in 1696, at Utrecht in 4to. and the en¬ 
tire Bible at Amsterdam in 1707 in two folio volumes) or the revision 
of Jean-Frederic Ostervald; the best edition of which is said to be 
that printed at Neufchatel, 1772, in folio, with his arguments and re¬ 
flections on the different books and chapters of the Bible. Oster- 
vald’s revised text (frequently but erroneously termed a version) has 
been several times printed. Another French Protestant version 
(made from the Italian translation of Diodati) was published in 1562, 
which for a short time was held in estimation by the Calvinists. The 
French translation of Sebastian Castalio, who was but indifferently 
skilled in that language, appeared at Basil in 1655 ; being accommo¬ 
dated to his Latin version above noticed, it was liable to the same ob¬ 
jections, and was never held in any esteem. The translation of the 
entire Bible by Charles Le Cene, who quitted France on the Revo¬ 
cation of the Edict of Nantes, was published in a folio volume in 
1741, thirty-eight years after his death, by his son, a bookseller at 
Amsterdam. The states of Groningen prohibited the circulation of 
this version in their province, on account of its Socinian tendency. 
A French translation of the New Testament, by the celebrated critic 
Le Clerc, appeared at Amsterdam in two volumes 4to.: it is said to 
be tainted with Socinian principles, and has never been much read. 
But the French Protestant version of the New Testament executed 
by MM. Beausobre and L’Enfant (Amsterdam 1718, in two volumes 
4to.) is highly and deservedly esteemed for its closeness. An En¬ 
glish translation of the Gospel of Matthew, made from this version, 
was published at Cambridge in 1779, in Svo. to which was prefixed 
a translation of the excellent introduction which accompanied the 
French edition. This volume has been several times printed. 

A reformation of the Geneva Bible was undertaken by Renat Be- 
noist (Renatus Benedictus), professor of divinity in the college of Na- 


The French Fcrsions. 


263 


VI. Sect. III.] 

varre. It was published with notes, in 1566 : but being condemned 
by a brief of Pope Gregory XIII. in 1575, a new edition was under¬ 
taken by the divines of Louvain, who freed it from the corrections of 
the reformed, and made it altogether conformable to the Latin. This- 
edition was'printed at Antwerp in 1575, and at various places since. 
In 1820, a version ol St. John’s Gospel, in the dialect spoken at 
Thoulouse, and in its vicinity, was printed at Thoulouse. 1 There 
are several other French translations, by private individuals, as, 
1. The entire Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate by Jacques 
Corbin, an advocate of the parliament of Paris, and published in 
1643 with the approbation of the faculty of theology of Poitiers; 
at present it is but little esteemed in France ; — 2. The New 
Testament, from the Vulgate, by Michael de Maroles, published 
in 1649 : it is executed principally from Erasmus’s Latin version, 
but in some passages from the Vulgate, and has often been reprinted ; 
— 3. Father Amelotte’s Translation of the New Testament from the 
Vulgate was published in 1666, 1667, and 1668, in 4 volumes 8vo. 
with notes. It has been very justly and severely criticised for its 
blunders by Father Simon. His principal design in publishing this 
version was, to supersede the French Protestant Translation, and 
especially that of the learned Port-Royalists, (which was then in the 
press), whose bitter enemy Amelotte was ; — 4. The version of the 
New Testament by the Port Royalists, which was depreciated before 
its publication by the adversaries of the Jansenists, appeared in 1667 
in two volumes 8vo. It was printed at Amsterdam by the Elzevirs, 
for Gaspard Migeot, a bookseller of Mons, (whence it is sometimes 
called the Testament of Mons) with the approbation of the Archbi¬ 
shop of Cambray, and the bishop of Namur, and with the privilege 
of the King of Spain ; but was condemned by the popes Clement IX. 
and Innocent XI. This version (which is from the Vulgate) was 
begun by Antoine le Maitre, after whose death it was finished by his 
brother Isaac Louis le Maitre de Sacy, with the assistance of the 
celebrated Port-Royalists, Arnaud, Nicole, Claude Saint Marthe, and 
Pierre-Thomas du Fosse. This version was greatly esteemed, espe¬ 
cially by the Jansenists ;— 5. The version of the New Testament, 
by Antoine Godeau, bishop of Grasse, appeared at Paris in 166S, in 
two volumes Bvo.: it is made from the Vulgate, and holds a middle 
way between a literal version and a paraphrase;—6. The New 
Testament, by Father Quesnel, is made more conformable to the 
Vulgate than the translation published at Mons, (No. 4.) which he 
took for his basis : it is accompanied with moral reflections, which 
are justly admired for their piety, and were commended by pope Cle¬ 
ment XI. who afterwards, in 1713, condemned it by the celebrated 
Bull beginning with the words ‘ Unigenitus Dei Filius,’ together with 
one hundred and one propositions extracted from it, and every thing 
that either had been written or should be written in defence of it! 
Quesnel’s version and reflections were first printed at Brussels in 1 693 

1 Le Sent Ebangely d6 Nostre Seignour Jesus Christ seloun S6nt Jan, traduit 
6n L6ngo Toulouzenzo. aToulouso, 1820, 12mo. 





264 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch. 

and 1694 in four volumes 8vo.; and again at Paris, in 1699. This 
edition is said to be more ample than the preceding, and has often 
been reprinted both in 8vo. and 12mo. Quesnel’s Reflections were 
translated into English and published in four volumes 8vo. at London 
in 1719—1725.;—7,8.. Between 1697 and 1703, the Jesuits, 
Bouhours, Michael Tellier, and Pierre Bernier published another 
translation of the New Testament; but this, as well as the version of 
Charles Hure, also from the Vulgate, (Paris, 1702, in four volumes, 
12mo.) are now nearly forgotten.—9. The French version ol the 
ingenious critic, Father Simon, published with notes in 1702, was 
translated into English by Mr. Webster, in two volumes 4to., 1730. 
This translation was condemned by an ordinance ol the Cardinal de 
Noailles, archbishop of Paris, and also by two 4 Instructions,’ issued 
'by the celebrated Bossuet, Bishop of Meaux. 1 Various portions of 
the Bible have been translated into French by other writers, who are 
not of sufficient note to require a distinct mention. 

IV. Belgian Versions. —A Flemish translation of the Scrip¬ 
tures was made from the Vulgate in the sixteenth century, and printed 
at Cologne in 1475, at Delft in 1477, and at other places. For a 
long time the Protestants in the Low Countries had only the Dutch 
translation, made from Luther’s German version in 1560, which has 
already been noticed in page 230. But in 1618, in consequence of 
an order issued by the Synod of Dort, a new translation was under¬ 
taken from the Hebrew and Greek. The translators of the Old 
Testament were John Bogermann, William Baudart, and Gerson 
Bucer; the New Testament and apocryphal books were assigned to 
James Roland, Antony Walaeus, and Festus Hommius. Their por¬ 
tions, when finished, were submitted to the careful revision of others. 
This Dutch version was first printed in 1637, and is highly valued for 
its fidelity; the Remonstrants, however, being dissatisfied with the 
New Testament, translated it anew from the Greek; and their ver¬ 
sion was printed at Amsterdam in 1680. 

V. Italian Versions. — Four versions of the Bible are extant in 
the Italian language. The earliest is that of Nicolao Malermi, who 
translated it from the Latin Vulgate : it was first published at Venice, 
in 1471, in folio. The second is that of Antonio Bruccioli, also 
printed at Venice in 1532: he professes to have made his version 
from the Hebrew and Greek, but Walchius says, that he chiefly fol¬ 
lowed the Latin Translation of Sanctes Pagninus. A revised edition 
of Bruccioli’s Italian Bible, rendered conformable to the Vulgate by 
Sanctes Marmochinus, was printed at Venice in 1538. An Italian 
version has moreover been said to have been published under the 
auspices of Pope Sixtus V.; but its existence is very doubtful. A 
Protestant Italian version of the New Testament was published at 
Geneva in 1561, and of the entire Bible in 1562, which is usually 
considered as a revision of Bruccioli’s : but Walchius asserts that it 


1 Schoell ? Histoire Abreg6 de la Litterature Grecque, tome ii. pp. 159—166 
Chalmers’s Biographical Dictionary, Art. Quesnel. vol. xxv. pp. 426—429. 




265 


VI. Sect. III.] The Spanish Versions . 

is altogether a new translation. It has, however, long been superseded 
by the elegant and faithful version of Giovanni Diodati, published in 
1607. The latest Italian version is that executed, in conformity with 
the Vulgate by Antonio Martini, archbishop of Florence, towards the 
close of the eighteenth century : it received the sanction of the late 
pope Pius VI. The New Testament was published at Turin 1769, 
and the Old Testament in 1779. Both were accompanied with ex¬ 
planatory notes, professedly taken from the fathers. Martini’s transla¬ 
tion has been repeatedly printed : the edition of Livorno (Leghorn) 
1818, and that of Italia, 1817, with the stereotype New Testament 
executed by T. Rutt, Shacklewell, (near London) 1813, were put 
into the Index or Catalogue of Books, prohibited to be sold, by a 
decree dated January 13th, 1820. 1 

VI. Spanish Versions. — The earliest edition of the Scriptures 
in the Spanish language, was executed from the Vulgate, and printed 
at Valencia in 1478 f it is now of very rare occurrence. In 1553, 
a Spanish version of the Old Testament was made for the Jews by 
Edward Pinel; it was printed at Ferrara. In 1630, a revised edi¬ 
tion of it was published at Amsterdam, by Manasseh Ben Israel. A 
much earlier translation than this is said to have been made by some 
learned Jews, which has been too hastily attributed to rabbi David 
Kimchi. An edition of the Old Testament in Hebrew, and in Jewish 

j 

Spanish, was printed at Vienna, in the years 1813, 14, 15, and 16, 
in four volumes, quarto, for the use of the Jews of Constantinople, 
and of most of the cities of Turkey, who are Spanish Jews. The 
Hebrew text is printed with vowel points, on one half of the page, 
and the Jewish-Spanish, with rabbinical characters on the other. 3 
Among the Christians, Cassiodore de Reyna translated the Scriptures 
into Spanish, from the original languages, but availed himself of the 
assistance afforded by the Latin versions of Pagninus and Leo Juda : 
it was published at Basil, in 1569. A revised edition of it by Cy¬ 
prian de Valera, a Protestant, who consulted later versions and notes, 
especially the Geneva French Bible, was published at Amsterdam, 
in 1702. A new Spanish version of the entire Bible from the Latin 
Vulgate, was published at Madrid in 1793-4, by Don Philipe Scio 
de San Miguel, (subsequently appointed Bishop of Segovia,) in ten 
folio volumes ; it is adorned with three hundred engravings copied 
from those of Marillier and Monsiau, which were executed for the 
edition of Sacy’s French version of the Bible, printed at Paris in 
1789 and the following years. This edition is very rare and dear 
even in Spain. Padre Scio’s Spanish version was reprinted at Ma¬ 
drid between the years 1794 and 1797, in nineteen large 8vo. vo¬ 
lumes with plates. There are copies of this edition both with and 
without the Latin text. The third edition of this version was published 
at Madrid in 1808, in Latin and Spanish, in sixteen volumes, which 


1 Townley’s Illustrations of Biblical Literature, vol. iii. p. 483. 

2 Thomson’s and Orme’s Historical Sketch of the Translation of the Scriptures, 
p. 40. note. 

3 Sixteenth Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, Appendix, p. 24. 

vol. ii. 34 



266 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch. 

have the appearance of small quartos : they are very neatly executed. 
The Vulgate text and Spanish translation are printed in parallel co¬ 
lumns. To each book is prefixed a critical preface, and at the foot 
of the page is a copious commentary, drawn principally from the 
writings of the fathers. 1 

VII. Russian Version. —The Sclavonic or Old Russian ver¬ 
sion has been already noticed in pages 210 and 211 ; but as this, 
though the established version of the Greek church, is no longer 
intelligible to the common people, a translation of the Bible into the 
modern Russ was made by M. Gliick, a Livonian clergyman, and 
printed at Amsterdam in 1698. 2 As the Russian language had un¬ 
dergone considerable changes since that time, the Emperor Alexan¬ 
der, by an edict in February 1816, directed the Holy Synod of 
Moscow to prepare a new translation. In March 1819, the four 
Gospels were published in that language. 3 In December 1822 the 
entire New Testament was completed, as also the book of Psalms. 
The Pentateuch, books of Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes are trans¬ 
lated, and the Committee of Revision are examining them; and M. 
Philaret, Archbishop of Moscow, is occupied in translating the pro¬ 
phecy of Isaiah. 4 

VIII. Croat Bible. —The New Testament in the language of 
Croatia, was first published at Tubingen in 1551. It was translated 
by the pastor Truber, and was reprinted with some corrections by the 
translator, at the same place, in two octavo volumes, in 1581-2. 
These editions are of extreme rarity. The first edition of the entire 
Croat Bible appeared at Wittemberg, in 1584. The New Testa¬ 
ment is the version of Truber. The Pentateuch, Proverbs, and 
Book of Ecclesiasticus were translated by the editor, George Dalma- 
tinus, who also wrote the preface. 5 

IX. The New Testament, in the Basque dialect, was first printed 
at Rochelle, in 1571, with a dedication in French to Joan d’Albret, 
Queen of Navarre, by John de Licarrague de Briscous. It is fur¬ 
nished with parallel passages in the margin, and at the end are sum¬ 
maries of contents, indexes, &,c. 6 

X. Hungarian Bible. —The Hungarian Protestant version was 
executed by Caspar Caroli, who availed himself of the previous la¬ 
bours of Vatablus, Pagninus, Munster, Tremellius, and of the Vul¬ 
gate. It was first published in 15S9, at Wysolyn ; and subsequently 

1 A modem Polyglott Bible, designed as a companion to that in the Hebrew, 
Greek, Latin, Synac, and English languages (noticed in p. 119. supra), is pre¬ 
paring for publication by Mr. Bagster. It comprises Luther’s German version, 
carefully printed ; the French version, from a reprint of Ostervald's edition, printed 
at Basle, in 1819-20 ; Diodati’s Italian version ; and the Spanish version, from the 
edition of Padre Scio, above noticed. 

- Bishop Marsh’s History of Translations, p. (i. 

3 Sixteenth Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, for 1820, Appen¬ 
dix, pp. 29, 30. The modern Russian version was received with the liveliest gra¬ 
titude, both by clergy and laity, of which some pleasing testimonies are given in 
p. 31. 

4 Evangelical Magazine for July 1822, p. 282. 

5 Adler’s Bibliotheca Biblica, Part IV. pp. 131, 132. 

6 Ibid. Part IV. p. 151. 



26? 


VI. Sect. III.] Polish , Bohemian , fyc. Versions. 

at Hanau, in 1608; at Oppenheim, in 1612; at Amsterdam, in 
1645, 1684, and 1685, and at other places. Of the edition printed in 
Holland, in 1717, three thousand copies are said to have been inter¬ 
cepted by the Jesuits, into whose custody they were committed, to 
prevent any use from being made of them. There is also a popish 
version, made from the Latin Vulgate, by George Knldi, and printed 
at Cologne and Vienna. 

XI. Polish Bibles. —Three versions of the Scriptures have 
been published in the Polish language. The first was undertaken for 
the use of the Roman Catholics, and was published at Cracow in 
1561 ; reprinted at the same place in 1577, 1599, and 1619, and at 
other places. The second was made by the Socinians under the 
patronage and at the expense of Prince Nicholas Radzivil; it was 
published at Pinczow, in Lithuania, in 1563, and is one of the rarest 
books ever printed. 1 2 This translation was reprinted at Zaslau, in 
Lithuania, in 1572. The third Polish version was made by the Re¬ 
formed, or Calvinists, in 1596. A translation of the New Testament 
into the Judaeo-Polish dialect (which is spoken by the Jews, who are 
very numerous in Poland) has been made by the Rev. N. Solomon, 
at die expense and under the patronage of die London society for 
promoting Christianity among the Jews; it was printed in 1821.‘ J A 
translation of the New Testament into the language of Samogitia , a 
province of Poland, was printed in 1820, at the expense of the Rus¬ 
sian Bible Society. 

XII. Bohemian Bibles. — The first Bohemian translation was 
made from the Latin Vulgate, and was published at Prague in 1488. 
The other, for the use of the Protestants in Bohemia, was made from 
the sacred originals by Albert Nicolai, John Capito, Isaiah Ccepolla, 
and other learned reformers, at the expense of the baron, John Zero- 
timus. It was published between the years 1579 and 1593, in six 
quarto volumes, without any indication of the place where they were 
printed, which is supposed to have been Kralitz. 

XIII. Modern-Greek, or Romaic Versions. —The Romaic is 
a corruption of the antient Greek, so great indeed, that compared with 
the latter, it may be pronounced a new language ; it is at present in 
general use, both for writing and conversation, the antient Greek 
being used solely for ecclesiastical affairs. Into this language the 
New Testament was translated by Maximus Calliergi, and was printed 
at Geneva in 1638, in one large quarto volume, in two columns, one 
containing the antient, the other the modern Greek. It was publish¬ 
ed at the expense of the then United Provinces, upon the solicitation 
of Cornelius Haga, their ambassador at Constantinople. The Greeks, 
however, did not receive it with much favour. This translation was 
reprinted at London in 1703, in one volume 12mo., by Seraphin, a 
monk of Mitylene; who prefixed to it a preface, which gave offence 
to the Greek bishops, particularly to the patriarch of Constantinople. 

1 A copy of this translation is in the library of Earl Spencer, and is described by 
Mr. Dibdin, Bib. Spenc. vol. i. pp. 85—89. 

2 Thirteenth Report of the London Society for the Conversion of the Jews, p. 8. 



268 


Modern Versions of the Scriptures. [Part I. Ch. 

By his order it was committed to the flames. The edition of 1703 
(which, in consequence of this suppression, has become extremely 
rare) was reprinted in 1705 ; and in that edition the objectionable 
passages in Seraphin’s preface were omitted. A more correct 
edition of it was printed at Halle, in Saxony, in 1710, in one volume, 
12mo., under the patronage and at the expense of Sophia Louisa, 
Queen of Prussia. 1 From this last edition was printed the impres¬ 
sion executed at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible So¬ 
ciety, in one thick ,volume, 12mo. (Chelsea, 1810), the antient and 
modern Greek being in parallel columns. To this edition the patri¬ 
arch of Constantinople gave his unqualified approbation. 2 With 
regard to the Old Testament, though the book of Psalms was trans¬ 
lated into Romaic, and printed at Venice in 1543, and the Pentateuch 
(by the Jews at Constantinople) in 1547, yet no entire version of the 
Scriptures was extant in modern Greek, until the archimandrite Hila- 
rion (whom the general suffrage of the learned Greeks, concurs in 
representing as best qualified for the task) undertook first a new 
translation of the New Testament, which has undergone a scrupulous 
revision, and is at this time in the press. The same person, with the 
assistance of two learned ecclesiastics, is at this time occupied in 
translating the Old Testament from the antient into the modern 
Greek. 3 * 

XIV. XV. Wallachian and Bulgarian Versions. — A trans¬ 
lation of the New Testament in the Wallachian language was pub¬ 
lished in Belgrade, in 1648 ; and aversion of the same has been un¬ 
dertaken in the Bulgarian language under the direction of the Peters¬ 
burg Bible Society. 

XVI. Romanese Versions. — The Romanese language is divid¬ 
ed into two dialects, the Churwelsche and the Ladiniche. The 
former is spoken by the inhabitants of the Engadine (one of the 
loftiest vallies in Switzerland, bordering on the Tyrol) ; the latter, by 
the Ladins, who reside on the confines of Italy. The Scriptures 
were translated into the Churwelsche dialect, and published in 1657, 
at Schuol, a town of the Lower Engadine, and into the Ladiniche at 
Coire, in 1719. Editions of both these versions have lately been 
printed by the Bible Society at Basle, aided by the British and Fo¬ 
reign Bible Society in London. 

XVII. Turkish Versions. — In 1666, the New Testament was 
printed in Turkish, at Oxford : it was translated by Dr. Lazarus Sea¬ 
man, and was published at the joint expense of the Hon. Robert 
Boyle and of the Levant or Turkey company of London, for the 
benefit of the Christians in Turkey, by whom it was very gratefully 
received. In the same year a translation of the whole Bible into 
the Turkish language was completed by Albertus Boboosky, 5 first 


1 Butler's Horae Biblicae, vol. i. pp. 177—179. 

~ Owen’s History of the British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. ii. p. 353, note 

2 Sixteenth Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, Appendix, pp. 19, 

SO. Seventeenth Report, p. liv. 

5 Owen’s History of the Bible Society, vol. iii. pp. 13, 14. 257. 500. Sixteenth 




269 


Vh Sect. HI.] Portuguese and Albanian Versions. 

dragoman or interpreter to die Porte. He undertook diis arduous 
work at the request of die celebrated Levin Warner, at that time 
ambassador lrom Holland ; and his translation was sent to Leyden, 
corrected and ready for the press. Here it lay until 1814, when the 
Rev. Dr. Pinkerton having ascertained its value, recommended it to 
the British and Foreign Bible Society. The curators of the uni¬ 
versity of Leyden having confided the manuscript to his excellency 
Baron Von Diez, at that time counsellor of legation to die court of 
Berlin, this distinguished scholar devoted the last two years of his 
life to its revision, and to superintending the printing of it. On his 
decease, in 1817, the editing of this version was cheerfully under¬ 
taken by M. Kieffer, professor of the oriental languages at Paris ; 
and in 1819, the New Testament was completed. The Old Testa¬ 
ment is passing through the press with as much rapidity as the nature 
of the work will permit. The style of Boboosky’s translation is said 
to be pure and elegant, such as will be read with pleasure by die 
man of letters, and at the same time be understood by the lowest in 
society. 

XVIII. Portuguese Version. — In 1681, the New Testament 
was printed in the Portuguese language at Amsterdam ; and some 
portions were printed in die former part of the last century by die 
Missionaries at Tranquebar. A Portuguese version of the Old 
Testament, executed by Joao Ferreira d’Almeida and Jacob op den 
Akker, was published at Batavia, in 1748-53, in two volumes 8vo. 
These were Protestant versions. In 1781, Antonio Pereira publish¬ 
ed a Portuguese version of the New Testament, at Lisbon ; and in 
1783, the entire Bible. This translation is made from the Vulgate 
Latin version, and in all doctrinal points is in union with the church 
of Rome. 

XIX. Albanian Version. — The Albanians are a hardy peo¬ 
ple, inhabiting the countries antiently known by the names of Illyri- 
cum and Epirus : numerous tribes of them are also spread over 
Macedonia and the Morea or Peloponnesus. A translation of the 
New Testament into their language was finished in the year 1820 
by Dr. Evangelos Mexicos, under the patronage and at the expense 
of the British and Foreign Bible Society; which it is intended to 


Report of the Society, Appendix, p. 17. Albertus Bobooeky was born in Poland in 
the beginning of the seventeenth century. While a youth he was stolen by the 
Tartars, .and sold to the Turks in Constantinople. By them he was educated in 
the Mohammedan faith, and when he grew up became first dragoman or translator 
to Mahomet or Mohammed IV. His Turkish name was Hali Bey. He under¬ 
stood seventeen languages, and is said to have spoken French, German, and En¬ 
glish with the fluency of a native. To the English language he was greatly attach¬ 
ed ; and at the request of Mr. Boyle translated the catechism of the Church of 
England into Turkish. He also composed several works himself, several of which 
have been published : but his great work was the Translation of the Scriptures 
above noticed. Boboosky also wrote a grammar and dictionary of the Turkish 
language. But it is not known what has become of them, and of the church cate¬ 
chism.” This wonderful man intended to have returned into the bosom of the 
Christian church ; but died, before he accomplished his design. Owen’s Hiet. vol. 
iii. p. 14. note. 




270 Modern Versions of Asia. [Part I* Ch. 

print in parallel columns, one containing the Greek text, the other 
the Albanian version. 

XX. Maltese Version. —The Maltese may almost be consi¬ 
dered as a dialect of the Arabic language. Into this dialect the New 
Testament has been translated by Signor Giuseppe Cannolo, a 
native of the island of Malta, under the direction and with the assist¬ 
ance of the Rev. William Jowett, M. A., one of the Representatives 
of the Church Missionary Society in the Mediterranean. The Old 
Testament is in progress. As very few books have appeared in 
Maltese, the Gospel of John has been printed in this country, in 
Maltese and English, in parallel columns; and copies have been sent 
to Malta for distribution chiefly among persons capable of forming a 
judgment of the Maltese, in order to render the translation as perfect 
as practicable, before the entire New Testament shall be put to 
press. The importance of this undertaking will be felt, when it is 
considered that the crowded population of the islands of Malta and 
Goza never yet possessed the Scriptures in their own tongue. The 
value of this translation is further enhanced, by the circumstance that 
it may serve as a step to Europeans who are desirous to learn the 
Arabic language. 1 


SECTION IV. 

MODERN VERSIONS IN THE LANGUAGES OF ASIA. 

1. Hebrew ,— II. Chaldee. —III. Versions in the oriental languages, 
cither translated by the Baptist Missionaries at Serampore, or 
printed at the Mission press. — 1. Arabic, and the languages de¬ 
rived from or bearing affinity to it. — 2. Sanscrit, and the lan¬ 
guages derived from or bearing affinity to it. — 3. Chinese, and 
the languages derived from or bearing affinity to it. — IV. Other 
Asiatic Versions .— 1. Formosan. — 2. Tartar. — 3. Georgian . 
— 4. Tahitan. 

I. HEBREW. The New Testament was first translated into He¬ 
brew by the learned Elias Hutter, who published it in his Polyglott 
edition of the New Testament in twelve languages, viz. Greek, Syri¬ 
ac, Hebrew, Latin, German, Bohemian, Italian, Spanish, French, 
English, Danish and Polish, at Nuremburg, in 1599, 1600, in two 
volumes, 4to. In his preface he states, that when meditating that 
work, he sought in vain for a Hebrew version of the New Testa¬ 
ment. No alternative therefore was left to him, but to attempt it 
himself. Accordingly, laying aside every other undertaking, he 
translated, corrected, and finished it in the space of one year. For 
a first translation, especially when we consider the shortness of the 
time in which it was accomplished, it is truly a wonderful perform¬ 
ance. From H utter’s Polyglott the Hebrew text was detached, and 


1 Eighteenth Report of the Church Missionary Society for 1817-1818. p. 69. 





271 


VI. Sect. IV.] Chaldee and Oriental Versions. 

I 

printed separately, with some corrections, under the superintendence 
oi William Robertson, 8vo. London, 1661. It is a volume of ex¬ 
tremely rare occurrence, as the greater part of the impression was 
consumed in the great fire of London, in 1666. Robertson’s edition 
was beautifully reprinted in 12mo. at London, in 1798, by the Rev. 
Richard Caddick, with the pious and benevolent design of enlight¬ 
ening the minds of the Jews. This translation not being executed 
in pure biblical Hebrew, and consequently not adapted to the Jews, 
the London Society for promoting Christianity among them, in 1817, 
completed and published a new translation in biblical Hebrew, the 
purity of which has been acknowledged by learned Jews. The 
Gospel of Saint Matdiew was published in 1814, and the succeed¬ 
ing books at different times as they could be completed. 1 The late 
Rev. Dr. Buchanan, during his researches in the interior of India, 
obtained a Hebrew manuscript of the New Testament in the coun¬ 
try of Travancore, which is now deposited in the University Library 
at Cambridge. It is written in the small Rabbinical or Jerusalem 
character. The translator was a learned Rabbi, and the transla¬ 
tion is in general faithful: his design was, to make an accurate ver¬ 
sion of the New Testament, for the express purpose of confuting it, 
and of repelling the arguments of his neighbours, the Syrian or St. 
Thome Christians. His own work was the providential instrument 
of subduing his unbelief; and he lived and died in the faith of Christ. 
A transcript of this Travancore Hebrew New Testament is in the 
Library of the London Society for promoting Christianity among the 
Jews. 2 

II. Chaldee. — The New Testament has not hitherto been 
published in this language : but a copy in manuscript exists in the 
Vatican Library. The manuscript contains both the Old and 
New Testaments, written in Syriac characters, but the language is 
Chaldee. 3 

III. Versions in the Oriental Languages, either trans¬ 
lated by the Baptist Missionaries at Serampore, or print¬ 
ed at the Mission Press. — The Baptist Missionaries entered 
India in 1793, and ultimately fixed themselves at the Danish settle¬ 
ment of Serampore, near Calcutta. To this mission chiefly belongs 
the honour of reviving the spirit of promoting Christian knowledge, 
by translations of the Bible. Soon after their establishment at Se¬ 
rampore, they were convinced that, if ever Christianity took deep 
root in India, it must be through the Holy Scriptures being translated 
and put into the hands of the various tribes who inhabit that vast 
country. Aided by a noble fund for translations raised by subscrip¬ 
tions among the societies of the Baptist denomination in Great Britain, 

1 There are extant various other Hebrew translations of detached books of the 
New Testament, by different individuals, which we have not room to enumerate 
The reader will find an account of them in Dr. Clarke’s Bibliographical Dictionary, 
vol. vi. pp. 218—222. 

2 Fourth Report of the London Society for promoting Christianity among the 
Jews, Appendix, p. 45. 

3 Clarke’s Bibliographical Dictionary, vol. vi. p. 213. 




<27 2 Modern Versions of Asia. [Part J. Ch. 

almost from the commencement of their pious labours, and also by 
various annual grants of money from the British and Foreign Bible 
Society, from the year 1806 to the present time, the missionaries 
applied themselves to the great work of translating the Scriptures. 
In this undertaking, which has been honoured with the sanction of 
the Marquess Wellesley, and subsequent governors general ol India, 
the Rev. Doctors Carey and Marshman, and the Rev. William 
Ward, have pre-eminently distinguished themselves; and, with their 
coadjutors, have continued with unwearied assiduity to prosecute 
their arduous work. Having formed a typographical establishment 
.at Serampore, they have also been enabled to print translations of the 
Scriptures, entire or in part, which had been made by other learned 
and pious individuals. And when the Mission College, recently 
founded at Calcutta by the late Right Rev. Dr. T. F. Middleton. 
Bishop of Calcutta, (one of whose special objects, for the spiritual 
welfare of India, is the translation of the Bible into the hitherto un¬ 
translated dialects of India), shall commence its active operations, 
we may with just confidence anticipate the ultimate triumphs of our 
holy religion among the numerous tribes who inhabit that immense 
continent. 1 

The languages spoken in India form three classes, viz. 

1. The Arabic , and the languages derived from or bearing an 
affinity to it; 2. The Sanscrit or Sungscrit ; and 3. The Chinese , 
with the languages respectively derived from or bearing an affinity to 
them. 2 

I- Modern Versions in the Arabic language , and its cognate 
dialects. 

(1) Arabic. — A version of the entire Bible in Arabic has come 
dow r n to us, of which an account has been given in pp. 190, 191. and 
207. supra. Though highly valued by some oriental scholars for its 
general accuracy and fidelity, it has become antiquated in its dialect, 
and consequently unacceptable to the learned Arabians. On this 
account a new translation, in elegant modern Arabic, was commenced 


1 As soon as it was known in England that Bp. Middleton was forming the Mis¬ 
sion College at Calcutta, the sum of £5000 sterling was voted to him by each of 
the venerable Societies, for promoting Christian Knowledge, and for the propaga¬ 
tion of the Gospel in foreign parts, in aid of that Institution. The same sum was 
voted to his Lordship by the Church Missionary Society, without condition or re¬ 
striction, in furtherance of his plan. And the like sum of £5000 was voted by the 
British and Foreign Bible Society, in aid of the translations of the Holy Scrip¬ 
tures. 

2 Where no other authority is cited, our notice of original translations are abridg¬ 
ed from the “ Brief View of Baptist Missions and Translations,” 8vo. London, 
1815; from the “Periodical Accounts of the Baptist Missionary Society,” No. 
X '{.X.; from the Supplement to No. XXXI., containing a further memoir of the 
t nslations of the sacred Scriptures, dated March 21, 1816, 8vo. London, 1817; 
from specimens of Editions of the Sacred Scriptures in the Eastern languages, 
translated by the Brethren of the Serampore Mission, and of several others, printed 
at the Mission Press, Serampore, 1818, 4to.; and from the “ Seventh Memoir re¬ 
specting the Translations oi the Sacred Scriptures into the languages of India, 
conducted by the Brethren at Serampore,” 8vo. Serampore, 1820. The specimens 
of Versions in pp. 284—289. have been kindly communicated for the use of this 
work, by the Rev. J. Dyer, one of the Secretaries of that Society. 



273 


VI. Sect. IV.] The Persian and Pushtoo Versions. 

by Sab at j an eminent Arabian scholar, under the superintendence 
of the late Rev. Henry Martyn, B. D. one of the Hon. East India 
Company’s Chaplains. The New Testament was completed and 
published at Calcutta, in 181G, at the expense of the British and 
Foreign Bible Society. 1 The Old Testament was continued by the 
Rev. T. Thomason and Sabat. An edition of the Arabic New Tes¬ 
tament, in Syriac characters, was printed at Paris, at the expense of 
the Bible Society in 1822. See a specimen of the Arabic version 
in p. 289. infra . 

(2) Persian. — The Persian version, already noticed in pp. 191. 
and 209. having also become antiquated and obsolete, a new one 
was undertaken by Lieut. Colonel Colebrooke, who completed the 
Four Gospels. They were published at Calcutta in 1804. An 
entire version of the New Testament, in pure and elegant Persian, 
was executed by the late Rev. H. Martyn, who travelled from 
India to Shiraz, the Athens of Persia, for that purpose. He arrived 
there in June 1811, and by the middle of the following year he 
had completed his work, with the assistance of Meer Seyd Ali, a 
learned native. He next proceeded to translate the book of Psalms 
into the same language ; and thus rendered those important parts of 
the Sacred Scriptures into the vernacular language of two hundred 
thousand who bear the Christian name, and which is known over 
one-fourth of the habitable globe. A beautifully written copy of 
Martyn’s translation was presented by Sir Gore Ouseley, bart., his 
Majesty’s ambassador extraordinary, to the Sovereign of Persia, who 
publicly expressed his approbation of the work. 2 He subsequently 
carried another copy of the manuscript to Petersburg, where it was 
printed in 1815 at the expense of the Petersburg Bible Society, un¬ 
der the superintendence of Sir G. Ouseley. A specimen of this ver¬ 
sion is given in page 288.; a modern Persian version of the Old 
Testament is in progress also at Petersburg. 

(3) Pushtoo or Afghan. — This language is spoken beyond the 
river Indus, by a people, who, there is every reason to conclude, are 
descended from the ten tribes of Israel. The eminent linguist, the 
late John Leyden, M. D. commenced a translation of the New Tes¬ 
tament; and on his death in 1812, the Baptist missionaries at Se- 
rampore procured men skilled in the language to complete his under¬ 
taking. The whole of the New Testament was printed at the mis¬ 
sion-press in 1818; and the Pentateuch is advanced at the press as 
far as the Book of Leviticus. A specimen of this version is given in 
page 285. 

"(4) Bidocha or Buloshee. — This language is spoken on the 
western banks of the Indus, the country of Bulochistan extending 
westward to Persia. Considerable progress has been made by the 


1 Buchanan’s Christian Researches in Asia, pp. 285—290. (London, 1811.) 

2 Owen’s Hist, of the Bible Society, vol. iii. p. 41.; vol. ii. p. 261. In pp. 265 

_2G7. an English translation of the letter of the King of Persia is printed at length 

See also the very interesting Memoir of the Rev. Henry Martyn, B. D. 8vo., Lon 
don, 1819. particularly pp. 341—433. 

VOL. II. 


36 




274 


Modem Versions of Asia. [Part [. Ch. 

missionaries in translating the New Testament into this dialect, in 
which they have printed the Four Gospels. See a specimen of it in 
page 286. 

2. Versions in the Sanscrit or Sungscrit language , and its 
cognate dialects: 

(1) Sanscrit. —This, though the parent of all the languages spo¬ 
ken in western and southern India, is, at present, the current lan¬ 
guage of no country, though it is spoken by the learned nearly 
throughout India. The New Testament was published in Sanscrit 
at Serampore, in 1808; the Pentateuch and Historical Books in 
1811 ; the Hagiographa in 1816 ; and the translation of the prophetic 
books was finished in 1818. The Baptist missionaries are preparing 
a new edition of this version, which is read with great interest by the 
Bramins. A specimen of it is given in page 284. 

(2) In Western India, not fewer than twenty-nine languages are 
derived from the Sanscrit, and into seventeen of these the sacred 
volume has been wholly or in part translated, viz. 

i. The Sikh, Sheek, or Punjabee , which is spoken in the province 
of Punjab, or the country of the five rivers (from puny five, and ah 
water): into this language the entire Bible has been translated and 
printed at the Serampore press. See a specimen of it in page 286. 

ii. The Assamese, or language of the kingdom of Assam, in which 
the New Testament was completed and printed in 1819. See a 
specimen in page 286. 

The New Testament has also been translated and printed in 

Vii. The Kashmiree or Kashmeer, which is spoken in the extensive 
province of Kashmire, in the North of Hindostan : — See a specimen 
of it in page 285 ; 

iv. The Wutch or Multanee, or dialect of Wuch, a country on 
the eastern bank of the Indus, which reaches from the Punjab to 
Auch; 

v. The Gujurat or Guzurattee, which is spoken in the peninsula 
of Guzurat; 

vi. The Bikaneer, which is spoken to the south of the Punjab, 
and extends westward to the country where the Wucha begins; 
and in 

vii. The Kunkuna , which language begins where the Guzurattee 
ceases to be vernacular, and is spoken at Bombay, and thence up the 
coast as far as Goa. In this language also the Pentateuch is consi¬ 
derably advanced: when that portion is finished, the Serampore bre¬ 
thren intend to transfer the completion of the Old Testament to the 
Bombay Auxiliary Bible Society. 

The New Testament is more than half printed, and is expected to 
be finished in the course of the present year, in 

viii. The Maruwar or Marwar, which is spoken to the south-west 
of the Bikaneer country; 

ix. The Oojuvinee, or language of the province of Oujein; 

x. The Bundelkhundee, spoken in the province of Bundelkhund- 
and 


275 


VI. Sect. IV.] The Western and Southern Versions. 

xi. The Nepalese, or language of the kingdom of Nepal. 

The Four Gospels have been printed in 

xii. xiii. The Kanouj or Kanhukoobja and Jumboo languages. 

The Gospels of Matthew and Mark have been printed in 

xiv. xv. xvi. The Palpa Kausulee or Koshul , and Bhutaneer lan¬ 
guages, and also in 

xvii. The Magudha or Pali language, which is spoken in south 
Bahar. It begins where the Mahratta language ends, and extends 
nearly to the banks of the Ganges, and is tin* learned language of 
Ceylon, and of the Burman Empire. This version was commenced 
by the late Mr. W. Tolfrey at Colombo, in 1813 : and on his death 
in 1817, the task of finishing and editing it was confided by the 
Colombo Auxiliary Bible Society to the Rev. Messrs. Chater and 
Clough. 

(3) In southern India, twelve dialects are spoken, that are either 
derived from the Sanscrit, or bear an affinity to it, and into which the 
Scriptures have been wholly or in part translated, viz. 

i. In the Mahratta, of which language Dr. Carey is professor at 
Calcutta, the Pentateuch and New Testament, translated by the Bap¬ 
tist missionaries, have long been in circulation, and the Historical 
Books were printed in 1820. See a specimen of it in page 284. 

ii. The Hindee or Hindoostanhee, being spoken over an immense 
tract of country in India, varies much in its dialects ; and not fewer 
than three different translations of the sacred volume have been 
printed. The earliest was that of the four Gospels, by William 
Hunter, Esq.; which was executed at the press of the college of 
Fort William. Another translation was completed by the late Rev. 
Henry Martyn, 1 in 1S08, and printed at the expense of the Cal¬ 
cutta Auxiliary Bible Society. A revised edition of this version, 
by the Rev. Mr. Bowley, (one of the missionaries of the Church 
Missionary Society, who is stationed at Chunar) was finished at 
Calcutta in 1820, at the expense of the same Society : and measures 
are taken to add to it the Old Testament in the same language. 2 
In 1820 the Calcutta Society printed a large edition of Mr. Martyn’s 
version of St. Matthew’s Gospel in Hindoostanhee, with the En¬ 
glish on the opposite page : and of Mr. Bowley’s revision, which by 
the disuse of Arabic and Persian words, is peculiarly adapted to 
the inhabitants of Benares and the upper provinces, the three first 
Gospels were printed in the same year. A specimen of the Hin¬ 
doostanhee version in the Persian character is given in page 288. 


1 To this eminently learned and exemplary divine, the native Christians and 
others who speak the Hindostanhee language, are indebted for a Compendium of 
the Liturgy of the Anglican Church, which was translated by him, and printed in 
1818, at the expense of the Prayer Book and Homily Society of London. Mr. 
Martyn was the first clergyman of that church in India who introduced her ser¬ 
vice to our native subjects in Bengal. His work, having received repeated revi¬ 
sion and amendment, is esteemed by competent judges to be a perspicuous and 
faithful version of the sublime original. 

2 Memoirs of Martyn, p. 292. Sixteenth Report of the Bible Society, pp. lxn 
192, 183. Nearly the whole of the Old Testament had been translated. 




276 


Modern Versions of Asia. [Part I. Gh. 

The third Hindee version of the New Testament was completed 
many years since by the missionaries at Serampore, who published 
the Old Testament in 1818. A new edition of the New Testament 
was printed in 1820, at their press, from a new version, executed by 
the Rev. John Chamberlain, whose long residence in the western 
provinces of India, together with his intimate knowledge of the popu¬ 
lar dialects of the Hindoos, has eminently qualified him for the un¬ 
dertaking. A specimen of this version is given in page 286. 

iii. In the Bengalee , or language of the province of Bengal, the 
whole of the Scriptures is published, and the book of Common 
Prayer has been translated by the Rev. Deocar Schmid. Five edi¬ 
tions of the New Testament (which was completed twenty-five years 
since) and two of the Psalms, and some other parts of the Old Tes¬ 
tament, have been printed ; and a new edition of the entire Bible is 
preparing, in one large royal 8vo. volume, together with two thou¬ 
sand extra copies of the New Testament in 12mo. For this edition 
the missionaries are preparing paper, made of the sun plant ( Croto- 
laria juncea ), which, though inferior to English paper in point of 
colour, is equally impervious to the worm, and far more durable. A 
large edition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John, in English 
and Bengalee, on opposite pages, was printed at Calcutta in 1820, 
chiefly for the benefit of the natives who are attached to public offices 
and houses of agency. See a specimen of the Bengalee version in 
page 2S4. 

A new Bengalee version of the New Testament, completed by the 
late Mr. Ellerton, was printed at Calcutta, in 1820. 1 

iv. The Ooriya or Orissa language is spoken in the province of 
that name ; it has a very close affinity to the Bengalee, but with dif¬ 
ferent terminations, and a different character. In this language, the 
entire Bible was translated by the Baptist missionaries several years 
since : a second edition of the New Testament is nearly completed 
at Serampore. A specimen of this version is given in page 285. 

v. The Brij-Bhassa language, which is spoken in the upper pro¬ 
vinces of Hindoostan, contains a greater mixture of the Sanscrit than 
most of the other dialects of the Hindee. The four Gospels have 
been translated ; and the Gospel of St. Matthew was printed in 1816. 
See a specimen of it in page 285. The Brij-Bhassa version is likely 
to be more acceptable to the inhabitants of the province of Dooab 
than the Hindoostanhee. 

vi. The Kurnata or Canarese language is spoken in the country 
extending northward from Tellicherry to Goa, and eastward from the 
coast of Malabar to the country where the Tamul is spoken, includ¬ 
ing the whole of the Mysore. In this language the New Testament 
was printed in 1820, from the translation of the Rev. Mr. Hands. 
A specimen of it is given in page 287. 

vii. The Tamul language is spoken in the south-eastern part of 
India, from Madras to Cape Comorin. Two different translations 


l Seventeenth Report of the Bible Society, p. lvii. 




277 


W. Sect. IV.J The Southern-Indian Versions. 

have been made in this language. The first was executed by the 
learned German missionaries, who were educated at Halle, and were 
employed in the last century by the Danish government. The New 
Testament was commenced by Bartholomew Ziegenbalg in 1708, 
and finished in 1711. A printing press and paper having been pro¬ 
vided at Tranquebar by the assistance of the venerable Society for 
promoting Christian Knowledge, this translation after having 
been revised by Grundler, another missionary who arrived after 
Ziegenbalg, was put to press in 1714, and finished in the following 
year. This Tamul New Testament was reprinted at Tranquebar in 
1722, and again in 175S, and also at Colombo in 1743. In the year 
1717, Ziegenbalg commenced a Tamul version of the Old Testa¬ 
ment; but he died in 1719, having finished only the Pentateuch with 
the books of Joshua and Judges. The translation was continued and 
completed by the distinguished missionary Benjamin Schultz, who ar¬ 
rived at Tranquebar in 1719 : it was printed at Tranquebar, in four 
volumes, in the years 1723-26-27, and 28. The second translation 
of the New Testament into Tamul was made by Fabricius, another 
German missionary, at Madras, where it was printed in 1777. 1 In 
1814 an edition of the Tamul New Testament was completed at the 
Serampore press, at the expense of the Calcutta Auxiliary Bible So¬ 
ciety ; and as the lapse of years rendered further correction of it 
necessary, the Rev. T. C. E. Rhenius and the Rev. Dr. Rottler, 2 at 
Madras, are actively occupied in revising Fabricius’s version. This 
revision having been highly approved by competent judges, the Ma¬ 
dras Bible Society have ordered the book of Genesis to be printed 
for general circulation, with the ultimate intention of printing a revised 
edition of the entire Tamul Bible. 3 See a specimen of the Tamul 
version in p. 289. 4 

viii. The Telinga language, sometimes called the Teloogoo , is 
spoken in the Northern Circars. In this language, which appears to 
be a dialect of the Tamul, the missionary Schultz, above noticed, 
translated the Bible : but it was never printed. 5 A Telinga version 
of the New Testament was executed by the Missionaries at Seram¬ 
pore, in 1818 ; and the Pentateuch is printed as far as the book of 
Leviticus. On the completion of the Pentateuch, the honour of 
finishing this version was resigned to the Madras Auxiliary Bible 
Society: and some progress had been made by the Rev. Mr. 
Pritchett, whose labours were terminated by death in 1820. A spe¬ 
cimen of the Telinga Version is given in page 285. 

ix. While the Dutch had settlements in the Island of Ceylon, they 
were not inattentive to imparting the Scriptures to such of the natives 


1 Bishop Marsh’s History of the Translations of the Scriptures, p. 37. 

2 The Rev. Dr. Rottler has also translated the book of Common Prayer into the 
Tamul language : it was printed at Madras in 1819, in quarto. 

3 Sixteenth Report of the Bible Society, p. 183. 

4 Bishop Marsh’s History of Translations, p. 37, note. 

5 In 1820, the Prayer Book and Homily Society of London made a grant of 
books, to be sold at Madras, the proceeds of which are to be applied in aid of tho 
printing the book of Common Prayer in the Tamul and Malayalim languages. 



279 Modern Versions of Asia. [Part I. Ch. 

as embraced the Christian faith. The four Gospels were translated 
into Cingalese , or the language of that island, and were printed at 
Colombo in 1739, and again in 1780; the Acts of the Apostles, in 
1771 ; the Psalms in 1755, and again in 1768 ; and the entire New 
Testament, together with the books of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviti¬ 
cus were printed at the same place in 1783. After Ceylon had be¬ 
come part of the British Empire, a new Cingalese version of the New 
Testament was undertaken by Mr. W. Tolfrey, aided by native 
assistants, under the patronage and at the expense of the Colombo 
Auxiliary Society. That nothing might be omitted, which could 
ensure the excellence of this translation, two hundred copies oi the 
Gospels of Matthew and Mark were printed off, and circulated among 
the Modeliars (native magistrates) proponents, and catechists at Co¬ 
lombo, who were the best skilled in Cingalese; several were also 
sent to the settlements of Point de Galle and Matura, where that lan¬ 
guage is spoken in the greatest purity. Pains were taken to obtain a 
fair and candid opinion of the new work, and it is satisfactory to know, 
from the decision of numerous and competent judges, that the lan¬ 
guage and style of this extensive specimen of the New Version, were 
not only pure and suitable to the dignity of the subject, but also plain 
and intelligible. Mr. Tolfrey had gone through repeated revisions of 
the whole New Testament, and had finally corrected to the end of 
the second chapter of the second epistle to Timothy, when his labours 
were interrupted by a sudden death, in 1817. The Cingalese New 
Testament was finished and printed by the united exertions of the 
Rev. Messrs. Chater and Clough (the former a Baptist and the latter 
a Wesleian-Methodist Missionary), and of Mr. Armour, an intelligent 
schoolmaster of the latter connection; and measures were taken for 
adding to it the Old Testament, of which only the three first books 
of Moses had been hitherto translated. A second edition of the Cin¬ 
galese translation of the New Testament was completed in 1820; 
and of the Old Testament, the Book of Genesis has been printed. 
See a specimen of the Cingalese Testament, in p. 289. 1 

x. A Translation of the New Testament into the Maldivian lan¬ 
guage, (which is spoken in the small but very numerous Maldivian 
islands, that lie to the south-west of Ceylon), has been commenced 
by the missionaries at Serampore. The Gospel of Matthew has been 
completed. 

xi. In 1612 (a few years after the establishment of the Dutch East 
India Company), Albert Cornelius Ruyl began a translation of the 
New Testament into the Malay language, which is spoken not only - 
in Malacca, but in Java and many other islands of the Indian archi¬ 
pelago. He lived only to finish the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, 
which were sent to Holland, where they were printed at Enkhuysen 
in 1629, and again, at Amsterdam, in 1638. In 1646 the Gospels of 


1 Owen’s History of the Bible Society, vol. iii. pp. 120, 323, 4G9. Sixteenth 
Report of that Society, p. 189. In 1820, the book of Common Prayer was translat¬ 
ed into Cingalese, under the direction of the Hon. and Rev. T. J. Twisleton, D 
D. Archdeacon of Colombo. 












VI. Sect. IV.] The Southern-Indian Versions. 279 

Luke and John, translated by M. Van Hassel, one of the East India 
directors, was printed at Amsterdam, where die four Gospels were 
again printed in 1651, accompanied with the Acts of the Apostles ; 
and in 1668, the whole New Testament in the Malay language, was 
printed at Amsterdam. From this edition the Gospels and Acts 
were printed at Oxford in 1677, and again in 1704. Of the Old 
Testament in the Malay language, some portions were printed in the 
seventeenth century : but the first edition of the entire Malay Bible 
was printed in 1731 and 1733, in Roman characters. Another edi¬ 
tion of the whole Malay Bible was printed in the Arabic character at 
Batavia, in 1758. 1 This version having become extremely scarce, an 
edition of the Malay Bible in Roman characters, was printed at Cal¬ 
cutta, in 1815-17, under the direction of the Auxiliary Bible Society 
there, aided by a munificent grant of 10,000 sicca rupees from the 
governor-general in council, on the part of the honourable East India 
company. Another edition of the Malay Bible, in Roman characters, 
has been completed at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible 
Society, and another edition in Arabic characters, revised by the Rev. 
R. S. Hutchings, was completed at Calcutta in 1821, under the di¬ 
rection of the Auxiliary Bible Society there. Specimens of the 
Malay version, both in Roman and in Arabic characters, are given in 
page 289. As a dialect of the Malay is spoken at Batavia, the Java 
Bible Society, in 1814, engaged the Rev. Mr. Robinson (a Baptist 
Missionary), and Mr. Kool, a native translator to the government of 
that island, to undertake a version of the New Testament in that dia¬ 
lect, which has since been completed. 

xii. The Malayalim or Malabar language is spoken on the coast 
of Malabar, in the country of Travancore. In this language the Ca- 
tanars, or clergy of the Syrian church at Cotym, are translating the 
Scriptures under the direction of the Rev. Benjamin Bailey, one of 
the missionaries sent to India by the Church Missionary Society. 
The Malayalim spoken by the Syrian Christians of Travancore, dif- 
fers greatly both in words and idioms from that spoken in the norths 
ern part of Malabar. 2 In order to render the Malayalim version of 
the Bible as correct as possible (which is now in progress), the Cal¬ 
cutta Bible Society in 1820 sent a printing press, types, and paper, 
to Cotym, where a new college has been founded for the Syrian 
Christians, by the Rajah of Travancore and Colonel Munro, the 
British resident at his court. 

3. Versions in the Chinese , and the languages derived from or 
hearing affinity to it. 

Chinese Versions. —The Chinese language, in the characters 
peculiar to it, is read not only throughout China, but also in Cochin- 
china, and Japan, by a population of more than three hundred mil¬ 
lions of persons. Two versions of the entire Bible are extant in this 
language, the translators of which have been aided in their arduous 


1 Bishop Marsh’s History of Translations, p. 35. 

2 Missionary Register, for 1820, p. 48. 




280 


Modern Versions of Asia. [Part I. Ch, 

and expensive undertakings by the British and Foreign Bible So¬ 
ciety. The earliest of these was commenced by the Rev. Dr. 
Marshman, at Serampore, by whom the New Testament was printed 
in 1814. The translation of the Old Testament, which was executed 
many years since, has been printed in detached portions, and at dif¬ 
ferent times. The Historical Books, which finish the Bible, were 
completed in 1821. The missionaries at Serampore are possessed 
of several sets of Chinese characters, both in wooden blocks and also 
in metal types; a specimen from the latter is given in page 287. 
The other version was commenced in 1812 by the Rev. Dr. Morri¬ 
son of Canton, 1 aided by the (late) Rev. Dr. Milne at Malacca, (both 
in the employ of the London Missionary Society), and was finished 
in 1820. 2 The New Testament of this version has been circulated 
to a considerable extent among the Chinese inhabitants of Java, and 
of the islands in the Indian seas, and with the happiest effects. 3 An 
edition of the Mantchou (Tartar)—Chinese version of the Gospel 
of Matthew, was printed in 1822, at the expense of the British and 
Foreign Bible Society. 

From the Chinese language are derived seven others, which are 
spoken in Eastern India. Into three of these the New Testament 
is now in course of translation, viz. the Khassee or Kassai, the Muni- 
poora, and the Burman. 

i. The Khassee or Kassai language is spoken by an independent 
nation of mountaineers, lying between the eastern border of Bengal, 
and the northern border of the Burman empire. In this language, 
the Baptist missionaries have translated and printed the four first 
Gospels. 

ii. The Munipoora is spoken in the small kingdom of that name, 
which lies between Assam and the Burman empire. The Gospel 
of Matthew has been printed in this language. 

iii. The Burman language, which is spoken in the empire of that 
name, has borrowed the Sanscrit alphabet. Into this language, the 
New Testament has been translated by Mr. Felix Carey, son of the 
Rev. Dr. Carey, of Serampore. The Gospel of Matthew was printed 
by him at Rangoon, in the Burman empire, in royal octavo, in 1817. 
A specimen of it is given in page 286. The Gospel and three 
Epistles of John, together with the Acts of the Apostles, and the 
Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, have also been translated into the 
Burman language by the Rev. Adoniram Judson. 

1 To Dr. Morrison the Christians in China are indebted for a version of the Li¬ 
turgy and Psalter of the Anglican Church. Having presented the Chinese with 
the Scriptures in their native language, this distinguished oriental scholar, (who, 
to his honour be it recorded, is a conscientious dissenter from that church), was 
desirous of giving them a formulary in which they might offer acceptable devotions 
to the throne of grace ; and as he could find no form, which so completely met his 
views, as the Liturgy of the church of England, he translated it into the Chinese 
language. This version was printed in 1820, at the expense of the Prayer Book 
and Homily Society. 

~ Owen’s Hist. vol. ii. p. 467. Sixteenth Report, p. lxxvi. 

3 Many authentic particulars were communicated to the Java Bible Society by 
their late Secretary, the Rev. Mr. Supper : some of these are recorded by Mr 
Owen, vol. iii. pp.224, 225. 




281 


VI. Sect. IV.] Formosan and Tartar Versions. 

In concluding the preceding notice of the versions, executed prin¬ 
cipally by the learned Baptist missionaries, and at their press, it is 
impossible not to recognise the hand of God, who has raised up 
and qualified them for the arduous task to which they have devoted 
their time, money, and labour : for though they have been nobly 
assisted by subscriptions and grants from Europe, yet it ought not 
to be forgotten that they have largely contributed to defray the ex» 
penses of translating and printing out of those profits, which their 
extraordinary acquirements have enabled them to realise. They 
have translated and printed the whole of the Sacred Scriptures in 
jive of the languages of India ; the whole of the New Testament in 
jifteen others; in sir other languages it is more titan half printed, and 
in ten others considerable progress has been made in the work of 
translation. And these vast undertakings have been accomplished 
within the short space of twenty-eight years, since the commence¬ 
ment of their first version (the New Testament in Bengalee). When 
we consider the experience which they have gained,—the number 
of learned natives whom they have trained up and accustomed to the 
work of translation, — the assistance which is to be derived from our 
countrymen in various parts of India, who are acquainted with any 
of its dialects, — and the advantages now enjoyed for printing at a 
moderate expense, — we may reasonably indulge the hope that, in 
the course of a few years more, the word of life will be extant in all 
the different languages and dialects of India. 

IV. Other Asiatic Versions of the Holy Scriptures. 

1. Formosan Version. —The island of Formosa fell into the 
hands of the Dutch, who expelled the Portuguese thence, in 1651. 
During their eleven years’ possession of it, Robert Junius, a native 
of Delft, preached the Gospel to the inhabitants, and it is said, with 
great success. For their use, the Gospels of Matthew and John 
were translated into the Formosan language, and printed at Amster¬ 
dam, with the Dutch translation, in 1661, in quarto. But the Dutch 
being expelled from that island by the Chinese in 1662, the Formo¬ 
san version was discontinued : and in all probability the Formosans 
never received any benefit from the work just noticed. 1 

2. Tartar Versions. 2 —The Tartars compose a distinct nation, 
of Turkish origin, though now totally distinct from the Turks, and 
are subdivided into various tribes, each of which has its peculiar 
language. Into fifteen of these languages, translations of the sacred 
volume are either printed or preparing, under the direction and at 
the expense of the Russian Bible Society, viz. the Nogai-Tartar, 
Mongolian, Calmuek, Orenberg-Tartar, Tschuwaschian, Tschere- 
missian, Tartar-Hebrew (spoken in the interior of Asia), Mord- 

1 Dr. Clarke’s Bibliographical Dictionary, vol. i. p. 288. t 

2 Towards the close of the thirteenth eentury, a translation of the New Testa¬ 
ment and of the Psalms of David into the Tartar language, was made by Johannes 
ii Monte Corvino, in order to accelerate the propagation of the GospeJ among the 
dark and idolatrous nations to whom he had been sent as a missionary in 1288 by 
pope Nicholas IV. (Mosheim’s Eccl. Hist. vol. iu. pp. 113. 299.) No vestiges oi 
this Tartar version are known to be in existence. 

vol. 11 . 36 




282 


Modern Versions of Asia. [Part I. Ch. 

vinian or Mordwaschian, Ostiakian, Wogulian, Samoiedian, Tscha- 
poginian, Zirian, Ossatinian, and a dialect of the Tartar spoken in 
Siberia. Of these various translations, the Moravian missionaries, at 
Sarepta, on the banks of the Wolga, in Asiatic Russia, have com¬ 
pleted the four Gospels and the Acts in the Calmuc language ; and 
the remainder of the New Testament was translated by Mr. Schmidt. 
The entire New Testament, in this language, was printed in 1822 ; 
as also was the Mongolian version, executed by two converted Mon¬ 
golian chieftains, under the superintendence of Mr. Schmidt. In 
the same year the Edinburgh Missionary Society’s missionaries at 
Karrass printed a Tartar-Turkish version of the New Testament, and 
have completed the Pentateuch in the same dialect. In 1816, the 
Rev. D. Pinkerton, while travelling in the Crimea, discovered, at 
Dschoufout Kale, a copy of a pure Tartar translation of the Old 
Testament from the Hebrew, which was made several centuries ago. 
This has been revised, and printed at St. Petersburg. 1 

3. The Georgian Version. — At the beginning of the eighteenth 
century, the whole of the New Testament, together with the Psalms 
and the Prophets, was printed in the Georgian language, at Teflis, 
in Georgia, by order of the prince Vaktangh. The entire Bible 
was printed at Moscow in 1743, in folio, at the expense of Elizabeth 
empress of Russia, under the inspection of the princes Arcil and 
Bacchar. 2 From this edition the Moscow Bible Society printed an 
impression of the New Testament in 1816, and another in 1818. 
According to the tradition of the Greek church, the Georgian ver¬ 
sion was originally made in the eighth century, by Euphemius the 
Georgian, the founder of the Ibirian or Georgian monastery at 
Mount Athos, where his actual autograph was discovered in the 
year 1S17, and is preserved to this day. As the greater part of the 
books of the Old Testament of this antient version was lost in the 
wars in which the Georgians were so frequently involved with the 
Persians and Turks, the editors of the Moscow edition were obliged 
to translate most of the books of the Old Testament from the Scla- 
vonian version. The Moscow Bible Society are taking measures to 
obtain a correct transcript of Euphemius’s manuscript, from which to 
print a faithful edition of the Georgian Bible. 3 Two MSS. of the 
Georgian Version of the Gospels, are said to be preserved in the 
Vatican Library at Rome. 

4. Tahitan Version. —The blessed effects with which the la¬ 
bours of the Missionaries (sent out by the London Missionary Socie¬ 
ty in 1796) have been crowned, have already been noticed in the 
first volume of this work. In consequence of the extraordinary suc¬ 
cess which has recently attended the preaching of the Gospel in Ota- 
heite (or Tahiti, as the natives term that island) and the neighbouring 
islands of Huaheine and Eimeo, openings have been made of the 

1 Owen’s History, vol. iii. pp. 211—215. Sixteenth Report of the Bible Society, 

pp. 43, 44, 55, 67. 1 

2 Bishop Marsh’s History of Translations, p. 32. 

3 Sixteenth Report of the Bible Society, pp. 33—35. 




The Tahitan Version. 


283 


VI. Sect. IV.] 

tnost promising nature for the dissemination of the Holy Scriptures. 
Aided by grants of paper from the British and Foreign Bible Society, 
the Missionaries in 1818 printed 3000 copies of the Gospel of Luke 
in the Tahitan language, and in 1820, having received further sup¬ 
plies, they completed five thousand copies of the Gospel of Matthew 
which were sought with avidity, and received with gratitude by all. 
The Gospels of Luke and John, and the Acts of the Apostles, have also 
been translated and printed ; and a Tahitan version has been com¬ 
pleted of the book of Ruth, the Psalms, the Prophecies of Isaiah, 
Daniel, and Jonah, and of the Epistle to the Ephesians, which are 
under revision for the press. The following titles and specimens of 
the Tahitan version of the Gospels of Matthew and John will not be 
uninteresting to the reader. 

1. Te Evanelia a Mataio no Iesu Christ to tatou fatu ; 

Irithia ei Parau Tahiti. : Printed at the Windward 

Mission Press. 1820. 12mo. 

(The Lord's Prayer, Matt. VI. 9—13.) 

9. E to matou Medua i te ao ra, ia raa to oe ioa. 

10. Ia tae to oe ra liau ; ia haapaohia to oe hinaaro i te fenua nei, 
mai tei te ao atoa na. 

11. Ilomai na matou i teinei mahana tei haapaohia ra o te mahana o 
te raaa, o te mahana o te maa. 

12. E faaore mai i ta matou hapa, mai ta matou mau amu tarahu i 
faaore atoahia e matou nei. 

13. E eiaha faarue ia matou ia roohia e te ati ra, e faaora ra ia ma* 
tore, no oe hoi te hau, e te mana, i te hanahana, i te mau ui atoa 
e ore e hope. Amene. 

2. Te Evanelia a Ioane no Iesu Christ to tatou fatou ; 

irithia ei Parau Tahiti . : Printed at the Windward 

Mission Press. 1821. 12mo. 

(John III. 14—17.) 

14. Ma ia Mose i faa teitei i te ophi i te fenua aihere ra, oia toa te 
Tamaidi a te Taata e faa teitei atoa hia ia. 

15. Ia ore ia poe te faaroo ia’na ra, ia roaa te ora mure ore. 

16. I aroha mai te Atua i to te ao, e na tae roa te horoa mai i ta’na 
Tamaidi fanau tahi, ia ore ia pohe te faaroo ia’na ra, ia roau te 
ora mure ore. 

17. Aore hoi te Atua i tono mai i ta’na Tamaidi i te ao nei e faa 
hapa i to te ao, ia ora ra to te ao ia’na. 


( *84 ) 


[Part I. Ch. 


I 



FAC-SIMILES OF SPECIMENS 

OF THE 

VERSIONS OP THE SACRED SCRIPTURES, 


IN THE 

Eastern languages, 

CHIEFLY 


Translated by the Brethren of the Serampore Mission. 


Text. “ The people that sat in darkness saw great light: and to them 
which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up.” 

Matt. iv. 16 


SANSCRIT, or SUNGSKRIT, 


In the Deva Nagree character, which is used throughout India. 

i-' * 


BENGALEE. 


iRfwra 5 


MAHRATTA. 

SI TLRiT ^r?t?T Tqrauf ^EJT YT 

tfra ^sml ^ ’eg* p-frjTT F[?f<T tRtsTr 







VI. Sect IV.] Specimens of Oriental Versions . 


285 




KASHMIREE, or KASHMEER. 

^ f 3 t(r 

177 srm\ fjjjg tfipj i 

OORIYA, or ORISSA. 

3 ^Wa§G^GafllGS 
G$sfa$tl[88|8§ G^P^IG^ gBiQ Offl 6 &MGQ 

sic® CtBjiWfS fi®@e ctc^ja i 

TELINGA, or TELOOGOO. 

©o^’o'sxxuossi eT’SSeO 

aSs« 3 i^ 0 &»^ 

"2>£0^ ^j£oe»'dr 

<§£j l—' 


BRIJ-BHASSA. 

7uf?rg% Sjf %1t %§f <3^ ®^T <3§tl 

gwrt ^ w s 

PUSHTOO, or AFFGHAN. 
j** tVU #)Gj lf$ Xs> (Jjii M^jjS 
C^S^S i% ,j£»Ua CXJ.„ jo .1 sAa/s 





286 


Specimens of Oriental Versions . [Part I. Cb. 


SIKH, SHEEK, or PUNJABEE. 

f%5T >1^3^ !§JT WfS’STWrf^g'ts' 5fg 

THte're* t?£ ^fenr i 

HINDOOSTANHEE. 


3rr %ctt %s w 



UHUMIYA, or ASSAMESE. 

fifing 

; 3KtST 

BURMAN. 

go^<>4@g5 n 5&oo^^@^so^|o^ogSofi» 
o5^?$oxoor>c%^ eo y$£ 

OC0(£b 

BULOCHA, or BULOSHEE. 

Ul\* **-% -&> W of 

* ^ A& fr'Wnfc 




VI. Sect IV.] Specimens of Oriental Versions . 


287 


CHINESE VERSION. 


MOVEABLE METAL TYPES. 


T ext. “ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And 
the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face 
of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” 

Gen. i. 1—3. 

* a 0 p? & * ^ ® % 

yt * i* m m « se » 

“ it s g mnn 



KURNATA, or CANARESE. 

rt*£>S<s6 c8at£°6°0 Hv&j&Sfo 










I 






( 288 ) [Part I. Ch. 

FAC-SIMILES OF SPECIMENS 

OF 

VERSIONS OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES, 

IN THE 

Eastern fLanfluages, 

PRINTED AT THE EXPENSE 

OF 

Urtltsli anti jFomjjn Utile Sortelg, 

AND OF 

THE CALCUTTA AUXILIARY SOCIETY. 

I ■ / 


Text. —“ The people that sat in darkness saw great light: and to them 
which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up.” 

Matt. iv. 16. 

HINDOOSTANHEE VERSION. 

IN THE PERSIAN CHARACTER. 

(fb} 9* <#» 

PERSIAN. 

i> ^ pk till 

sPJl 3^ ts lmf ra iffl ^ 



VI. Sect. V.] Specimens of Oriental Versions. 


289 


TAMUL. 

smus QuMjj Qoisfil#eiges>p& 
erezrr©^ Ld/rOT^goST 0}<x>ei>Slgtib Mi^eSiga 

8i?Qite<®y3(3 Qm<sto0& Qpaxefm- 


CINGALESE. 



-330% ®o’©??d cfeQe ©c3D@0a 

£«icf\.G30 deco^l C^e©-srfc5. 


ARABIC. 

LsJbls^ J l^c> Jf^S U"^Ls\K LrUJf 

• • 

* CTyw£ 

MALAY IN ROMAN CHARACTERS. 

EKawm? ltu jan^dudolk p adakalam, fudali met - 
lat Jkwatu taranz; jang lesar' dan lagi fegala 
^awraxg jare; dndoik pada tanak dan loajaig 
jnawt itn, taraiF; pawn sudakterLit Jbagmja. 

MALAY IN ARABIC CHARACTERS. 

Text.— “And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and 
dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.” Gen. iv. 16 . 

x&* 


VOL. TI. 


U 



290 


Modern Versions of Africa. [Part I. Ch. 


SECTION V. 

MODERN VERSIONS IN THE LANGUAGES OF AFRICA AND AMERICA. 

I. African Versions. — 1. Amharic and Tigre. — 2. Bullom. — 

3. Susoo. — II. North American Versions.— 1. Virginian. 

— 2. Delaware. — 3. Indian Massachusetts. — 4. Mohawk. — 5. 

— Mohegan. — 6. Esquimaux. — 7. Greenlandish. — 8. Creo- 

lese. — III. South American Versions. 

I- African Versions. — Amharic and Tigre , or vernacular tongues 
of Abyssinia. — The version in the ecclesiastical or antient language 
of Ethiopia, noticed in pp. 192—195. being confined to the churches, 
and understood by few comparatively besides the clergy, M. Asselin 
de Cherville, French consul at Cairo, was induced to undertake a 
version of the entire Bible in the Amharic , l the royal dialect spoken 
at the court of Gondar, which is the dialect prevalent in the eastern 
parts of Africa bordering on the equator, and through which a con¬ 
siderable intercourse is maintained between the natives of Abyssinia 
and the Arabians and Negroes of the interior. For ten years M. 
Asselin employed an intelligent Ethiopian, named Abu Rumi, (who 
had been the interpreter of Mr. Bruce in Abyssinia, and the teacher 
of Sir William Jones in India), on this important work, to which he 
devoted two entire days in every week. In order to ensure correct¬ 
ness he read with this person slowly and with the utmost attention, 
every verse of the sacred volume in the Arabic version, which they 
were about to translate. M. Asselin then explained to him all those 
words, which were either abstruse, difficult, or foreign to the Arabic, 
by the help of the Hebrew original, the Syriac version, or the Septu- 
agint, and also of some commentaries. After they finished the trans¬ 
lation of one book, they collated it once more before they proceeded 
further. This version was purchased for the British and Foreign 
Bible Society by the Rev. Mr. Jowett; who undertook a voyage into 
Egypt from Malta, for the express purpose of completing the pur¬ 
chase. The printing of the four Gospels in Amharic and in Ethiopic, 
in two separate volumes was completed in 1822, under the editorial 
care of the Rev. Samuel Lee, professor of Arabic in the University of 
Cambridge. During Mr. Jowett’s residence in Egypt, in 1819, he 
employed the late Mr. Nathaniel Pearce, who had lived many years 
in Ethiopia; and who commenced a translation of the Gospels into 
the Tigre , the vernacular dialect of the extensive province of Tigre. 
The Gospel of Mark and John has been completed, together with a 
version of the Gospel of Mark in Amharic, which is now superseded 
by the more accurate entire Amharic version of M. Asselin. These 


1 In Ludolph’s Grammatica Linguae Amharicae (pp. 54, 55.), there is an Amharic 
translation, by Abba Gregorius, of thirteen verses of the eleventh chapter of Saint 
Luke’s Gospel. 




\ 1. Sect. V.] Modern Versions of America. 291 

three versions are now in the possession of the British and Foreign 
Bible Society. 1 

2. Bullom Version. —The Bullomsare a numerous people on the 
western coast of Africa, among whom the missionaries sent out by 
the Church Missionary Society, laboured for several years. Into 
the language of this people, the four Gospels and the Acts of the 
Apostles, have been translated by the Rev. G. R. Nylander, 2 a dis¬ 
tinguished labourer in the service of that Society. The Gospel of 
Saint Matthew was printed at the expense of the British and Foreign 
Bible Society in 1816. 3 

3. Susoo Version. — The Susoos are also a numerous tribe on the 
western coast of Africa, in the vicinity of Sierra Leone ; among whom 
the same Society’s missionaries laboured for several years. By these 
missionaries the four Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and other parts 
of the New Testament, together with several books of the Old Tes¬ 
tament, have been translated into the Susoo language. But their 
further benevolent and pious labours are at present suspended among 
the Susoos and the Bulloms, by the revival of the nefarious slave- 
trade on those coasts. 

II. American Versions. — Although the multiplicity of dialects 
spoken by the Indian tribes of North America seemed to interpose 
an insuperable bar to the labours of those benevolent individuals who 
were desirous of communicating the Scriptures to them ; yet this 
obstacle has been diminished by the discovery, that so close an affi¬ 
nity subsists among them, that a young unlettered Indian of good ca¬ 
pacity can (it is said) make himself master of them all. The follow¬ 
ing are the dialects into which the whole or part of the Bible has been 
translated. 

1. The Virginian Bible was translated by the Rev. John Elliot, 
who has justly been denominated the apostle to the Indians, from his 
unwearied labours to diffuse the blessings of Christianity among them. 
The New Testament was published at Cambridge in New England, 
in 1661, and the Old Testament in 1663. The entire Bible was re¬ 
printed at the same place in 1685. 

2. The Delaware language is spoken through a very considerable 
portion of North America. Into this language part of the Scriptures 
was translated by the Rev. Mr. Fabricius, one of the Moravian mis¬ 
sionaries to the Delaware Indians, but it does not appear to have been 
printed. 4 In 1818, the three Epistles of John were translated into 
the Delaware language by the Rev. C. F. Dencke, a missionary from 
the United Brethren or Moravians. It was printed at the expense of 

t Sixteenth Report of the Bible Society, p. 169. Jowett’s Christian Researches 
in the Mediterranean, pp. 197—213. 

2 The Rev. Mr. Nylander has also rendered an additional service to such of the 
Bulloms as have embraced the Christian faith, by translating select portions of the 
Liturgy of the Anglican church into their vernacular language. These were print¬ 
ed in Bullom, and in Roman characters (that people having no characters of their 
own), in 1816, at the expense of the Prayer Book and Homily Society. 

3 Owen’s Hist. vol. iii. p. 126. 

4 Bp. Marsh’s History of Translations, p. 99, where it is stated that another mis¬ 
sionary, Schmick, translated a portion of the Gospels into the Mahican language. 




292 


Modern Versions of America. [Part I. Ch. 

the American Bible Society, and is entitled Nek Nechenneawachgis- 
sitschik Bambilak nag a Geschiechauchsit panna Johannessa Elek- 
hangu/p. Gischitak Elleniechsink untschi C. F. Dencke. That is, 
The Three Epistles of the Apostle John , translated into Delaware 
Indian , by C. F. Dencke; New York, 1818, 18mo. 

The translation is printed on the left-hand page, and the English 
authorised version on the right. As copies of this Delaware Indian 
translation are not common, the following specimen of it from 1 John 
iii. 1—4. may not be unacceptable to the reader. 

Ncchelencyachgichink aptonagan 

Pennamook ! elgiqui penundelukquonk Wetochwink wdaoaltowo- 
agan, wentschi luwilchgussiank Gettanittowit wdamemensemall. 
Guntschi matta woachgussiwuneen untschi pemhakamixitink, eli 
pemhakamixit taku wohaq’ Patamawossall. 

2. Ehoalachgik! juque metschi ktelli wundamemensineen Get- 
tanittowitink, schuk nesquo majawii elsijankstch. Schuk ktelli ma- 
jawelendamenneen nguttentsch woachquake, ktellitsch linaxineen, 
elinaxit, ktellitsch newoaneen elinaxit. 

3. Woak wemi auwen nechpauchsit jun nhakeuchsowoagan, kschie- 
chichgussitetsch, necama Patamawos elgiqui kschiechsid. 

4. Auwen metauchsit, necama ne endchi mikindank matta weltoq’, 
woak eli machtauchsit wuntschi mikindamen matta weltoq’. 

3. The Psalms and Gospel of Saint John were translated by the 
exemplary missionary, Mr. Experience Mayhew, into the Indian- 
Massachusett dialect. They were printed at Boston in New England 
in the year 1709. 1 

4. The Mohawk language, besides the tribe from whom it takes 
its name, is intelligible to the Five Nations, to the Tuscaroras, and 
to the Wyandots or Hurons. In the early part of the eighteenth 
century, a translation was made of the Gospel of Matthew, and also 
of several chapters both of the Old and New Testament, into this 
language, by the Rev. Mr. Freeman. Some portions of the latter 
were printed at New York, and reprinted at London with the English 
Liturgy, and the Gospel of Mark (translated by Captain Brant) in 
1787, for the use of the Mohawks, who have a chapel at Kingston in 
Upper Canada, where divine service is performed in their native 
tongue, by a missionary supported by the venerable Society for pro¬ 
moting Christian Knowledge. This edition was printed at the ex¬ 
pense of the English government. To these portions of the Scrip¬ 
tures was added the Gospel of John, translated in 1804 by Captain 
John Norton, 2 a chief of the Six Nation Indians in Upper Canada. 
This version was printed at the expense of the British and Foreign 
Bible Society, and its accuracy was, shortly after, attested in the 
most favourable manner by the interpreters in the Indian villages. 3 

1 Brown’s History of the Propagation of Christianity, vol. ii. pp. 57, 58. Second 
Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Appendix, p. 118. 

2 Capt. Norton was adopted by the Confederacy of the Six Nations, in 1791, and 
in 1800 appointed a chief, under the title of Teyoninhokarawen. His father was a 
Cherokee, and served in the British army. 

3 Owen’s History, vol. i. pp. 120—135. 



293 


VI. Sect. V.] Modern Versions of America. 

5. The New Testament, together with several portions of the Old 
Testament, was translated, towards the close of the eighteenth cen¬ 
tury, into the Mohegan language, by the Rev. John Serjeant, sen., 
a missionary at Stockbridge. No part of this version appears to have 
been printed 1 . 

6. In the Esquimaux language, a harmony of the Four Gospels 
was made by the missionaries of the Moravian Brethren many years 
since. From this version the Gospel of John was selected by the 
Rev. Mr. Kohlmeister, and printed by the Bible Society in 1*809. 
To this was added, in 1813, a translation of the other three Gospels, 
which had been made by the venerable superintendant of the Labra¬ 
dor mission, the Rev. C. F. Burghardt, who possessed an intimate 
knowledge of the Esquimaux dialect, and finished his revision only a 
short time before his death, in 1812 : and in the year 1819 the Acts 
of the Apostles and the Epistles, were printed in the same dialect, by 
the Bible Society, and received (as the other portions of the New 
Testament had been) with the deepest sentiments of gratitude. 2 

7. In 1759, the Greenlanders received from the Moravian Bre¬ 
thren, a translation of their harmony of the four Gospels ; 3 in 1799, 
the whole of the New Testament, and in 1822 a new translation of 
the entire New Testament in the language of Greenland was printed 
at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society. 

8. Lastly, the New Testament was translated into Creolese for the 
use of the Christian negroes in the Danish West India islands, and was 
published at Copenhagen, in 1781, at the expense of the king of 
Denmark. In 1818, the Danish Bible Society printed an edition of 
1500 copies, which have been transmitted to the Danish West 
Indies. 4 

III. It does not appear that the Portuguese ever gave any transla¬ 
tion of the Scriptures to the natives of South America, who were 
subjugated by them; and the barbarous cruelties of the Spaniards in 
Mexico are recorded in the page of history. Towards the close of 
the sixteenth century, however, some of the ecclesiastics and mission¬ 
aries adopted a different plan from that pursued by their predecessors, 
by translating some parts of the Scriptures into the language of the 
country. Benedict Fernandez, a Spanish Dominican friar, vicar of 
Mixteca in New Spain, translated the epistles and gospels into the 
dialect spoken in that province. Didacus de S. Maria, another Do- 


1 Brown’s History of the Propagation of Christianity, vol. ii. p. 630. 

2 Owen’s History, vol. i. p. 460. vol. ii. pp. 289. 359. vol. iii. p. 483. Sixteenth 
Report of the Bible Society, pp. Ixxxiii. lxxxiv. Seventeenth Report, p. lxxix. 

3 Crantz’s History of Greenland, vol. ii. p. 299. 

4 Adler’s Bibliotheca Biblica, Part IV. p. 116. Sixteenth Report of the Bible 
Society, p. 127. Besides the particulars recorded in the preceding sections, there 
are many interesting circumstances relative to the history of translations and 
translators, which the limits of this work do not allow to be detailed. For these, 
and indeed for every thing relative to the literary history of the Holy Scriptures, 
we refer the reader to the Rev. James Townley’s “ Illustrations of Biblical Litera¬ 
ture, exhibiting the History and Fate of the Sacred Writings from the earliest pe¬ 
riod to the present century ; including Biographical Notices of Translators and 
other eminent Biblical Scholars.” London, 1821, in 3 volumes, 8vo. 



294 


Modern Versions of America. [Part I. 

minican, and vicar of the province of Mexico, (who died in 1579,) 
was the author of a translation of the epistles and gospels into the 
Mexican tongue, or general language of the country. The Proverbs 
of Solomon, and other fragments of the Holy Scriptures were trans¬ 
lated into the same language by Louis Rodriguez, a Spanish Francis¬ 
can friar: and the episdes and gospels, appointed to be read for the 
whole year, were translated into die idiom of die Western Indians , 
by Arnold a Bassaccio, also a Franciscan friar: but the dates of these 
latter versions have not been ascertained. The entire Bible is said 
to have been translated into the Brazilian language by an English 
minister, who accompanied the Dutch to Recife, when they acquired 
it from the Portuguese. This version has never been printed. 1 


1 Townley’s Illustrations of Bibiical Literature, vol. iii. pp. 46. 355. note 



Ch. VII.] On the Critical Use of Rabbinical Writings , $*c. 295 

CHAPTER VII. 

ON THE CRITICAL USE OF THE JEWISH AND RABBINICAL 
WRITINGS, AND THE WORKS OF PROFANE AUTHORS. 

I. The Apocryphal Books of the Old Testament. — II. The Tal¬ 
mud; — 1. The Misna. — 2. The Gemara.—Jerusalem and 
Babylonish Talmuds. —III. The Writings of Philo-Judceus and 
Josephus. —Account of them. — The genuineness of Josephus's 
testimony to the character of Jesus Christ proved. — IV. On the 
Use of the Writings of Profane Authors for the Elucidation of 
the Scriptures. 

Besides the various aids mentioned in the preceding chapters, 
much important assistance is to be obtained, in the criticism and in¬ 
terpretation of the Holy Scriptures, from consulting the Apocryphal 
writings, and also the works of the Rabbins, and of profane authors 
who have written in the Greek language, especially those of Josephus 
and Philo; which serve not only to explain the grammatical force 
amd meaning of words, but also to confirm the facts, and to eluci¬ 
date the customs, manners, and opinions of the Jews, which are either 
mentioned or incidentally referred to in the Old and New Testaments. 

Of the writings of the Jews, the Targums or Chaldee Paraphrases, 
which have been noticed in a former page, 1 are perhaps the most im¬ 
portant ; and next to them are the Apocryphal books of the Old 
Testament, and the Talmud. 

I. The Apocryphal Books, as we have already had occasion to 
remark, 2 are the productions of the Alexandrian Jews and their 
descendants. They are all curious, and some of them extremely 
valuable. It is to be regretted that the just rejection of these books 
from the scriptural canon by the reformed churches has occasioned 
the opposite extreme of an entire disregard to them in the minds of 
many serious and studious Christians.. As a collection of very an- 
tient Jewish works, anterior to Christianity, as documents of history, 
and as lessons of prudence and often of piety, the Greek Apocryphal 
writings are highly deserving of notice; but, as elucidating the phra¬ 
seology of the New Testament, they claim the frequent perusal of 
scholars, and especially of theological students. Kuinoel has applied 
these books to the illustration of the New Testament, with great suc¬ 
cess, in his Observationes ad Novum Testamentum ex Libris Apo- 
cryphis , V. T Lipsiae, 1794, 8vo. 

II. The Talmud (a term which literally signifies doctrine ) is a 
body of Jewish Laws, containing a digest of doctrines and precepts 
relative to religion and morality. The Talmud consists of two general 
parts, viz. The Misna or text, and the Gemara or commentary. 

1. The Misna (or repetition as it literally signifies) is a collec¬ 
tion of various traditions of the Jews, and of expositions of scripture 
texts; which, they pretend, were delivered to Moses during his 
abode on the Mount, and transmitted from him, through Aaron, 
Eleazar, and Joshua, to the prophets, and by those to the men of the 


1 See pp. 157—162. supra. 


2 See Vol. I. Appendix, No. V Sect. I. 



296 


On the Critical Use of the [Part I. 

Great Sanhedrin, from whom they passed in succession to Simeon 
(who took our Saviour in his arms), Gamaliel, and ultimately to Rab¬ 
bi Jehudah, surnamed Hakkadosh or the Holy. By him this digest 
of oral law and traditions was completed, towards the close of the 
second century, after the labour of forty years. From this time it 
has been carefully handed down among the Jews, from generation to 
generation ; and in many cases has been esteemed beyond the writ¬ 
ten law itself. The Misna consists of six books, each of which is 
entitled order , and is further divided into many treatises, amounting 
in all to sixty-three; these again are divided into chapters, and the 
chapters are further subdivided into sections or aphorisms. The 
best edition of the Misna, unaccompanied by the Gamara, is that of 
Surenhusius, in 6 vols. folio, published at Amsterdam, 1698—1703, 
with a Latin version and the Commentaries of Rabbi Moses de Bar- 
tenora, of Maimonides, and of various Christian writers. Several 
treatises, relative to the traditions of the Jews, have been published 
at different times, by learned men, among which we may particularly 
notice the following publications, viz. 

(1.) The Traditions of the Jews, or the Doctrines and Exposi¬ 
tions contained in the Talmud and other Rabbinical Writings : with 
a preliminary Preface, or an Inquiry into the Origin, Progress, Au¬ 
thority, and Usefulness of those traditions; wherein the mystical 
Sense of the Allegories in the Talmud, &c. is explained. [By the 
Rev. Peter Stehelin, F. R. S.] London, 1742. In two volumes 8vo. 

This is a work of extreme rarity and curiosity ; it bears a very high price, 
which necessarily places it beyond the reach of Biblical students. But most of the 
information which it contains will be found in 

(2.) Modern Judaism ; or a Brief Account of the Opinions, Tra¬ 
ditions, Rites, and Ceremonies of the Jews in Modern Times. By 
John Allen. London, 1817, 8vo. 

The various traditions, &c. received and adopted by the modern Jews, (that is, 
by those who lived during and subsequently to the time of Jesus Christ,) are fully 
and perspicuously treated in this well-executed volume, which illustrates various 
passages in the New Testament with great facility. 

(3.) Miscellaneous Discourses relating to the Traditions and Usa¬ 
ges of the Scribes and Pharisees in our Saviour Jesus Christ’s Time. 
By W. Wotton, D. D. London, 1718. In two volumes 8vo. 

This is a very curious work. Volume I. contains a discourse concerning the 
nature, authority, and usefulness of the Misna; a table of all its titles, with sum¬ 
maries of their contents; a discourse on the recital of the Shcma (that is, of 
Deut. vi. 4—9., so called from the first word, i. e. hear), on the phylacteries, and 
on the Mezuzoth or schedules fixed on gates and door posts; together with a col¬ 
lection of texts relative to the observance of the Sabbath, taken out of the Old and 
New Testaments and Apocryphal Books, with annotations thereon. Volume II. 
contains two treatises from the Misna, in Hebrew and English, one on the Sab¬ 
bath, entitled Shabbath; and another, entitled Enivin, concerning the mixtures 
practised by the Jews in the time of Jesus Christ, to strengthen the observation of 
the Sabbath. Dr. Wotton has given copious notes to both these treatises, which 
illustrate many passages of Holy Writ. 

2. The Gemaras or commentaries are two-fold: — (l.) The Ge- 
mar a of Jerusalem , which, in the opinion of Prideaux, Buxtorf, 
Carpzov, and other eminent critics, was compiled in the third cen¬ 
tury of the Christian aera; though, from its containing several bar¬ 
barous words of Gothic or Vandalic extraction, father Morin refers 
it to the fifth century. This commentary is but little esteemed by 


297 


Ch. VII.] Jewish and Rabbinical Writings , fyc. 

tlie Jews. (2.) The Gemara of Babylon was compiled in the sixth 
century, and is filled with the most absurd fables. It is held in the 
highest estimation by the Jews, by whom it is usually read and con¬ 
stantly consulted as a sure guide in all questions of difficulty. The 
best edition of this work is that of Berlin and Francfort, in Hebrew, 
in 12 volumes, folio, 1715. The Jews designate these commen¬ 
taries by the term Gemara, or perfection, because they consider them 
as an explanation of the whole law, to which no further additions 
can be made, and after which nothing more can be desired. When 
the Misna or text and the commentary compiled at Jerusalem ac¬ 
company each other, the whole is called the Jerusalem Talmud; and 
when the commentary which was made at Babylon is subjoined, it 
is denominated the Babylonish Talmud. The Talmud was collated 
for Dr. Kennicott’s edition of the Hebrew Bible : and as the pas¬ 
sages of Scripture were taken from manuscripts in existence from 
tlie second to the sixth century, they are so far authorities, as they 
show what were the readings of their day. These various readings, 
however, are neither very numerous nor of very great moment. 
Bauer states that Fromman did not discover more than fourteen in 
the Misna: and although Dr. Gill, who collated the Talmud for Dr. 
Kennicott, collected about a thousand instances, yet all these were not 
in strictness various lections. The Talmud, therefore, is more useful 
for illustrating manners and customs noticed in the Scriptures, than 
for the assistance it can afford in the criticism of the sacred volume. 1 

The Rabbinical writings of the Jews are to be found chiefly in 
their commentaries on the Old Testament: which being more pro¬ 
perly noticed in a subsequent page, 2 it is not necessary here to de¬ 
scribe them more particularly. 

As all these Jewish writings are both voluminous and scarce, many 
learned men have diligently collected from them the most material 
passages that tend to illustrate the Scriptures; whose labours in this 
important department we are now briefly to enumerate. 

1. Mellificium Hebraicum, sive Observationes ex HebraBorum 
Antiquiorum monumentis desumptoe, unde plurima cum Veteris, turn 
Noyi Testamenti, loca cxplicantur vel illustrantur. Autore Christo- 
plioro Cartwrighto. In the eighth volume of the Critici Sacri, pp. 
1*271—1426. 

To our learned countryman Cartwright belongs the honor of being the first who 
applied the more antient writings of the Jews to the illustration of the Bible. He 
was followed in the same path of literature by Drusius, whose Prccterita sive An- 
notationes in Totum Jesu Christi Testamentum (4to. Franequerae, 1612) contain 
many valuable illustrations of the New Testament. Some additions were subse- 

J _ ’v _ r _ 

1 Bauer, Crit. Sacr. pp. 340—343. Jahn, Introd. ad Vet. Feed. p. 174. Kenni¬ 
cott, Dissertatio Generalis, § 32—35. Leusden, Philologus Hebreeo-mixtus, pp. 
90. et seq. In pp. 95—98, he has enumerated the principal contents of the Misna, 
but the best account of the Misna and its contents is given by Dr. Wotton, Dis¬ 
courses, vol. i. Disc. i. and ii. pp. 10—120. — See also Waehner’s Antiquitates 
Ebraeorum, vol. i. pp. 256—340. — Pfeiffer, op. tom. ii. pp. 852—855. De Rossi, 
Variae Lectiones, tom. i. Proleg. canons 78—81; and Allen’s Modern Judaism, pp. 
21—04. Buddaeus, in his Introductio ad Historiam Philosophise Ebraeorum, pp. 116. 
et. seq. has entered most fully into the merits of the Jewish Talmudical and Rab¬ 
binical writings. 

2 See the Appendix to this volume, No. VI. Sect. II. on Jewish Commentators, 

vol. ii. 38 



298 On the Critical Use of the [Part 1. 

quently made to his work by Balthasar Scheidius, whose Praterita Prezteritorum 
are included in the publication of Meuschen, noticed in No. 4. infra. 

2. The Works of the Rev. John Lightfoot, D. D. Master of Ca¬ 
therine Hall, Cambridge. Edited by the Rev. J. R. Pitman, A. M. 
London, 1822-23, 12 vols. 8vo. 

The writings of Dr. Lightfoot are an invaluable treasure to the Biblical Stu¬ 
dent. By his deep researches into the Rabbinical writings, he has done more to 
illustrate the phraseology of the Holy Scriptures, and to explain the various cus¬ 
toms, &c. therein alluded to, particularly in the New Testament, than any other 
author before or since. Two editions of this learned Divine’s works were published 
previously to that now under consideration, viz. 1. The English edition of Dr. G. 
Bright, in two folio volumes, London, 1684, and, 2. A Latin edition, published at 
Rotterdam in 2 vols. folio, 1686, entitled Joannis Lightfooti Opera omnia, and again 
at Franeker in three folio volumes, which were superintended by the celebrated 
critic, Leusden. These foreign editions are taken from the English one, the 
English parts being translated into Latin: the third volume in Leusden’s edition 
is composed chiefly of several pieces, which Lightfoot had left unfinished, but 
which were too valuable to be altogether omitted. They were communicated by 
Mr. Strype, who in 1700 published ‘ Some genuine remains of the late pious and 
learned John Lightfoot , D. D.’ in 8vo. In preparing his edition, Mr. Pitman 
has adopted for his basis the London edition of 1684, and Strype's supplemental 
volume, incorporating the additional matter in Leusden’s edition: and, by inde¬ 
fatigable researches, he has succeeded in recovering some pieces of Lightfoot’s 
which were never before published. New Indexes and other facilities of reference 
are given in the concluding volume of this edition. It is but justice to add that 
they are neatly and correctly printed, and from their reasonable price, demand a 
place in every biblical library. In order to complete Dr. Lightfoot’s Horai He - 
hraicce et Talmudicce , or Hebrew and Talmudical Exercitations on the New Testa¬ 
ment , which proceed no further than the first epistle to the Corinthians, Christian 
Schoetgenius published 

3. Horee Hebraic® et Talmudic® in Universum Novum Testa- 
mentum, quibus Horse Jo. Lightfooti in libris historicis supplentur, 
epistolse et apocalypsis eodem modo illustrantur. Dresdse, 1733. In 
two volumes 4to. 

In this elaborate work Schoetgenius passes over the same books on which Dr. 
Lightfoot had treated, as a supplement, without touching the topics already pro¬ 
duced in the English work; and then continues the latter to the end of the New 
Testament. Copies, in good condition, generally sell from two to three guineas. 

4. Novum Testamentum ex Talmude et Antiquitatibus Hebraeo- 
rum illustratum, a Johanne Gerliardo Meuschenio. Lipsi®, 1736, 4to. 

In this work are inserted various treatises by Danzius, Rhenferd, Scheidius, and 

others who have applied themselves to the illustration of the New Testament from 

the Jewish writings. 

© 

Different commentators have drawn largely from these sources in 
their illustrations of the Bible, particularly Ainsworth on the Penta¬ 
teuch, Drs. Gill and Clarke in their entire comments on the Scrip¬ 
tures, Wetstein in his critical edition of the New Testament, and 
Koppe in his edition of the Greek Testament, who in his Notes has 
abridged the works of all former writers on this topic. 

In availing ourselves of the assistance to be derived from the 
Jewish writings, w T e must take care not to compare the expressions 
occurring in the New Testament too strictly with the Talmudical and 
Cabbalistical modes of speaking; as such comparisons, when car¬ 
ried too far, tend to obscure rather than to illustrate the sacred writ¬ 
ings. Even our illustrious Lightfoot is said not to be free from 
error in this respect: and Dr. Gill has frequently incumbered his 
commentary with Rabbinical quotations. The best and safest rule, 
perhans bv which to regulate our references to the Jewish writers 


299 


Ch. VII.] Jewish and Rabbinical Writings , 

themselves, as well as those who have made collections from their 
works, is the following precept delivered by Ernesti: — We are to 
seek for help , says he, only in those cases where it is absolutely neces¬ 
sary ; that is , where our knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew tongues 
affords no means of ascertaining an easy sense , and one that corre¬ 
sponds with the context. The same distinguished scholar has further 
laid it down as a rule of universal application, that our principal 
information is to be sought from the Jewish writings, in every thing 
that relates to their sacred rites, forms of teaching and speaking ; es¬ 
pecially in the epistle to the Romans, which evidently shows its author 
to have been educated under Gamaliel. 1 

Some very important hints, on the utility of Jewish and Rabbi¬ 
nical literature in the interpretation of the New Testament, occur in 
the Rev. Dr. Blomfield’s discourse, entitled A Reference to Jewish 
Tradition necessary to an Interpretation of the New Testament . 
London, 1817, 8vo. 

III. More valuable in every respect than the Talmudical and Rab¬ 
binical Writings, are the works of the two learned Jews, Philo and 
Josephus, which reflect so much light on the manners, customs, and 
opinions of their countrymen, as to demand a distinct notice. 

1. Philo, surnamed Judaeus in order to distinguish him from 
several other persons of the same name, 2 was a Jew of Alexandria, 
descended from a noble and sacerdotal family, and pre-eminent 
among his contemporaries for his talents, eloquence, and wisdom. 
He was certainly born before the time of Jesus Christ, though the 
precise date has not been determined ; some writers placing his birth 
twenty, and others thirty years before that event. The latter opinion 
appears to be the best supported; consequently Philo was about 
sixty years old at the time of the death of our Redeemer, and he 
lived for some years afterwards. He was of the sect of the Pharisees, 
and was deeply versed in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, 
which he read probably in the Septuagint version, being an Hedo¬ 
nistic Jew, unacquainted (it is supposed) with the Hebrew, and writ¬ 
ing in the Greek language. Some eminent critics have imagined 
that he was a Christian, but this opinion is destitute of foundation : for 
we have no reason to think that Philo ever visited Judtea, or that he 
was acquainted with the important events which were there taking 
place. Indeed, as the Gospel was not extensively and openly pro¬ 
mulgated out of Judaea, until ten years after the resurrection of Jesus 
Christ, and as there is not the most distant allusion to him, — much 
less mention of him,—made in the New Testament, it cannot be 
supposed that this distinguished person was a convert to Christianity. 
The striking coincidences of sentiment, and more frequently of phra¬ 
seology, which occur in the writings of Philo, with the language of 

1 Ernesti, Instit. Interp. Novi Testamenti, p. 274. In the 5th vol. of Velthusen’s, 
KuinOel’s, and Ruperti’s Commentationes Theologicse (pp. 117—197.) there is a 
useful dissertation by M. Weise, De more domini acceptos a magistris Judaicis lo- 
quendi ac disserendi modos sapienter emendandi. 

2 Fabricius and his editor, Professor Harles, have given notices of forty-seven 
persons of the name of Philo. Bibliotheca Graeca, vol. iv. pp. 750—754. 



300 


On the Critical IJse of the [PartJ. 

Saint Paul and Saint John in the New Testament, are satisfactorily 
accounted for, by his being deeply versed in the Septuagint (or Alex¬ 
andrian Greek) version of the Old Testament, with which those 
Apostles were also intimately acquainted. The writings of Philo ex¬ 
hibit many quotations from the Old Testament, which serve to show 
how the text then stood in the original Hebrew, or, at least, in the 
Septuagint version: and although they contain many fanciful and 
mystical comments on the Old Testament, yet they abound with just 
sentiments eloquently expressed, and were highly esteemed by the 
primitive Christian Church ; and his sentiments concerning the lo¬ 
gos, or word, bear so close a resemblance to those of the apostle 
John, as to have given rise to the opinion of some eminent men that 
he was a Christian. 1 In the writings of Philo, we meet with accounts 
of many customs of the Jews ; of their opinions, especially such as 
were derived from the oriental philosophy; and of facts particularly 
relating to their state under the Roman emperors, which are calcu¬ 
lated to throw great light on many passages of the sacred writings. 2 
The following are the two best and indeed only eligible editions of 
Philo’s works, exclusive of various detached pieces which have been 
printed at different times and places. 

1. Philonis Judsei, quse reperiri potuerunt, omnia. Textum cum 
MSS. contulit, quamplurima e codd. Vaticano, Mediceo, et Bodlei- 
ano, scriptoribus item vetustis, necnon catenis Greeds ineditis, ad- 
jecit, interpretationemque emendavit, universa notis et observationi- 
bus illustravit Thomas Mangey, S. T. P. Canonicus Dunelmensis. 
Folio, 2 vols. Londini, 1742. 

This is a noble edition, equally creditable to the editor, the Rev. Dr. Mangey, 
and to the printer, the late celebrated William Bowyer. Dr. M. revised the works 
of Philo, which he collated with thirteen manuscripts, and corrected the Latin ver¬ 
sion of them, which had been made by Sigismund Gesenius, Morelli, and others. 
The different treatises are arranged in a much better order than that which ap¬ 
pears in preceding editions, and many obscure and difficult passages are excellently 
corrected and illustrated. 

2. Philonis Judsei Opera omnia, Greece et Latine, ad editionem 
Th. Mangey, collatis aliquot MSS. Edenda curavit Aug. Frider. 
Pfeiffer. 8vo. vols. I—V. Erlangse, 1785—1792. 

The text of Dr. Mangey is adopted in this valuable edition, which has, unfor¬ 
tunately, never been completed. Pfeiffer collated three Bavarian manuscripts, 
and retained only such of Mangey’s notes as contain either some new information, 
or some emendation of the text; to which he added observations of his own, chiefly 
settling the various lections. 

As the preceding editions of Philo’s works are extremely scarce 
and dear, the chief passages of his writings which materially illustrate 

1 The late Mr. Bryant has collected the passages of Philo concerning the Logos 
in his work entitled 1 The Sentiments of Philo Judaeus concerning the A oyos or 
Word of God ; together with large extracts from his writings, compared with the 
Scriptures on many other particular and essential Doctrines of the Christian reli¬ 
gion.’ (8vo. London, 1797.) As this volume is now rarely to be met with, the 
reader will find the most material passages of Philo’s writings, selected and faith¬ 
fully translated in the Rev. Dr. J. P. Smith’s Scripture Testimony to the Messiah, 
vol. i. pp. 420—445. — Dr. A. Clarke has given thirty-five instances of the particu¬ 
lar terms and doctrines found in Philo’s works, with parallel passages from the New 
Testament,in his Commentary, at the end of the first chapter of Saint John’s Gospel. 

2 Fabricii Bibliotheca Grseca, it Harles, vol. iv. pp. 720—750. Dr. Grey’s Con¬ 
nection between Sacred and Profane Literature, vol. i. pp. 288 —302. Dr. Smith’s 
Scripture Testimony to the Messiah, vol. i. pp. 417, 418. 



301 


Ch. V II.] Jewish and Rabbinical Writings , fyc. 

the New Testament, have been selected and applied in the following 
very valuable publications. 

1. Joh. Benedicti Carpzovii Exercitationes in S. Pauli Epistolam 
ad Hebneos ex Philone Alexandrino. Prsefixa sunt Philoniana Pro¬ 
legomena, in quibus de non adeo contemnenda Philonis eruditione 
Hebraica, de convenientia stili Philonis cum illo D. Pauli in Episto- 
la ad Hebrteos, et de aliis nonnullis varii argumenti exponitur. 
Helmstadii, 1750, 8vo. 

2. J. B. Carpzovii Stricturae Theologies in Epistolam Pauli ad 
Romanos. Adspersi subinde sunt flores Philoniani. Helmstadii, 
1758, 8vo. 

This is the second and best edition of Carpzov’s Observations on St. Paul’s 
Epistle to the Romans ; they originally appeared in detached portions, at Helm- 
stadt, in quarto, between the years 1752 and 1750. 

3. Christophori Frederici Loesneri Observationes ad Novum Tes- 
tamentum e Philone Alexandrino. 8vo. Lipsise, 1777. 

This work was preceded by a quarto tract of Loesner’s, entitled Lectionum Philo- 
nianarum Specimen, published at Leipsic, in 1758. The force and meaning of 
words are particularly illustrated, together with points of antiquity and the read¬ 
ings of Philo’s text. The light thrown upon the New Testament, by the writings 
of Philo, is admirably elucidated by Loesner ; to complete whose work there 
should be added Adarni Frid. Kuhnii Spicilegium Loesneri Observationum ad JV. 
T. e Philone Alexandrino. Sorau, 1783, 4to.; 2d Edit. Pfortae, 1785, 8vo. The 
second is the best edition. 

2. Flavius Josephus was of sacerdotal extraction and of royal 
descent, and was born a. d. 37: he was alive in a. d. 96, but it is 
not known when he died. He received a liberal education among 
the Pharisees, after which he went to Rome, where he cultivated his 
talents to great advantage. 1 On his return to Judaea, he commanded 
the garrison appointed to defend Jotapata against the forces of Vespa¬ 
sian, which he bravely maintained during forty-seven days. Josephus 
being subsequently taken prisoner by Vespasian, was received into his 
favour; and was also greatly esteemed by Titus, whom he accompa¬ 
nied to the siege of Jerusalem, on the capture of which he obtained 
the sacred books and many favours for his countrymen. When Ves¬ 
pasian ascended the imperial throne, he gave Josephus a palace, 
together with the freedom of the city of Rome, and a grant of lands 
in Judaea. Titus conferred additional favours upon him, and Jose¬ 
phus out of gratitude assumed the name of Flavius. The writings of 
Josephus consist of, 1. Seven books, relating the War of the Jews 
against the Romans, which terminated in their total defeat, and the 
destruction of Jerusalem. This history was undertaken at the com¬ 
mand of Vespasian, and was written first in Hebrew and afterwards 
in Greek: and so highly was the emperor pleased with it, that he 
authenticated it by putting his signature to it, and ordering it to be 
preserved in one of the public libraries ; 2. Of the Jewish Antiqui¬ 
ties , in twenty books, comprising the period from the origin of the 
world to the twelfth year of the reign of Nero (a. d. 66.), when the 
Jews began to rebel against the Romans; 3. An account of his own 
Life; and 4. Two Books vindicating the Antiquity of the Jewish 

1 It is highly probable that Josephus was the companion of Saint Paul in his 
voyage to Rome, related in Acts xxvii. See Dr. Gray’s Connection of Sacred 
and Profane Literature, vol. i. pp. 357—368. 



‘302 


On the Critical Use of the [Part I. 

Nation against Apion and others. The writings of Josephus contain 
accounts of many Jewish customs and opinions, and of the different 
sects that obtained among his countrymen ; which very materially 
contribute to the illustration of the Scriptures. Particularly, they 
contain many facts relative to the civil and religious state of the Jews 
about the time of Christ: which being supposed, alluded to, or men¬ 
tioned in various passages of the New Testament, enable us fully to 
enter into the meaning of those passages. 1 His accurate and minute 
detail of many of the events of his own time, and, above all, of the 
Jewish war, and the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, affords us 
the means of perceiving the accomplishment of many of our Saviour’s 
predictions, especially of his circumstantial prophecy respecting the 
utter subversion of the Jewish polity, nation, and religion. The testi¬ 
mony of Josephus is the more valuable, as it is an undesigned testi¬ 
mony, which cannot be suspected of fraud or partiality. The modern 
Jews have discovered this, and therefore a writer, who is the princi¬ 
pal ornament of their nation since the cessation of prophecy, is now 
not only neglected, but despised ; and is superseded among the Jews 
by a forged history, composed by an author who lived more than 
eight centuries after tine time of Josephus, and who has assumed the 
name of Josippon, or Joseph Ben Gorion. The plagiarisms and 
falsehoods of this pseudo-Josephus have been detected and exposed 
by Gagnier, Basnage, and especially by Dr. Lardner. 2 

Michaelis particularly recommends a diligent study of the works 
of Josephus, from the beginning of Herod’s reign to the end of the 
Jewish antiquities, as affording the very best commentary on the 
Gospels and Acts : 3 and Morus 4 observes that the Jewish historian is 
more valuable in illustrating the histories related in the New Testa¬ 
ment than for elucidating its style. Our numerous references to his 
works in the third, as well as in the preceding volume of this work, 
sufficiently attest the advantages resulting from a diligent examination 
of them. 5 Josephus is justly admired for his lively and animated 

1 In all matters relating to the temple at Jerusalem, and to the religion of the 
Jews, there is a remarkable agreement between the authors of the New Testament 
and Josephus ; who had in person beheld that sacred edifice, and was himself an 
eye-witness of the solemn rites performed there. Hence it is obvious, that his 
statements are unquestionably more worthy of credit than the unsupported asser¬ 
tions of the Talmudists, who did not flourish until long after the subversion of the 
city and temple, and of the whole Jewish polity, both sacred and civil. A single 
instance, out of many that might be adduced, will suffice to illustrate the impor¬ 
tance of this remark. The Talmudical writers affirm that the priests only killed 
the paschal lambs ; but Josephus (whose testimony is confirmed by Philo) relates 
that it was lawful for the master of every family to do it, without the intervention 
of any priest; and they further relate that at the time of the passover, there were 
so many families at Jerusalem, that it was utterly impossible for the priests to kill 
the paschal lamb for every family. In the New Testament we read that Jesus 
Christ sent his disciples to a private house, that the passover might be prepared 
by its possessor and by them, without the presence of any priest, or previously 
taking the lamb to the temple. As the statements of Philo and Josephus are cor¬ 
roborated by the relation in the New Testament, they are undoubtedly correct. 

2 Jewish Testimonies, chap. vi. Lardner’s Works, 8vo. vol. vii. pp. 162—187 
4to. vol. iii. pp. 560—574. 

3 Introduction to the New Testament, vol. iii. part i. pp. 339—341. 

4 Mori super Hermeneutica Novi Testamenti Acroases Academicae, tom. ii. p. 195 

5 Dr. Gray has illustrated, at length, the benefit to be derived from the writings 



303 


Ch. VII.] Jewish and Rabbinical Writings, fyc. 

style, the bold propriety of his expressions, the exactness of his 
descriptions, and the persuasive eloquence of his orations, on which 
accounts he has been termed the Livy of the Greek authors. Though 
a strict Pharisee, he has borne such a noble testimony to the spotless 
character of Jesus Christ, that Jerome considered and called him a 
Christian writer. Mr. Whiston and some modern writers are of 
opinion that he was a Nazarene or Ebionite Jewish Christian, while 
others have affirmed that the passage in his Jewish antiquities, con¬ 
cerning Jesus Christ, is an interpolation. The passage in question is 
as follows: 

“ JYow there ivas about this time Jesus, a wise man , if it be lawful 
to call him a man: for he performed many wonderful works. He was 
a teacher of such men as received the truth with pleasure. He drew 
over to him many of the Jews, and also many of the Gentiles. This 
man was the Christ. And when Pilate at the instigation of the prin¬ 
cipal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those who had 
loved him from the first, did not cease to adhere to him. For he ap¬ 
peared to them alive again on the third day ; the divine prophets hav- 
ing foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning 
him. And the tribe of the Christians, so named from him, subsists to 
this time.” * 1 

This passage has already been given in page 196. of the preceding 
Y olume, as a collateral proof of the credibility of the New Testament 
history : it is repeated in this place, in order that it may be more 
conveniently subjected to the test of critical examination. The genu¬ 
ineness and credibility of this testimony have been questioned, on the 
ground that it is too favourable, to be given by a Jew to Christ; and 
that, if Josephus did consider Jesus to be the Christ or expected 
Messiah of the Jews, he must have been a believer in him, in which 
case he would not have despatched the miraculous history of the 
Saviour of the World in one short paragraph. When, however, the 
evidence on both sides is fairly weighed, we apprehend that it will be 
found to preponderate most decidedly in favour of the genuineness of 
this testimony of Josephus : for 

1. It is found in all the copies of Josephus’s works, which are now 
extant, whether printed or manuscript: in a Hebrew translation pre¬ 
served in the Y r atican Library, 2 and in an Arabic Version preserved 
bv the Maronites of Mount Libanus. 

m 

2. It is cited by Eusebius, Jerome, Rufinus, Isidore of Pelusium, 
Sozomen, Cassiodorus, Nicephorus, and by many others, all of whom 
had indisputably seen various manuscripts, and of considerable an¬ 
tiquity. 

3. Josephus not only mentions with respect John the Baptist, 3 but 
also James the first bishop of Jerusalem. — “ Ananus" (he says) 
“ assembled the Jeivish Sanhedrin , and brought before it James the 

of Josephus, in the illustration of the Scriptures. See his Connection between 
Sacred and Profane Literature, vol. i. pp. 303—330. 

1 Ant. Jud. lib. xviii. c. iii. § 3. 

2 Baronius (Annales Ecclesiastici, ad annum 134) relates that the passage in this 

Hebrew translation of Josephus was marked with an obelus, which could only have 
been done by a Jew. 3 Ant. Jud. lib. xviii. c. v. § 2. 



I 


304 On the Critical Use of the [Part I. 

Brother of Jesus who is called Christy with some others , whom he deli¬ 
vered over to he stoned as infractors of the law .’ n This passage, the 
authenticity of which has never been disputed or suspected, contains 
an evident reference to what had already been related concerning 
Christ: for why else should he describe James, — a man, of himself 
but little known, — as the brother of Jesus, if he had made no men¬ 
tion of Jesus before ? 

4. It is highly improbable that Josephus, who has discussed with 
such minuteness the history of this period, — mentioned Judas of 
Galilee, Theudas, and the other obscure pretenders to the character 
of the Messiah, as well as John the Baptist and James the brother 
©f Christ, — should have preserved the profoundest silence concern¬ 
ing Christ, whose name was at that time so celebrated among the 
Jews, and also among the Romans, two of whose historians (Sueto¬ 
nius and Tacitus) have distinctly taken notice of him. But, in ail 
the writings of Josephus, not a hint occurs on the subject except the 
testimony in question. 

5. It is morally impossible that this passage either was or could 
be forged by Eusebius who first cited it, or by any other earlier wri¬ 
ter. Had such a forgery been attempted, it would unquestionably 
have been detected by some of the acute and inveterate enemies of 
Christianity; for both Josephus and his works were so well received 
among the Romans, that he was enrolled a citizen of Rome, and had 
a statue erected to his memory. His writings were also admitted 
into the imperial library ; the Romans may further be considered as 
the guardians of the integrity of his text: and the Jews, we may be 
assured, would use all diligence, to prevent any interpolation in fa¬ 
vour of the Christian cause. Yet it cannot be discovered that any 
objection was ever made to this passage, by any of the opposers of 
the Christian faith in the early ages : their silence therefore con¬ 
cerning such a charge is a decisive proof that the passage is not a 
forgery. Indeed, the Christian cause is so far from needing any 
fraud to support it, that nothing could be more destructive to its in¬ 
terest, than a fraud so palpable and obtrusive. 

To this strong chain of evidence for the genuineness of Josephus’s 
testimony, various objections have been made, of which the following 
are the principal: 

Objection 1. This passage was not cited by any early Christians 
before Eusebius , such as Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria , Ter - 
tullian, or Origen; nor is it cited by Chrysostom or Photius , who lived 
after his time. 

Answer. — There is no strength in this negative argument against Eusebius, 
drawn from the silence of the antient fathers. The fathers did not cite the testi¬ 
mony of Josephus, 1. either because they had no copies of his works ; or 2. be¬ 
cause his testimony was foreign to the design which they had in writing ; which 
was, to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, out of the Old Testament, 
and consequently they had no need of other evidence ; or 3. because on account of 
this very testimony, the evidence of Josephus was disregarded by the Jews them 
selves. 1 2 

Objection 2. The passage in question interrupts the order of the 
narration , and is unlike the style of Josephus. 

Answer. — It is introduced naturally in the course of the historian’s narrative, 

1 Ant. Jud. lib. xx. c. viii. (al. ix.) § 1. 

2 The above refuted objection is examined in detail by Professor Vernet, in his 
Traite de la V&rite de la Religion Chietienne, tome ix. pp. 1G5—221. 



305 


Ch. VII.] Jewish and Rabbinical Writings , fyc. 

the order of which it does not disturb. It is introduced under the article of Pilate, 
and connected with two circumstances, which occasioned disturbances ; and was 
not the putting of Jesus to death, and the continuance of the apostles and disciples 
after him, declaring his resurrection, another very considerable circumstance, 
which created very great disturbances ? And though Josephus does not say this 
in express terms, yet he intimates it, by connecting it with the two causes of com¬ 
motion, by giving so honourable a testimony to Jesus, and telling us that he was 
crucified at the instigation of the chief persons of the Jewish nation. It would 
scarcely have been decent in him to have said more on this head. The following 
view of the connection of the passage now under consideration will confirm and 
illustrate the preceding remarks. 

In his Jewish Antiquities (Book xviii. c. i.) he relates, in the first section, that 
Pilate introduced Caesar’s images into Jerusalem, and that, in consequence of this 
measure producing a tumult, he commanded them to be carried thence to Caesarea. 
In the second section, he gives an account of Pilate’s attempt to bring a current of 
water to Jerusalem, the expense of which he defrayed out of the sacred money : 
this also caused a tumult, in which a great number of Jews was slain. In the 
third section he relates that, about the same time Pilate crucified Jesus, who was 
called Christ, a wise and holy man : and (§ 4.) about the same time also, he adds, 
another sad calamity put the Jews into disorder, which he promises to narrate 
after he had given an account of a most flagitious crime which was perpetrated at 
Rome in the temple of Isis: and after detailing all its circumstances he proceeds 
($ 5.) agreeably to his promise, to describe the expulsion of the Jews from Rome, 
by the emperor Tiberius, in consequence of the villanous conduct of four of their 
countrymen. Such is the connection of the whole chapter : and when it is fairly 
considered, we may safely challenge any one to say, whether the passage under 
consideration interrupts the order of the narration: on the contrary, if it be taken 
out, that connection is irrecoverably broken. It is manifest, that Josephus relates 
events in the order in which they happened, and that they are connected together 
only by the time when they took place. 

With regard to the objection that the passage in question is unlike the style el 
Josephus, it is sufficient to reply in the quaint but expressive language of Huet, 
that one egg is not more like another than is the style of this passage to the ge¬ 
neral style of his writings. Objections from style are often fanciful: and Daubuz 
has proved, by actual collation, the perfect coincidence between its style and that of 
Josephus in other parts of his works. 1 This objection, therefore, falls to the ground. 

Objection 3. — The testimony of Josephus concerning Jesus could 
not possibly have been recorded by him: for he was not only a Jew , but 
also rigidly attached to the Jewish religion. The expressions are not 
those of a Jew , but of a Christian. 

Answer. — Josephus was not so addicted to his own religion as to approve the 
conduct and opinion of the Jews concerning Christ and his doctrine. From the 
moderation which pervades his whole narrative of the Jewish war, it may justly 
be inferred, that the fanatic fury, which the chief men of his nation exercised against 
Christ, could not but have been displeasing to him. He has rendered that attesta¬ 
tion to the innocence, sanctity, and miracles of Christ, which the fidelity of his¬ 
tory required: nor does it follow that he was necessitated to renounce on this 
account the religion of his fathers. Either the common prejudices of the Jews, 
that their Messiah would be a victorious and temporal sovereign, or the indiffer¬ 
ence so prevalent in many towards controverted questions, might have been suf¬ 
ficient to prevent him from renouncing the religion in which he had been edu¬ 
cated, and embracing a new one, the profession of which was attended with danger 
or else, he might think himself at liberty to be either a Jew or a Christian, as the 
same God was worshipped in both systems of religion. On either of these sup¬ 
positions, Josephus might have written every thing which this testimony contains ; 
as will be evident from the following critical examination of the passage. 

The expression, — “ if it be laxoful to call him a. man,” does not imply that Jo¬ 
sephus believed Christ to be God, but only an extraordinary man, one whose wis¬ 
dom and works had raised him above the common condition of humanity. He 
represents him as having u performed many wonderful works.” In thi s there i s 

1 See Daubuz, Pro Testimonio Josephi de Jesu Christo, contra Tan. Fabrum et 
alios, (8vo. Lond. 1706,) pp. 128—205. The whole of this Dissertation is reprinted 
at the end of the second volume of Havercamp s edition of Josephus’s works. Mr 
Whiston has abridged the collation of Daubuz in Dissertation I. pp. v.—vii. prefix 
ed to his translation of the Jewish historian, folio, London, 17b7. 

VOL. II. 3 ( J 


I 




306 


On the Critical Use of the [Part I. 

nothing singular, for the Jews themselves, his contemporaries, acknowledge that 
he wrought 1 * 3 many mighty works. Compare Matt. xiii. 54. xiv. 2., &c. and the 
parallel passages in the other Gospels. Josephus further says, that u he was a 
teacher of such men as gladly received the truth with pleasure ,” — both because 
the moral precepts of Christ were such as Josephus approved, and also because 
the disciples of Christ were influenced by no other motive than the desire of dis¬ 
cerning it. “ He drew over to him many , both Jcics and Gentiles." How true 
this was, at the time when Josephus wrote, it is unnecessary to show. The phrase, 
« This man was the Christ — or rather, “ Christ was this man” (<5 Xptrog ovrns yv), 
— by no means intimates that Jesus was the Messiah, but only that he was the 
person called Christ both by the Christians and Romans ; just as it we should say, 
“ this was the same man as he named Christ.” Xpi^os is not a doctrinal name, but 
a proper name. Jesus was a common name, and would not have sufficiently point¬ 
er! out the person intended to the Greeks and Romans. The name, by which he 
was known to them was Ckreslus, or Christus, as we read in Suetonius and Taci¬ 
tus ; and if (as there is every reason to believe) Tacitus had read Josephus, he 
most probably took tlxis very name from the Jewish historian. With regard to the 
resurrection of Christ, and the prophecies referring to him, Josephus rather 
speaks the language used by the Christians, than his own private opinion : or else 
he thought that Christ had appeared after his arrival, and that the prophets had 
foretold this event, — a point which, if admitted, and if he had been consistent, 
ought to have induced him to embrace Christianity. But it will readily be ima¬ 
gined, that there might be many circumstances to prevent his becoming a proselyte ; 
nor is it either new or wonderful that men, especially in their religious concerns, 
should contradict themselves, and withstand the conviction of their own minds. It 
is certain that, in our own times, no one has spoken in higher terms concerning 
Christ, than M. Rousseau ; who nevertheless, not only in his other writings, but 
also in the very work that contains the very eloquent eulogium alluded to, inveighs 
against Christianity with acrimony and rancour. 1 

The whole of the evidence concerning the much litigated passage 
of Josephus is now before the reader ; who, on considering it in ail 
its bearings, will doubtless agree with the writer of these pages, that 
it is genuine, and consequently affords a noble testimony to the cre¬ 
dibility of the facts related in the New Testament. 

The following are the best editions of the works of this illustrious 
Jewish historian. 

1. Flavii Josephi Opera, quae reperiri potuerunt, omnia. Ad codi¬ 
ces fere oranes, cum impressos turn manuscriptos, diligenter recen- 
suit, nova versione donavit, et notis illustravit Johannes Hudsonus. 
Oxonii, e Theatro Sheldoniano, 1720, 2 vols. folio. 

Those distinguished bibliographers, Fabricius, Harwood, Harles, and Oberthilr. 
are unanimous in their commendations of this elegant and most valuable edition. 
The learned editor Dr. Hudson died the year before its publication, but, fortunate¬ 
ly, not till he had acquired almost every thing requisite for a perfect edition of 
his author. “He seems to have consulted every known manuscript and edition. 
The correctness of the Greek text, the judgment displayed in the annotations, the 
utility of the indexes, and the consummate knowledge which is evinced of the his¬ 
tory and antiquities of the time, render this work deserving of every thing said in 
commendation of it. Copies on large paper are very rare and dear, as well as 
magnificent.” Dibdin on the Classics, vol. ii. p. 11. 


1 Appendix to the Life of Dr. Lardner, Nos. IX. and X. 4to. vol. v. pp. xlv.— 
xlviii. Works, 8vo. vol. i. pp. civ.—clxviii. Vernet, Traite de la Verite de la Re¬ 
ligion Chretienne, tom. ix. pp. 1—236. Huet, Demonstratio Evangelica, Proposi- 
tio III. vol. i. pp. 46-—56. Bretschneider’s Capita Theologize Judaeorum Dogmati- 
c ®> e Flavii Josephi Scriptis collecta (8vo. Lipsrae 1812.) pp. 59—64. See also 

lindiccB Flavianm, or a Vindication of the Testimony given by Josephus concern¬ 
ing our Saviour Jesus Christ. By Jacob Bryant, Esq. 8vo. London, 1780. Dr. 
John Jones has shown that Josephus has alluded to the spread of Christianity in 
other parts of his works; see his “ Series of important Facts demonstrating the 

Truth of the Christian Religion, drawn from the writings of its friends and ene¬ 
mies in the first and second centuries.” (8vo. London, 1820.) pp. 9—22. He con¬ 
siders the Jewish historian as a Christian. 




307 


Ch. VII.] Jewish and Rabbinical Writings , fyc. 

2. Flavii Josephi, quae reperiri potuerunt, Opera omnia, Graece et 
Latine, ex nova versione, et cum notis Joannis Hudsoni. Accedunt 
Notae Edwardi Bernardi, Jacobi Gronovii, Fr. Combefisii, Ezechielis 
Spanhemii, Adriani Relandi, et aliorum, tarn editae quam ineditae. 
Post recensionem Joannis Hudsonii denuo recognita, et notis ac in- 
dicibus illustrata, studio et labore Sigeberti Havercampi. Amstelo- 
dami, 1726, 2 vols. folio. 

This is usually considered the editio optima , because it contains much more than 
Dr. Hudson’s edition. The Greek text is very carelessly printed, especially that 
of Josephus’s seven books on the war of the Jews with the Romans. Havercamp 
collated two manuscripts in the library of the university at Leyden ; and besides 
the annotations mentioned in the title, he added some observations by Vossius and 
Cocceius, which he found in the margin of the editio princeps , printed at Basil, 
in 1644, folio. The typographical execution of Havercamp’s edition is very 
beautiful. 

3. Flavii Josephi Opera, Grmce et Latine, excusa ad editionem 
Lugduno-Batavam Sigeberti Havercampi cum Oxoniensi Joannis 
Hudsoni collatam. Curavit Franciscus Oberthiir. Lipsiae, 1782— 
1785. Vols. I—III. 8vo. 

This very valuable edition, which has never been completed, comprises only the 
Greek text of Josephus. The succeeding volumes were to contain the critical 
and philological observations of the editor, who has prefixed to the first volume an 
excellent critical notice of all the preceding editions of Josephus. “ The venera¬ 
ble Oberthur is allowed to have taken more pains in ascertaining the correct text 
of his author, in collating every known MS., in examining every previous edition, 
and in availing himself of the labours of his predecessors, than have yet been 
shown by any editor of Josephus.” It is therefore deeply to be regretted that such 
a valuable edition as the present should have been discontinued by an editor so 
fully competent to finish the arduous task which he has begun. Dibdin on the 
Classics, vol. ii. p. 13. 

Several English translations of Josephus have been published by 
Court, L’Estrange, and others : but the best is that of Mr. Whiston, 
folio, London, 1737, after Havercamp’s edition ; to which are prefix¬ 
ed a good map of Palestine, and seven dissertations by the translator, 
wdio has also added many valuable notes, correcting and illustrating 
the Jewish historian. Whiston’s translation has been repeatedly 
printed in various sizes. 

IV. Although the works of Philo and Josephus, among profane 
writers, are the most valuable for elucidating the Holy Scriptures; 
yet there are others, whom by way of distinction we term Pagan 
Writers , whose productions are in various ways highly deserving 
the attention of the biblical student, for the confirmation they afford 
of the leading facts recorded in the sacred volume, and especially of 
the doctrines, institutions, and facts, upon which Christianity is 
founded, or to which its records indirectly relate. “ Indeed it may 
not be unreasonably presumed, that the writings of Pagan antiquity 
have been providentially preserved with peculiar regard to this great 
object, since, notwithstanding numerous productions of past ages have 
perished, sufficient remains are still possessed, to unite the cause of 
heathen literature with that of religion, and to render the one subser¬ 
vient to the interests of the other.” 1 

Of the value of the heathen writings in thus confirming the credi¬ 
bility of the Scriptures we have given very numerous instances in the 
preceding volume. We have there seen that the heathen writings 

1 Dr. Gray’s Connection of Sacred and Profane Literature, vol. i. p. 3. 




308 


On the Critical Use of the [Part I 

substantiate, by an independent and collateral report, many of the 
events, and the accomplishment of many of the prophecies recorded 
by the inspired writers; and that they establish the accuracy of many 
incidental circumstances which are interspersed throughout the Scrip¬ 
tures. “ Above all, by the gradually perverted representations which 
they give of revealed doctrines, and institutions, they attest the actual 
communication of such truth from time to time; and pay the tribute 
of experience to the wisdom and necessity of a written revelation.” 
Valuable as these testimonies from the works of heathen authors con¬ 
fessedly are, their uses are not confined to the confirmation of scripture- 
facts ; they also frequently contribute to elucidate the phraseology of 
the sacred writers. Two or three instances will illustrate this remark. 

1. Pagan writers use words and phrases coincident with , or analo¬ 
gous to those of the sacred writers , whose meaning they enable us to as 
certain, or show us the force and propriety of their expressions. 

Thus, the sentiment and image of the prophet Isaiah, 

On what part will ye smite again, will ye add correction ? 

The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint: 

Isa. i. 5. Bp. Lowth’s translation. 

Are exactly the same with those of Ovid, who, deploring his exile to Atticus, says 
that he is wounded by the continual strokes of fortune, so that there is no space 
left in him for another wound: 

-Ego continuo fort.unae vulneror ictu : 

Vixque habet in nobis jam nova plaga locum. 

Ovid. Epist. ex Ponto. lib. ii. ep. vii. 41, 42. 

But the prophet’s sentiment and image are still more strikingly illustrated by 
the following expressive line of Euripides, the great force and effect of which 
Longinus ascribes to its close and compressed structure, analogous to the sense 
which it expresses. 

Ten a) KaKuv 5tj' k‘ ovkct c<t$' b-xti reStj. 

I am full of miseries : there is no room for more. 

Eurip. Here. Furens, v. 1245. 1 2 

2. Pagan writers often employ the same images with the sacred , so as to 
throw light on their import , and generally to set off their superior excellence. 

Thus, the same evangelical prophet, when predicting the blessed effects that 
should flow from the establishment of the Messiah’s kingdom, says, 

They shall beat their swords into plough-shares, 

And their spears into pruning hooks : 

Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 

Neither shall they learn war any more. 

Isa. ii. 4. 

The same prediction occurs in the same words, in Micah iv. 2. The description 
of well established peace (Bp. Lowth remarks) by the image of beating their 
swords into jilougli-sharcs , and their spears into pruning hooks, is very poetical. 
The Roman poets have employed the same image. Thus Martial has an epigram 
(lib. xiv. ep. xiv.) entitled Falx ex ense — the sword converted into a pruning hook. 

The prophet Joel has reversed this image, and applied it to war prevailing over 
peace. 

Beat your plough-shares into swords, 

And your pruning hooks into spears. Joel, iii. 10, 

And so has the prince of the Roman poets : 

Non ullus aratro 

Dignus honos : squalent abductis arva colonis, 

Et curvoe rigidum falces conflantur in ensem. 

Virgil, Georg, lib. i. 506—503. 
Dishonour’d lies the plough : the banished swains 
Are hurried from the uncultivated plains ; 

The sickles into barbarous swords are beat.2 


1 Longius, de Sublim. c. 40. Bp. Lowth’s Isaiah, vol. ii. p 9 

2 Lowth’s Isaiah, vol. ii. p. 29. 



309 


Ch. VII.] Jewish and Rabbinical Writings, OfC. 

Additional examples, finely illustrative of the above remark, may be seen in 
Bishop Lowth’s notes on Isa. viii. 6—8. xi. G—8. xxix. 7. xxxi. 4,5. xxxii. 2. xlv. 2. 
and xlix. 2. 

The great benefit which is to be derived from Jewish and Heathen 
profane authors in illustrating the Scriptures, is excellently illustrated 
by the Rev. Dr. Robert Gray, in his work entitled : 

The Connection between the Sacred Writings and the Literature 
of Jewish and Heathen authors, particularly that of the Classical 
Ages, illustrated; principally with a view to evidence in confirmation 
of the truth of Revealed Religion. London, 1819, in two volumeg 8vo. 

The first edition of this valuable work, which is indispensably necessary to the 
biblical student who cannot command access to all the classic authors, appeared in 
one volume 8vo. in 1817. A multitude of passages of Scripture is illustrated, and 
their truth confirmed. Classical literature is here shown to be the handmaid of 
sacred literature, in a style and manner which cannot fail to instruct and gratify 
the reader. Independently of the main object of Dr. Gray’s volumes, the illustra¬ 
tion of the Scriptures, — his general criticisms on the classic writers are such as 
must commend them to the student. “ The remarks” (it is truly said by an emi¬ 
nent critic of the present day,) “ are every where just, always impressed with a 
candid and sincere conviction of the blessing for which our gratitude to God is so 
eminently due, for His revealed word, whoso various excellencies rise in value 
upon every view, which the scholar or divine can take, of what have been the best 
efforts of the human mind in the best days which preceded the publication of the 
Gospel. There is no one portion of these volumes that is not highly valuable on 
this account. The praise is given which is due to the happiest fruits of human 
genius, but a strict eye is evermore preserved for the balance of preponderation, 
where the Word of Truth, enhanced by divine authority, bears the scale 
down, and furnishes the great thing wanting to the sage and the teacher of the 
heathen world. Their noblest sentiments, and their obliquities and deviations into 
error, are alike brought t<r this tost, and referred to this sure standard. The con¬ 
current lines of precept or instruction, on this comparative survey, are such as 
establish a sufficient ground of evidence, that all moral goodness, and all sound 
wisdom, are derived from one source and origin, and-find their sanction in the will 
of Him, of whose perfections and of whose glory they are the manifest transcripts.” 
British Critic (New Series) vol. xiii. p. 31G., in which Journal the reader will find 
a copious and just analysis of Dr. Gray’s volumes. 

Grotius and other commentators have incidentally applied the pro¬ 
ductions of the classical writers to the elucidation of the Bible : but no 
one has done so much in this department of sacred criticism, as Eisner, 
Raphelius, Kypke, and Bulkley, the titles of whose works are subjoined. 

1. Jacobi Eisner Observationes Sacrso in Novi Fcederis Libros, 
quibus plura illorum Librorum ex auctoribus potissimum Gnecis, et 
Antiquitate, exponuntur, et illustrantur. Trajecti ad Rhenum, 1720. 
1728. In two volumes 8vo. 

2. Georgii Raphelii, Ecclesiarum Lunenburgensium Superinten¬ 
dents, Annotationes in Sacram Scripturam ; Historical in Vetus, 
Philologicae in Novum Testamentum, ex Xenophonte, Polybio, Ar- 
riano, et Herodoto collect®. Lugduni Batavorum, 1747. In two 
volumes 8vo. 

3. Georgii Davidis Kypke Observationes Sacrse in Novi Foederis 
Libros, ex auctoribus potissimum Gnecis et Antiquitatibus. Wratis- 
lavia?, 1755. In two volumes 8vo. 

4. Notes on the Bible, by the late Rev. Charles Bulkley, published 
from the author’s Manuscript. London, 1802. In three volumes 8vo. 

This is a work of very considerable research : the plan upon which it is exe 
cuted is calculated to throw much light on the Scriptures, by assisting the scholar 
in apprehending the precise meaning of the words and phrases employed in them 
For a full account, with copious specimens, of these volumes, see the monthly Re 
view (New Series) vol. xlvii. pp. 401—411 


310 


On the Various Readings 


l 


[Part I. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

ON THE VARIOUS READINGS OCCURRING IN THE OLD AND 

NEW TESTAMENTS. 

L The Christian Faith not affected by Various Readings. • — II. 
Nature of Various Readings. — Difference between them and mere 
errata. — HI. Causes of various readings ;— 1. The negligence 
or mistakes of transcribers; — 2. Errors or imperfections in the 
manuscript copied; — 3. Critical conjecture; — 4. Wilful corrup¬ 
tions of a manuscript from party motives. — IV. Sources whence a 
true reading is to be determined ;— 1. Manuscripts; — 2. Antient 
Editions ; — 3. Antient Versions ; — 4. Parallel Passages ; — 
5. Quotations in the Writings of the Fathers ; — 6. Critical con¬ 
jecture. — V. General Rules forjudging of Various Readings. 
— VI. Notice of Writers who have treated on Various Readings. 

i. The Old and New Testaments, in common with all other antient 
writings, being preserved and diffused by transcription, the admission 
of mistakes was unavoidable : which, increasing with the multitude 
of copies, necessarily produced a great variety of different readings. 
Hence the labours of learned men have been directed to the colla¬ 
tion of manuscripts, with a view to ascertain the genuine reading: 
and the result of their researches has shown, that these variations are 
not such as to affect our faith or practice in any thing material: they 
are mostly of a minute, and sometimes of a trifling nature. “ The 
real text of the sacred writers does not now (since the originals have 
been so long lost) lie in any single manuscript or edition, but is dis¬ 
persed in them all. It is competently exact indeed, even in the 
worst manuscript now extant; nor is one article of faith or moral 
precept either perverted or lost in them.” 1 It is therefore a very 
ungrounded fear that the number of various readings, particularly in 
the New Testament, may diminish the certainty of the Christian re¬ 
ligion. The probability, Michaelis remarks, of restoring the genuine 
text of any author, increases with the increase of the copies; and 
the most inaccurate and mutilated editions of antient writers are pre¬ 
cisely those, of whose works the fewest manuscripts remain. 2 Above 

1 Dr. Bentley’s Remarks on Free-thinking, rem. xxxii. (Bp. Randolph’s En¬ 
chiridion Theologicum, vol. v. p. 163.) The various readings that affect doctrines, 
and require caution, are extremely few, and easily distinguished by critical rules; 
and where they do affect a doctrine, other passages confirm and establish it. See 
examples of this observation in Michaelis, vol. i. p. 266, and Dr. Nares’s Strictures 
on the Unitarian Version of the New Testament, pp. 219—221. 

2 Michaelis’s Introduction to the New Testament, vol. i. pp. 263—268. “ In 
profane authors,” says Dr. Bentley, u (as they are called) whereof one manuscript 
only had the luck to be preserved, — as Velleius Paterculus among the Latins, 
and Hesychius among the Greeks — the faults of the scribes are found so nume¬ 
rous, and the defects so beyond all redress, that notwithstanding the pains of the 
learnedest and acutest critics for two whole centuries, those books still are, and are 
likely to continue, a mere heap of errors. On the contrary, where the copies of 
any author are numerous, though the various readings always increase in propor¬ 
tion, there the text, by an accurate collation of them made by skilful and judicious 



Ch. Vm.] In the Old and New Testaments. 311 

all, in the New Testament, the various readings show that there 
could have been no collusion ; but that the manuscripts were written 
independently of each other, by persons separated by distance of 
time, remoteness of place, and diversity of opinions. This exten¬ 
sive independency of manuscripts on each other, is the effectual 
check of wilful alteration ; which must have ever been immediately 
corrected by the agreement of copies from various and distant re¬ 
gions out of the reach of the interpolator. By far the greatest num¬ 
ber of various readings relate to trifles, and make no alteration what¬ 
ever in the sense, such as Aa/3i<5 for Aau»<5; 2oXojawv<ra for loXofiuva; 
xai for t5s ; xayw for xa» syw (for and I) ; sXarrwv for eXatftfwv ; 
Ku£iog for ©fog; XaXwtfiv for XaXritfwo'iv; Mwtfrjj for Mwutfrjg; and yivstfS-w 
for yevsffSu; all which in most cases may be used indifferently. 

In order to illustrate the preceding remarks, and to convey an idea 
of their full force to the reader, the various readings of the first ten 
verses of Saint John’s Gospel are annexed in Greek and English; — 
and they are particularly chosen because they contain one of the 
most decisive proofs of the divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ. 


Common reading. 

Various reading. 

Ver. 1. 'O \oyo sf,v IIPOE 
rov Qeov. 

The Word was with 
God. 

* 

> EN no 0soj — in God. 


Authorities. 


Clemens Alexandrinue, 


2. Ouroj 7)V CV apxj} npos TOV 
Qcov. 

The same was in the be¬ 
ginning with God. 


\ 


► omitted. 


y 


4. Ev avro) fay HN 
In him was life. 


| EETIN—IS life. 


The MSS. 47 and 64 
of Griesbach’s notation; 
Matthffii’s 19. 


S 


The Codex Bezae, Ori- 
gen, Augustine, Hilary, 
and other Fathers. 


4. Kat i) fay Jjv to <pSs tuiv 

C*$pW1T(i)V 

And the life was the 
light of men. 

— the light of men. 


► omitted. 

The light was the life. 


The fragment of St. 
John’s Gospel edited by 
Aldus, Clemens Alexandri¬ 
nus, and Origen. 

B. The Codex Vaticanus 


5. f H oKOTia AYTO ov 
k areXapev 

The darkness compre- 
hendeth it not. 

7. Iva xavrcf m^evauai Si ’ 
avrov 

That all men might be¬ 
lieve through him. 

9. E p^ofievov as TON 

KOOjlOV 

That cometh into the 
world. 


} AuroN — HIM not. 
J 


> omitted. 


I In hunc mundum — 
( into this world. 

J 


B. The Codex Vaticanus 
the MSS. 13 and 114* of 
Griesbach,three other MSS 
of less note, and Theodotus. 

The MS. 235 of Gries 
bach, the Aldine Fragment 
of St. John’s Gospel, Ira- 
naeus, and Hilary. 

The Vulgate and Italic 
(or old Ante-Hieronymian) 
Versions, Tertullian, Cy¬ 
prian, Hilary,Ambrose, Au¬ 
gustine, and other fathers. 


hands, is ever the more correct, and comes nearer to the true words of the author.’ 
Remarks on Free-thinking, m Enchirid. Theol. vol. v. p. 158. 
















I 


312 


On the Various Readings [Part I. 


Common Reading. 

Various Reading. 

Authorities. 

10. Ev T SL Koa/ib) jjv 

He was in the world. 

) hoc mundo — in this < 

5 world. 

The MSS. ofthe old Latin 
Version, denominated the 
Codices Veronensis, Ver- 
cellensis, Brixiensis, and 
Corbeiensis, edited by Blan- 
chini and Sabatier, Irenae- 
us, Cyprian, Ambrose once, 
Augustine repeatedly. 


On the whole, these various readings. — though not selected from 
any single manuscript, but from all that have been collated, together 
with the antient versions and the quotations from the fathers, — no 
where contradict the sense of the evangelist; nor do they produce 
any material alteration in the text . 1 

The principal collators and collectors of various readings for the 
Old Testament, are Dr. Kennicott and M. de Rossi, of whose la¬ 
bours an account has already been given . 2 As the price of their 
publications necessarily places them out of the reach of very many 
biblical students, the reader, who is desirous of availing himself of the 
results of their laborious and learned researches, will find a compen¬ 
dious abstract of them in Mr. Hamilton’s Codex Criticus . 3 For the 
New Testament, the principal collations are those of Erasmus, the 
editors of the Complutensian and London Polyglotts, Bishop Fell, 
Dr. Mill, Kuster, Bengel, Wetstein, Dr. Griesbach, and Matthaei, 
described in the preceding pages of this volume ; 4 and for the Sep- 
tuagint, the collations of the late Rev. Dr. Holmes, and his continu- 
ator, the late Rev. J. Parsons . 5 

II. However plain the meaning of the term 1 Various Reading 5 
may be, considerable difference has existed among learned men con¬ 
cerning its nature. Some have allowed the name only to such read¬ 
ings as may possibly have proceeded from the author; but this re¬ 
striction is improper. Michaelis’s distinction between mere errata 
and various readings appears to be the true one. “ Among two or 
more different readings, one only can be the true reading; and the 
rest must be either wilful corruptions or mistakes of the copyist.” 
It is often difficult to distinguish the genuine from the spurious ; and 
whenever the smallest doubt can be entertained, they all receive the 
name of various readings ; but, in cases where the transcriber has 
evidently written falsely, they receive the name of errata. 

III. As all manuscripts were either dictated to copyists or tran¬ 
scribed by them, and as these persons were not supernaturally guard- 

1 Christian Observer for 1807, vol. vi. p. 221. 

2 See pp. 122, 124. supra. 

3 Codex Criticus of the Hebrew Bible, wherein Vander Hooght’s text is cor¬ 
rected from the Hebrew manuscripts collated by Kennicott and De Rossi, and from 
the antient versions ; being an attempt to form a standard text of the Old Testa¬ 
ment. To which is prefixed an Essay on the nature and necessity of such an un¬ 
dertaking. By the Rev. George Hamilton, A. M. London, 1821, 8vo. 

4 See pp.127. 130. 132, 133, 134. 136. supra. Michaelis has given a list of au¬ 
thors who have collected various readings, with the remarks on their labours. In- 
trod. vol. ii. part i. pp. 419—429. See also Pfaff’s Dissertatio de Genuinis Novi 
Testamenti Lectionibus, pp. 101—122. 

5 See an account of their edition of the Septuagint, supra , p. 182. of this volume. 












313 


VIIL] In the Old and New Testaments. 

ed against the possibility of error, different readings would naturally 
be produced : — 1. By the negligence or mistakes of the transcrib¬ 
ers ; to which we may add, 2. The existence of errors or imperfec¬ 
tions in the manuscripts copied; 3. Critical emendations of the text; 
and 4. Wilful corruptions made to serve the purposes of a party. 
Mistakes thus produced in one copy would of course be propagated 
through all succeeding copies made from it, each of which might 
likewise have peculiar faults of its own; so that various readings 
would thus be increased, in proportion to the number of transcripts 
that were made. 

. 1 • Various readings have been occasioned by the negligence or 
mistakes of the transcribers. 

( 1 .) When a manuscript is dictated , whether to one or to several co¬ 
pyists, the party dictating might not speak with sufficient clearness ; he 
might read carelessly, and even utter ivords that were not in his manu¬ 
script ; he might pronounce different words in the same manner. The 
copyist , therefore, who should follow such dictation, would necessarily 
produce different readings. One or two examples will illustrate this re¬ 
mark. 

In Eph. iv. 19, Saint Paul, speaking of the Gentiles, while without the Gos- 
pel, says, that being past feeling, they gave themselves over to lasciviousness. For 
■airt]\yt)KOT£s, past feeling (which the context shows to be the genuine reading), se¬ 
veral manuscripts, versions, and fathers read a^’KiriKOTti, being without hope. Dr. 
Mill is of opinion, that this lection proceeded from some ignorant copyist who had 
in his mind Saint Paul’s account of the Gentiles in Eph. ii. 12. where he says that 
they had no hope, c\riS& yrj t^ovres. But for this opinion there is no foundation 
whatever. The antient copyists were not in general men of such subtle genius. 
It is therefore most probable that the word av^iKores crept in, from a mis-pro- 
nunciation on the part of the person dictating. The same remark will account 
for the reading of vtimot, young children , instead of rymot, gentle, in 1 Thes. ii. 7., 
which occurs in many manuscripts, and also in several versions and fathers. But 
the scope and context of this passage prove that vrimoi cannot be the original read¬ 
ing. It is the Thessalonians, whom the apostle considers as young children , and 
himself and fellow labourers as the nurse. He could not therefore with any pro¬ 
priety say that he was among them as a little child, while he himself professed to 
be their nurse. 

(2.) Further, as many Hebrew and Greek letters are similar both in 
sound and inform, a negligent or illiterate copyist might, and the col¬ 
lation of manuscripts has shown that such transcribers did, occasion va¬ 
rious readings by substituting one word or letter for another. Of these 
permutations or interchanging of words and letters, the Codex Cottonia- 
nus of the Book of Genesis affords the ?nost striking examples. 

Thus, B and M are interchanged in Gen. xliii. 11. rcpeyivdov is written for 
TtpcSivSov. — r and K, as ywr/yos for Kwriyos, x. 9.; and e contra <f>a\tK for <pa\ty, xi. 
16.— r and N, as avyKoxpovciv for avvKovj/ovuiv, XXxiv. 30. — r and X, as Spa^yara for 
ipayyara, xxxvii. 6. — A and A, as K t\yovaiovs for KeSywvaiovs, xv. 19.; and e contra 
AiSioy for Ai\u>y, xxxvi. 2. — A and N, as Ntfywr for N£fya><5, x. 9. — A and T, as Arar 
for AraS, x. 10., &c. — Z and S, as Xa<ra8 for Xa^aS, xxii. 22.; and yaKapifyvoiv for 
yanapiaovciv, XXX. 13. — 0 and X, for OXXvi. 26. — 0 and T, aito^pa^iijrt 

for avo^pacprfSi, xvi. 9. — K and X, as Ka\a% for Xa'Xax, x. 11. ; and ov% for ovk , xiii. 
9. — IT and <l>, as v<pt^pr)rai for vrt^prjrai, xxxix. 9. Sometimes consonants are add¬ 
ed to the end of the words apparently for the sake of euphony; as XuiSa\ for 
Xu>6a, xiv. 15. —ywaiKav for ywauca, xi. 13. — EwAar for EviAa, x. 7. — M is gene¬ 
rally retained in the different flexions of the verb A ay6avu>, in the future A rjy\poy<u, 
>rjy\poprai, xiv. 23, 24, &c. and in the aorist, A rjytpdrjro, xviii. 4. And also in the word 
avynapa\rni<pQr]i, xix. 17. This also is common in the Codex Vaticanus. Sometimes a 
double consonant is expressed by a single one, and vice versa; for instance, tvew*ovra 
for twtvr]KorvTa, v. 9., and Tewaap for lutvaap, x. 10.; \pe~Xia for ^/fAAta, xxiv. 47., &c. 

vol. ii. 40 


314 


On the Various Readings [Part. I. 

The Vowels are often interchanged, for instance, A and E, as reaotpaKovra tor 
rcaaapaKovra , vii. 4., ava^rj for ave^ri, xxi. 14. — A and H, as aveu^ev for tjvevi-tv, viii. 6., 
uaytupr] for paxaipa, xxvii. 40. — E and H, as cxpepa for xxv. 20., rjwiTviac$?j for 

cwjrviaaSrj, xxviii. 12. — H and I, as Kinot for Krjnoi, x. 4., tXuct/ for eXita, xlix. 11. 

H and Y, as irrjx>jv for vti^vv, vi. 17. — Pet/pa for Tevpa, xxii.24. O and Y, as Suopvtya 
for Siopotpa, vi. 17. — O and SI, as Pou>6o$ for Pow&i>$, x. 11. 

The Voioels are often interchanged with the Diphthongs, for instance, AI and E, 
as aiteXcvocoOat for aneXmaeoOe, xix. 2., avtvtyKai for aveveyxc, xxii. 2., ir aiSiov tor reSiov, 
xxxv. 27., Karai-erai for /cara^eu, xlii. 38. — El and A, as yppu for yrjpa, xv. Id. 

El and E, as etv«ev for eveicev, xviii. 5. — El and H, as tiSuv for tjSctv, xviii. 19. El 
and I, as irapi$t)Ku for -napti^Ku, xviii. 8., yvvaiKia for ywaucua, xviii. 11., ovSis for 
ovdeis, xxxi. 41., Kpetov for Kpiov, xv. 9., &c. — 01 and H, a. Xa6ois for ya6ns, xxxi. 50. 
— OY and H, as irXriprjs for nXrjpovs, xxvii. 27.; and lastly, OY and Si, as Karapovptvovs 
for Karapwpcvovi , xii. 13.1 

The manuscripts of the New Testament abound with similar instances of per¬ 
mutations. Thus we meet with ApivaSap for A pivaSafi, in Matt. i. 4.; A<ap tor A^up, 
in Matt. i. 14. ; Sta twv paSrirwv for Svo twv paSt/ruv, in Matt. xi. 2. ; Mar3av for 
MarSar, in Luke iii. 24. ; papavSt] for piopavSrj, in Luke xiv. 34. ; tokov for tvttov, in 
John xx. 25.; naipu> for Kvpno, in Rom. xii. 11.; AaviS for Aa/?«5, in Matt. i. 1., and 
in many other passages. The reader will find numerous other examples in the 
elder Michaelis’s Dissertation on various readings. 1 2 Permutations of this kind 
are very frequent in antient manuscripts, and also in inscriptions on coins, medals, 
stones, pillars, and other monuments of antiquity. 

( 3 .) In like manner the transcribers might have mistaken the line on 
which the copy before them was written, for part of a letter ; or they 
might have mistaken the lower stroke of a letter for the line; or they 
might have mistaken the true sense of the original, and thus have altered 
the reading; at the same time they icerc unwilling to correct such mis¬ 
takes as they detected, lest their pages should appear blotted or defaced, 
and thus they sacrifccd the correctness of their copy to the beauty of 
its appearance. This is particularly observable in Hebrew manuscripts. 

( 4 .) A person having written one or more words from a wrong place, 
and not observing it, or not choosing to erase it, might return to the 
right line, and thus produce an improper insertion of a word or a clause. 

Of this we have a striking instance in John vii. 26.— Do the rulers know in¬ 
deed (aXijSwj), that this is the very Christ, (aX^wj b Xpi?os, truly the Christ) ? 
The second aXr/Sws is wanting in the Codices Vaticanus, Cantabrigiensis (or Co¬ 
dex Bezoe), Cyprius, Stephani n, or Regius 62, Nanianus, and Ingolstadiensis, in 
numbers 1, 13, 28, 40, 63, 69, 116, 118, and 124 of Griesbach’s notation, and nine 
other manuscripts of less note, which are not specified by him ; it is also wanting in 
the manuscripts noted by Matthaei with the letters a, 1, s, and 10, in all the editions 
of the Arabic version, in Wheeloc’s edition of the Persian version, in the Coptic, Ar¬ 
menian, Sclavonic, and Vulgate versions ; and in all the copies of the Old Italic 
version, except that of Brescia. Origen, Epiphanius, Cyril, Isidore of Pelusium, 
Chrysostom, and Nonnus, among the antient fathers ; and Grotius, Mill, Bengel, 
Bishop Pearce, and Griesbach, among the modern writers, are all unanimous in 
rejecting the word aXr/Sus. The sentence in 1 Cor. x. 28. Tou yap Kvptou yp k at 
to irXtpwpa avrrn, The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof, is wanting in the 
Codices Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Cantabrigiensis, Basileensis, Boreeli, Harleianus, 
No. 5864, and Seidelii, and in Nos. 10,17,28, 46, 71*, 73, and 80, of Griesbach’s no¬ 
tation : it is also wanting in the Syriac version, in Erpenius’s edition of the Arabic 
version, in the Coptic, Sahidic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, and Old Italic ver¬ 
sions, and in the quotations of the fathers Johannes Damascenus, Ambrosiaster, Au¬ 
gustine, Isidore of Pelusium, and Bede. Griesbach has left it out of the text, as a 
clause that ought most undoubtedly to be erased. There is, in fact, scarcely any 
authority to support it; and the clause is superfluous ; in all probability it was in¬ 
serted from the twenty-sixth verse, which is word for word the same. 


1 Dr. Holmes’s Edition of the Septuagint, Vol. I. Prsef. cap. II. § I. 

2 D. Christiani Benedicti Michaelis Tractatio Critica de Variis Lectionibus Novi 
Testamenti, pp. 8—10. Halse Magdeburgicce, 1749, 4to. 



315 


Ch. Vni.] In the Old and JYew Testaments. 

(5.) When a transcriber had made an omission, and afterwards ob¬ 
served it, he then subjoined what he had omitted, and thus produced a 
transposition. 1 

Thus, Matt. v. 4. is subjoined to 5. in the Codex Bezie, in the Vulgate version, 
and in the quotation of Jerome. Luke xxiii. 17. is omitted in the Codices Alex* 
andrianus, Vaticanus, Cyprius, and Stephani v, in the Coptic and Sahidic versions, 
and in the Codex Vercellensis of the Old Italic version : and it is subjoined to the 
nineteenth verse in the Codex Bezie. 

In like manner, Rom. 1. 29. is very different in different copies. 

In the Textus Receptus or common editions, we read aditua, iropvua, -novitpia, 
rXeovs^ia, naKia, — unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, mali- 
ciousness. 

In the Codex Alexandrinus and Ethiopic version, we read, ahiKia, irovrjpia, Kcucta, 
rXcov|ia, unrighteousness, wickedness, maliciousness, covetousness. 

In the Codex Claromontanus, we read, aiixia, kukiu, nopvua, nXeovefia, — unright¬ 
eousness, maliciousness, covetousness. 

In the Vulgate version, we read, inquitate, malitid, fornicatione, avaritid, nequi- 
tid, whence it is evident that the authors of that translation read, aiuaa, trovrjpia, 
vopvcia, ir\tovt^ia, Kama. And 

The order of the words in the Syriac version shows that its authors read, aim*, 
iropvua, irovtjpia, Kama, ir\eovtl;ia, — unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, mali¬ 
ciousness, covetousness. 

(6.) Another cause of various lections in Hebrew manuscripts, re¬ 
ferable to this head, is the addition of letters to the last word in the lines 
in order to preserve their symmetry; and in Greek manuscripts omis¬ 
sions are frequently occasioned by what is called bjxoiorsXsurov, (homoe- 
oteleuton) or ichen a word after a short interval occurs a second time in 
a passage. Here, the transcriber having icritten the word at the begin¬ 
ning of the passage, on looking again at the book from which he copies, 
his eye catches the same word at the end of the passage, and continuing 
to write what immediately follows, he of course omits intermediate words. 

This fact will account for the omission of the concluding sentence of Matt 
v. 19., and the whole of verse 30, in the Codex Bezse. Again, in Matt, xxviii. 9. 
the words airayytiXai tois fiaSrjraig avrov (to tell his disciples), are omitted from the 
same cause, in the Codices Vaticanus and Bezse, in the MSS. by Griesbach num¬ 
bered 10,33, 49, 59, 60, 69,119,142*, 225, 227, the Evangelisteria numbered 1, 13, 
15, 17, 32, in the second of the Barberini MSS. and in those noted d. and q. by 
Matthoei; as well as in the Syriac, Arabic (as printed in the London Polyglott), 
Persic, Coptic, Armenian, Vulgate Latin, Saxon, and Old Italic versions (except 
the manuscript of Brescia), and by the fathers Origen, Chrysostom, Jerome and 
Augustine. And Mark ix. 26. is omitted in the Codices Vaticanus 1209, Stepha¬ 
ni i), Vaticanus 354, and the MSS. by Griesbach numbered 2, 27, 63, 64, 121, 157, 
in MatthiEi’s 17, in the Coptic Version, the Codex San-germanensis 2 of the Italic 
Version, in the printed editions of Aldus and Frobenius, and by Theophylact. 

(7.) As all antient manuscripts were written in capital letters, and 
without any spaces between words, or even sentences, syllables are fre¬ 
quently omitted or repeated. So, careless or ignorant transcribers have 
very often mistaken the notes of abbreviation, which are of frequent oc¬ 
currence in antient manuscripts. A few specimens of such abbreviations 
are given in the preceding part of this Volume. 

From this source probably originated the reading, in 1 Pet. ii. 3. of Xpij-oj 
(Christ) instead of Xp^o$-os (gracious), which occurs in the MSS. by Griesbach 
numbered 40, 68, and others of less note, in Matthcei’s g, in some printed editions, 
and also in the verse as cited by Clemens Alexandrinus, Gregory Nazianzen, and 
Procopius, and by Theophylact in his commentary on this text. The ^reading in 

the manuscript whence the transcriber made his copy, must have been X?; which, 
not being understood by him, he altered into Xpij-oj. 

(8.) Lastly, the ignorance or negligence of transcribers has been a 
most fruitful source of various readings, by their mistaking marginal 


1 Dr. Gerard’s Institutes of Biblical Criticism, p. 238. 




316 


On the Various Readings [Part I. 

notes or scholia for a part of the text. It was not unusual in antient 
manuscripts to write in the margin an explanation of difficult passages, 
or a word synonymous to that in the text , but more usual and more easily 
understood , or with the intent of supplying a seeming deficiency ; any or 
all of which might , in the copies taken from the manuscript in which 
these notes were written , be easily obtruded on the text itself 

Thus, to Matt. vi. 33. some copies, as well as the fathers Clemens Alexandrinus, 
Origen, and Eusebius, add the following clause, as having been uttered by Jesus 
Christ. A iTCirera ytyaXa^ kcu ra pupKa vpiv irpocrre^rjceTai' kcu airure ra Evovpaviu , kcu to. 
tinyeia irpooT£§Ti<r&Tai vpiv :— Seek ye great things, and little things shall be added 
unto you; and seek ye heavenly things, and earthly things shall be added unto 
you. But this addition is manifestly a gloss. 

So, in Mark vii. 35., after he spake plain , the following sentence is added in 
MS. 90 of Griesbach’s notation : — K ai t\a\u ev\oyu)v tov Qcov, — and he spake , 
praising God. That the man did this, we may readily conclude ; but this sentence 
was not added by the evangelist. It is evidently a gloss. 

Again, in Luke vii. 16., after the sentence God hath visited his people, the words 
eis aya%v, for good , are added in the manuscripts by Griesbach noted M. 13, 50, 
69, 71, 106, 114, and eight others, in Matthaei’s x, in the Syriac (as printed in 
the London Polyglott), in the Armenian, and in all the Arabic versions, and in the 
Codices Veronensis, Vercellensis, Corbeiensis, Colbertinus 4051, San-germanen- 
sis 1, and Forojuliensis, of the Old Italic Version. But it is manifestly a gloss, 
and is rejected as such by Dr. Mill, and Griesbach. 

It is worthy of remark, that the difference caused by these or similar additions 
does in no respect whatever affect any point of faith or morality. Several emi¬ 
nent critics, for instance, are of opinion that the controverted clause in 1 John v. 
7, 8, crept into the text in this manner ; because it is not found in any antient 
manuscripts, nor in the writings of the fathers who disputed against the Arians. 
The evidence for the passage in question is fully considered in Vol. IV. Part II. 
Chap. IV. Sect. V. § VI. But, for the sake of argument, let us suppose it to be 
an omission in the manuscripts where it is wanting, or an addition to those where 
it occurs; it cannot in any way be prejudicial to the Christian faith; because, 
whatever sense we may put upon that passage, the same truth being most clearly 
and indisputably taught in other places of the New Testament, there is no more 
occasion for adding it, than there is inconvenience in omitting it. 

2. Errors or imperfections in the manuscript , from which a tran¬ 
scriber copied, are a further source of various readings. 

Besides the mistakes arising from the strokes of certain letters be¬ 
ing faded or erased, others of a contrary nature may arise from the 
transparency of the paper or vellum, whence the stroke of a letter 
on one side of the leaf may seem to be a part of a letter on the other 
side of the leaf, and in this manner O may be taken for ©. 

According to Wetstein, this very accident happened to Mill, in examining the 
oelebrated passage (1 Tim. iii. 16.) in the Codex Alexandrinus. Mill had assert¬ 
ed in regard to the O C in this manuscript, that some remains of a stroke were 
still visible in the middle of the omicron, and concluded therefore that the word 
was properly 0C. But Wetstein, who examined this manuscript more accurately, 
could discover no trace of any stroke in the omicron, but took notice of a circum¬ 
stance which he supposes led Mill into error. On the other side of the leaf, di¬ 
rectly opposite to O is the letter e, in the word eYSCBeiA, the middle stroke of 
which is visible on the former side, and occupies the hollow of 0. Wetstein 
having made the discovery, called several persons to witness, who confirmed the 
truth of it. But this hypothesis of Wetstein’s has been questioned by Dr. Woide, 1 
and has been most clearly disproved by Dr Berriman. 2 In order to discover the 
genuine reading of a manuscript where the letters are faded, Michaelis recom¬ 
mends the critic to have recourse to such as are related to it, either in time, place, 
or character, and if possible to those which were immediately copied from it while 
the letters were still legible. Velthusen and Griesbach are unanimous in regard 

1 Novum Testamentum Graecum, e Codice MS. Alexandrino ; Praefat. § 87. p, 
xxxi. 

2 Critical Dissertation upon 1 Tim. iii. 16. pp. 153—160. 




317 


Cli. \ III.] In the Old and New Testaments. 

to the propriety of this rule, but in their application of it to 1 Tim. iii. 16. they 
have drawn directly opposite conclusions. Those who endeavour to supply what 
tune has destroyed, and venture to write anew the remnant or seeming remnant 
of a laded stroke, are guilty of an act that deserves the hia-hest censure : the Co¬ 
dex Alexandrinus, Codex Lphrem, and Codex Claromontanus, have all suffered in 
this manner, but the authors ol these amendments have deprived their successors 
of the means of judging for themselves, and have defeated the end which they in¬ 
tended to answer. 

Again, the omission of a passage in an antient manuscript, which the writer 
added afterwards in the margin, might lead a copyist into error, unless it was par¬ 
ticularly marked in what part of the text the passage ought to be inserted. Many 
manuscripts are still extant, in which omissions are in this manner supplied, espe¬ 
cially in those preserved at Moscow, which Matthau has extracted and accurately 
described in his critical edition of the New Testament. 

A third source of various readings is critical conjecture, or an 
intended improvement of the original text. 

“ In reading the works of an author of known literary reputation, 
we ascribe grammatical or orthographical errors, if any are to be 
found, rather to a mistake of the printer than to a want of know¬ 
ledge in the writer. In the same manner the transcriber of a manu¬ 
script attributes the faults of his original to the error of a former 
copyist, and alters them, as he supposes they were written by the 
author. But if he carries his critical conjectures too far, he falls 
himself into the error which he intended to avoid.” This may be 
done in various ways. 

(1.) Thus the transcriber may take an expression to be faulty ichich 
in reality is not so ; or he may mistake the sense of the author, and sup¬ 
pose that he has discovered a grammatical error, when in fact he himself 
construes falsely : — or the grammatical error intended to be corrected 
actually proceeded from the author himself. 1 

(2.) Further, some critical copyists have not only corrected ungram¬ 
matical or inaccurate expressions, but have even converted inelegant into 
elegant phrases : and they have likewise omitted words that appeared to 
them superfluous, or the difference of ichich they did not understand. 

Thus, in Mark vii. 37. rov$ aAaAouj, the dumb , is omitted as superfluous in Gries- 
bach’s MS. 28, (Colbertinus 4705, or Colbertinus 2. of Dr. Mill’s notation.) So. in 
Mark x. 19. Mjj ano^ijpnarjs, def raud not , is omitted in the Codices Vaticanus and Cy- 
prius, and in eighteen other manuscripts, as well as in the Armenian version, and 
also in Theophylact. It seems included in prj do not steal, and does not 

occur in the other Gospels. Once more, Xeyovros, saying, (Matt. i. 22.) is omitted , 
because the transcriber deemed it an unnecessary addition after the words, that 
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet. 

1 With regard to these corrections of grammatical errors, Michaelis has laid 
down the four following rules, viz. 

“1. In those passages where we find only an apparent grammatical error, the 
seemingly erroneous reading may be generally considered as the genuine, and the 
other readings as corrections, and therefore spurious. 

“ 2. Real grammatical errors, in the works of a correct and classical writer, are 
justly ascribed to a mistake of the copyist, and the same sentiments may be enter¬ 
tained of an author of less eminence, when among several copies one or two only 
have the false reading. 

“ 3. But when expressions that deviate from the strictness of grammar are found 
in the writings of an author who had not the advantage of a learned education, and 
was totally regardless of the accuracy of his style, not in single but repeated in¬ 
stances, and retained in a very great number of manuscripts, they must be attribut¬ 
ed, not to the transcriber, but the author. 

u 4. When one grammatical error in particular is frequently found in one and 
the same writing, as the improper use of the nominative in the book pf Revelation, 
no doubt can be made that it proceeded from the author Jiimself. — Michaelis, vol. 
i. p. 30C. 




318 


On the Various Readings 


[Part L 


(3.) But of all the sources of various lections which arc referable to 
this head, the most ample, according to Michaelis, and the most produc¬ 
tive of spurious passages in the New Testament, is the practice of al¬ 
tering parallel passages so as to render more perfect their conformity to 
each other. The Gospels in particular have suffered in this way ; and 
Saint Paul's Epistles have very frequently been interpolated in order 
to make his quotations from the Old Testament harmonise with the Sep- 
tuagint version, where they differed from the exact words of the latter. 
Two or three instances of alterations from parallel passages will confirm 
this remark. 

Thus, in Matt. xii. 8. For the son of man is lord even of the sallath day , icat 
even is omitted in eighty-seven manuscripts, and in several printed editions, as 
well as in the Syriac, Arabic, the Persic in Bp. Walton’3 Polyglott, the Coptic, 
Armenian, Sclavonic, and Italic versions, and also in the passage as quoted by 
Tertullian, Cyprian, Origen, Chrysostom, Euthymius, and Theophylact. It has 
been added from the parallel passage in Mark ii. 28. or in Luke vi. 5.; and is 
justly rejected by Griesbach as an interpolation. In Matt. xii. 35. rm Kaphas, of 
the heart , is wanting in one hundred and seven manuscripts as well as in several 
printed editions, and in the Arabic, Persic, Sclavonic, Anglo-Saxon,. Old Italic, 
and Vulgate versions ; it is also wanting in the passage as cited by Origen, the 
author of the Dialogue against the Marcionites, Gregory Nazianzen, Gregory of 
Nyssa, Chrysostom, Theophylact, Cyprian, Lucifer, Hilary, and Ambrosiaster. 
It has been inserted from the parallel place in Luke vi. 45. 

The clause in Matt, xxvii. 35. Iva -k\ rjpu)St] to prjSev ( that it might he fulfilled which 
was spoken ), &c. to the end of that verse is omitted in one hundred and sixty-one 
manuscripts in the Syriac MSS. and also in some Syriac editions, in the Arabic 
version both MSS. and also as printed in Bp. Walton’s Polyglott, in the Persic 
version of the Polyglott, in all the manuscripts, and in most printed editions of 
the Coptic, Sahidic, Ethiopic and Sclavonic Versions, in most MSS. and editions 
of the Vulgate Latin version, in several MSS. of the old Italic version ; and like¬ 
wise in the verse as cited by Chrysostom, Titus of Bostra, Euthymius, Theophy¬ 
lact, Origen, the old Latin translator of Irenseus, Augustine, and Juvencus. This 
clause has been interpolated from John xix. 24. Griesbach justly omits it as de¬ 
cidedly spurious. 

Numerous similar interpolations have been made in the Acts of the Apostles, 
by these supposed amendments ; and where the same story is related more than 
once, transcribers, and more frequently translators, have supplied from the one 
what seemed to be deficient in the other. Not to multiply examples unnecessarily 
in illustration of this last remark, it will be sufficient to compare the narrative of 
Saint Paul’s conversion, as related by Saint Luke (Acts ix.), with that apostle’s 
own account of it in Acts xxii. and xxvi.; and also the two narratives of the con¬ 
version of Cornelius, described in Acts x. and xi. 

(4.) Lastly, some critics have altered the text of the New Testament 
in conformity to the Vulgate version ; hut various readings, which are 
evidently derived from this source, are utterly undeserving of attention. 

4. Wilful corruptions , in order to serve the purposes of a party , 
whether orthodox or heterodox , are another source of various readings. 

Among the antient heretics, no one has been more severely charged 
with falsifying the sacred text, in order to support his tenets , nor has 
any one more justly deserved the censure, which has been bestowed upon 
such unwarrantable conduct, than Mar cion. Yet Michaelis has shown 
that all his deviations from the text in common use are not wilful cor¬ 
ruptions, but that many of them arc really various readings ; and he has 
exculpated the Arians from the same charge. 

It is however well known that Marcion caused the two first chapters of Saint 
Luke’s Gospel to disappear from his copy, as also Luke iv. 37, 38, 39. In Luke 
viii. 19. he also expunged the words i? prjTtip Kai ch altX<poi avrov, his mother and bre¬ 
thren. In Mark xv. 28. instead of pera avovwv eXoyttrSr/, he teas numbered with the 
transgressors, the Eutychians read vckoujv, dead , in order to support their hypo¬ 
thesis, that Christ’s body was an aiirial form and not human. 


319 


Ch. VIII.] In the Old and New Testaments. 

On the other hand, it is a fact that some corruptions have been 
designedly made by those who are termed orthodox, and have sub¬ 
sequently been preferred when so made, in order to favour some re¬ 
ceived opinion, or to preclude an objection against it. As this is a 
source of various readings (we believe) but little known, and less 
considered, we shall adduce two or three examples from Pfaff’s 
dissertation on various readings, who has considered the subject at 
length. 

(1.) Mark xiii. 32. OvSe o vios. These words are omitted in some manuscripts, 
and rejected by some of the fathers, because they thought it favoured the Arians. 
Ambrose, who flourished in the fourth century, states that many manuscripts in 
his time omitted them. 

(2.) Luke i. 35. After ytwujitvov, the words e< <rov have been added in several 
manuscripts in the Syriac, Persic, Arabic, Ethiopic, and other translations, as well 
as in numerous quotations of the fathers, in opposition to the Eutychians, who de¬ 
nied the two natures of Jesus Christ. 

(3.) Luke xxii. 43. The whole verso is omitted in the Alexandrian and some 
other manuscripts, because some orthodox Christians imagined that the mention 
of an angel’s strengthening our Saviour during his agony in the garden detracted 
from his Deity. 

(4.) 1 Cor. xv. 5. Saint Paul asserts that Christ appeared after his resurrec¬ 

tion to the twelve , rois Sutiaca, though at that time two of the number were wanting, 
Thomas being absent, and Judas Iscariot being dead. Some manuscripts there¬ 
fore read evSeica , eleven , lest the sacred historian should be charged with falsehood, 
though every attentive reader of the New Testament knows that the Apostle, in 
writing this, used the figure called synecdoche , in which a part is put for the whole. 

5. Matt. i. 18. ITptv 77 <t vve\$uv avrovs ( before they came together ), and 25, avrrjs 
rov npuroroKov ( her jirst horn ), are in some copies designedly omitted, lest any 
should doubt the perpetual virginity of Mary the mother of Christ. 

III. The causes of various readings being thus ascertained, the 
next step is to consider the sources whence the true reading is to be 
determined. The legitimate sources of emendation, are 1. Manu¬ 
scripts ; 2. The most antient and best editions ; 3. Antient ver¬ 
sions, (and, for the Old Testament in particular, the Samaritan text 
of the Pentateuch, together with the Masora, and the Talmud); 
4. Parallel passages; 5. Quotations from the fathers; and 6. Con¬ 
jectural criticisms. But these various sources are all to be used 
with great judgment and caution, as being fallible criteria; nor is 
the common reading ever to be rejected but upon the most rational 
grounds. 

1. Manuscripts. — Having already given some observations on 
the age of the manuscripts, together with an account of some of the 
most antient, 1 it will only be necessary that we should in this place 
offer a few hints concerning their relative value, and the application 
of them to the determination of various readings. 

(1.) In general , then , we may affirm that the present copies of the 
Scriptures of the Old and New Testament , under the guardianship of 
the Jewish , Samaritan , and Christian churches , agreeing in every thing 
essential , are of the same authenticity and authority with the original 
autographs; notwithstanding the errors that have crept into them , from 
whatever cause. 

(2.) The number of manuscripts, however , is not so much to be con - 
sidered as their quality , antiquity , and agreement with the most antient 

l See an account of the principal Hebrew and Greek MSS. in pp. 34—112. of 
the present volume. 




On the Various Readings 


320 


[Part I. 


interpreters; for the true reading may he preserved in a single manu¬ 
script. 

(3.) Those manuscripts are to he accounted the best, which are most 
consonant loith those used hy the antient interpreters; and, with regard 
to the Old Testament, in particular, M. de Rossi states that those ma¬ 
nuscripts are in every case preferable which have not been tampered with 
by the Masorites, and which have the Chaldee paraphrase interjected, in 
alternate verses. 

(4.) Although, other things being equal, the more antient and accu¬ 
rately written manuscripts are to be preferred, yet a recent and incor¬ 
rect copy may often have the better reading, because it may have been 
ti'anscribed from an excellent and antient copy. 

(5.) An accurate manuscript is preferable to one that is negligently 
written. 

Various readings, therefore, particularly in the Hebrew Scriptures, which are 
found in manuscripts transcribed by a learned person, or for a learned person, from 
some celebrated or corrected copy, are to be preferred to those written for pri¬ 
vate use ; and the readings found in antient and unpointed manuscripts, written 
for the use of the synagogue, are better than those found in Masoretic exemplars. 

(6.) The first erased reading of a manuscript is not always an error 
of the copyist, nor is the second substituted one always the better reading. 
Both are to be tried by the touchstone of the antient versions, and in the 
Pentateuch by the Samaritan text also. 

(7.) Other things being equal, Michaelis states that a Lectionarium 
is not of equal value with a manuscript of the same antiquity that con¬ 
tains the boohs of the New Testament complete, because in the former 
the text was frequently altered, according to the readings which were 
most approved at the time when it was written; though Lectionaria 
sometimes have readings of great importance. 1 

(8.) In reckoning up the number of manuscripts for or against any 
particular reading, it will be necessary. 

First, to distinguish properly between one manuscript and another, 
that the same MS. be not counted twice over , and consequently one pass 
for two. 

This (it is now ascertained) was the case with the Codex Bezae, which has been 
proved to be the same which was the second of Stephens’s MSS. marked /J, and 
not two distinct manuscripts. Wherever, therefore, a number of manuscripts 
bears evident marks of having been transcribed in succession, that is, each of them 
being first a copy taken from another, and then an original having a copy taken 
from it, or where all are taken from one common original, they are not to be 
considered as furnishing so many different instances of a various reading, but 
should be estimated only as one, whose authority resolves itself into that of the 
first manuscript. Inattention to this circumstance has contributed to increase 
the number of various readings beyond what they really are. But though two 
manuscripts, one of which is copied from the other, can be admitted only as a 
single evidence, yet, if a word is faded in the more antient one, it may be supplied 
from that which is more modern. Manuscripts which, though not immediately 
copied from each other, exhibit a great uniformity in their readings, seem to be 
the produce of the same country, and to have as it were the usual readings of 
that country. A set of manuscripts of this kind is to be considered as the same 
edition, in which it is of no importance to the authenticity of a reading whether 
five hundred or five thousand copies be taken. Numbers alone, therefore, decido 
nothing in the present instance. 

Secondly, TVe must carefully observe what part of the Scriptures 
the several manuscripts actually contain, and in what respects they are 
defective. 


' 1 Introduction, Vol. ii. p. 161. 



In the Old and New Testaments. 


321 


Ch. VIII.] 

There are few MSS. extant, which contain either the Old or the New Testa - 
ment entire, and have been transmitted to us without loss and damage. Of the 
MSS. of the Old Testament, which have been described in pp. 41—44. supra, not 
one is complete; and with regard to the New Testament, we have already seen 
that the Codices Alexandrinus , 1 Vaticanus ,2 and Leicestrensis,3 are mutilated. 
Other MSS. contain the Gospels, or the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles; others 
the Acts, and Pauline Epistles, or the Catholic Epistles, or both; others have the 
Epistles by themselves; and there are several manuscripts which contain the 
whole of the New Testament except the Apocalypse; to which are to be added 
the Lectionaries, or select portions of the New Testament, which were read as 
lessons, or Epistles and Gospels in the service of the Church. Now it is absolutely 
necessary that we observe the state and condition of MSS., in order that we may 
avoid false conclusions and inferences from the non-production of a manuscript for 
a various reading by any editor of the New Testament, who professedly gives an 
account of the various readings of MSS., as if it therefore did not vary, when in 
reality the text itself was wanting therein ; and also in order that we may not eite 
a MS. in favour of any reading, where in truth such MS. has no reading at all. 
From inattention to this obvious rule, Amelotte 4 cited the first codex of Stephens, 
the Complutensian, Cardinal Ximenes’s, Cisneros’s, and that of Alcala, as so many 
different manuscripts, when, in fact, there was but one and the same printed edition. 

Thirdly, We must also observe whether the MSS. have been entirely 
and exactly collated. 

Sometimes perhaps only the more noted and important texts have been consulted. 
This was the case with the Codex Claromontanus, as collated by Beza, and also 
with the MSS. of the Apostolic Epistles in the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth, 
which have only been collated for the controverted clause in 1 John v. 7. Some¬ 
times also it happens that MSS. have come late into the hands of editors of the 
New Testament, after the printing was begun, and consequently only part of the 
various lections have been exhibited. This was the case both with Dr. Mill and 
with Griesbach in their critical editions. Again, it sometimes happens that a 
manuscript has been collated in the beginning, but, from some accident or other, 
the collation of it has not been completed. This was the case with the Codex 
Cyprius, of which we had no entire collation until Dr. Scholz printed one at 
the end of his Dissertation on that manuscript,5 and also with the Codex Mont- 
fortianus, which was collated in the Gospels and most parts of the Acts of the 
Apostles, and in part of the Epistle to the Romans. Nor had we any complete 
collation of it, until the Rev. Dr. Barrett printed one at the end of his fac-simile 
of the Codex Rescriptus of Matthew’s Gospels, now preserved in the library of 
Trinity College, Dublin .6 It is therefore absolutely necessary that we should 
inquire into these particulars, that we may not be deceived ourselves, or deceive 
others, by alleging an authority that has never been examined. 

2. The best and most antient Printed Editions have already 
been described. 7 But they are so far only to be admitted in evi¬ 
dence, as they are immediately taken from manuscripts. The vari¬ 
ous readings, however, which they contain, are not to be neglected, 
particularly those of the Hebrew Bibles printed in Rabbi Ben 
Chaim’s or Hajim’s Masoretical edition. In the New Testament, as 
the readings found in all the printed editions rest on the authority of 
a few manuscripts which are not always the most antient, the con¬ 
currence of all these editions cannot confer great authority on the 

1 See pp. 66, 67. supra. 2 See p. 73. supra. 3 See p. 109. supra. 

4 Amelotte, the bitter enemy of the learned and pious Port-Royalists, published 
a French translation of the New Testament in four volumes 8 vo., in the years 1666 
—1668. In his notes he boasted of having consulted all the manuscripts in Europe, 
which he afterwards confessed he had not seen! Chalmer’s Biographical Dictiona¬ 
ry, vol. ii. pp. 95—97. 

5 Scholz, Cur® Critic® in Historiam Textus Evangeliorum, pp. 80—90. 

6 Barrett, Evangelium secundum Matth®um ex Codice Rescripto in Bibliotheca 
Collegii SS. Trinitatis juxta Dublin. Appendix, pp. 5—35. 

7 See pp. 113—138. of the present volume, for an account of the printed editions 
of the Scriptures. 

VOL. II. 41 



322 On the Various Readings [Part I 

readings adopted by them, in opposition to others which appear to be 
well supported. 

3 . The Antient Versions (of which an account has already been 
given,) 1 2 though not free from error, nevertheless afford important as¬ 
sistance towards determining the true readings of passages, as they 
show what readings their authors considered to be genuine. 

(1.) Antient Versions are a legitimate source of emendation , unless 
upon collation we have reason to conclude that the translators of them 
were clearly mistaken. 

One or two examples will illustrate this remark. In James v. 12. many MSS., 
the Arabic of the London Polyglott, the Armenian and the Sclavonic Versions, as 
also the monk Antiochus, Oecumenius, and Theophylact, read Iva /nj us inroKpioiv 
nccnjTTie-, lest ye fall into hypocrisy. But the Codices Alexandrinus and Vaticanus, 
and several other manuscripts, besides the printed editions, and the Syriac, Arabic 
(as edited by Erpenius), Coptic, Ethiopic, Vulgate, and other versions, all read the 
clause as it appears in our authorised English version, which is unquestionably 
the true reading, viz. ha pri t mo tepunv it tmqrty lest ye fall into condemnation. 
Again, in 1 Pet. v. 13. we read, aatratyrai vyas h tv Ba/LAom <jvvzk\uttti . Here some 
word is evidently to be supplied, in order to complete the sense. Dr. Mill con¬ 
jectures that Peter’s wife was intended. But the word E kk\ti<jici, church , is found 
in the margin of two manuscripts (4 and 33 of Griesbach’s notation), and in the 
Syriac, Arabic, Armenian, and Vulgate versions. It ought therefore to be received 
into the text. It is very properly supplied in Italic characters by the learned and 
venerable translators of our authorised English version, who render the verse 
thus : — The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you , saluteth you. 
Once more, in 2 Pet. ii. 2. the apostle, predicting the false teachers who would 
corrupt the church by their destructive doctrines, says, that many shall follow , 
avTwv rais as-wXetatf, their destructions , that is, their pernicious ways (as our trans¬ 
lators have rendered it), their heresies of destruction or destructive opinions , men¬ 
tioned in the preceding verse. This reading, however, is only found in the MSS. 43 
and 65 of Griesbach’s notation (both of the twelfth century), and in a few others of 
no note. But instead of it, we read, accXyuats, that is, lasciviousnesses or unclean¬ 
nesses , in the Codices A. B. C. (Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, and Ephremi): and in 
more than fifty other manuscripts, most of which are among the most antient, cor¬ 
rect and authentic. This is also the reading of both the Syriac, all the Arabic, the 
Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Sclavonic, and Vulgate versions, and of the fathers 
Chrysostom, Theophilus, Oecumenius, and Jerome. The word avtXyuais , lascivi¬ 
ousnesses , is therefore, beyond all doubt, the true reading, and is very properly 
printed as such by Griesbach: and it points out the nature of the heresy intended 
by the apostle. It was a sort of antinomianism. The heretics alluded to pampered 
and indulged the lusts of the flesh ; and if the Nicolaitans are meant, it is very 
applicable to them, for they taught the community of wives, &c. 

(2.) Antient manuscripts , supported by some of the antient versions 
and by the sense, render a reading certainly right , though it be not 
found in the more modern. 

In Isa. Iviii. 10. we read, If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry. This, Bishop 
Lowth remarks, is a correct rendering of the present Hebrew text, but it is an ob¬ 
scure phrase, and without example in any other place. Instead, however, of 
(GapesHeic) thy soul , eight manuscripts (three of which are antient) read *jonS 
(LaneMeK) thy bread; and so it is rendered in the Syriac version. The proper 
reading thereof is, draw out (or bring forth) thy bread. The Septuagint version 
expresses both words, rov aprov uc tt\s ^pv^rjs oov , thy bread from thy soul.% 

(3.) The concurrence of the antient versions is sufficient to establish a 
reading as certainly right , when the sense or parallel place shows both 
the propriety of that reading , and the corruption of what is found in 
the copies of the original. 

Thus, in Prov. xviii. 21. (22 of English version) we read, Whoso findeth a wife, 
Jindetk a good thing. This is not true in every instance; it contradicts other 


1 See an account of the Antient Versions, pp. 157—212. of this volume. 

2 Gerard’s Institutes, p. 271. Lowth’s Isaiah, vol. ii. p. 343. 




In the Old and New Testaments, 


323 


Ch. VIII.] 

maxims of the inspired writer, as Dr. Kennicott has shown, who is sufficiently 
eloquent on this occasion. He therefore conjectured that Solomon originally 
expressed himself thus; he that Jindeth a good icife, Jindeth a good thing , atul 
obtaineth favour from the Lord. This reading derives a strong confirmation from 
the fact, that the epithet for good is uniformly found in the Septuagint Greek, the 
Syriac, Arabic, and Vulgate versions. It is likewise found in two antient manu¬ 
script Chaldee paraphrases of the Book of Proverbs (one of which is at Cambridge, 
and the other in the king of Prussia’s library at Berlin.) All these concurring 
testimonies, together with the necessary sense of the text itself, prove that the 
Hebrew originally read, and ought to be so restored, He that Jindeth a good wife, 
jindeth a good thing. 1 

(4.) The Samaritan Pentateuch , icJiich is only a different copy of 
the same original text, being more antient than the Babylonish captivity, 
and religiously preserved in the antient Hebrew characters , is a legiti¬ 
mate source of emendation. Although it differs in many places from 
the present Hebrew text , and these differences have been made objections 
against its authority , because it has been taken for granted that it must 
be torong wherever it is not conformable to the Hebrew; yet as this as¬ 
sumption proceeds on the erroneous supposition of the absolute integrity 
of the Masoretic copies , it ought not to be regarded. 

Bauer has given a considerable number of rules for the application 
of the Samaritan Pentateuch to the determination of various readings, 
which he has illustrated, by examples, for the whole of which we 
have not room. The following are such of his remarks as are of 
most general application. 

(1.) Where the Samaritan text has the larger sections repeated from the other 
chapters of the Pentateuch, it is interpolated, and the Hebrew text is on no account 
to be corrected from it. 

(2.) Where the Samaritan text contains readings in support of the peculiar dog¬ 
mas entertained by the Samaritans, there it is to be considered as altered by the 
fraud of that sect. 

(3.) Where the Samaritan text more strictly follows the rules of grammar, 
avoiding enallages of number and gender; and on the other hand, where the He¬ 
brew text departs from those rules, not frequently expressing the enallage both 
of number and gender ; — in such cases the reading of the Hebrew text is prefera¬ 
ble to that of the Samaritan. 

(4.) Where the Samaritan text contains a clearer reading, which removes any 
difficulty or obscurity, by the addition of a single word or phrase, there it has evi¬ 
dently been corrected by the Samaritan doctors, and the reading of the Hebrew 
copies is to be preferred. The application of this and the preceding canon to most 
of the corrections which Houbigant conceived might be drawn from the Samaritan 
Pentateuch, will show that those corrections are of no value whatever. 

(5.) Where a reading in the Samaritan text departs from that of the Hebrew 
text, in the guttural letters, the true reading is to be found in the latter. 

(6.) A various reading in the Samaritan text, which appears to be derived from 
the resemblance of the shape of the letters, is to be rejected. 

(7.) A reading in the Samaritan text which is entirely unsupported by the 
authority of the Masoretic copies, and of the antient versions, is not to be regarded 
as the true one, and is not preferable to the Masoretic reading. 

(8.) If the Samaritan text agrees with the Septuagint version, (as frequently is 
the case), their testimony is to be considered but as one, from the very close 
affinity subsisting between them. 

(9.) A various reading of the Samaritan Pentateuch is of the greatest value 
when it is confirmed by the antient versions of Aquila, and Symmachus, by ths 
Syriac version, the Chaldee paraphrase, and the best and most antient Hebrew 
MSS. Thus, in Gen. xxii. 13. instead of, behold , behind him tin (achcr), the 
Samaritan reads tn (ach<id) one , and with this reading agree the Septuagint and 
Syriac versions, the Targum or Chaldee paraphrase of Onkelos, and twenty-nine 


1 Kennicott’s Second Dissertation on the Hebrew Text, pp. 189—192. Dr. 
Gerard has given four additional instances of the above rule. Institutes, pp. 272, 
273. 





324 


On the Various Readings [Part I. 

of the manuscripts collated by Dr. Kennicott, together with thirteen of those 
collated by De Rossi. The proper rendering therefore of this verse is, And Abraham 
lifted up his eijes and looked ; and behold a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. 

The two following canons are selected from Dr. Gerard’s Institutes of Biblical 
Criticism, 1 with a few corrections. 

(10.) Readings in the Pentateuch supported by the Samaritan copy, a few He* 
brew MSS., the antient versions, parallel places, and the sense, are certainly right, 
though they are not found in the generality of Hebrew manuscripts nor in editions. 

Thus, in Gen. 1. 25. after ye shall carry up my bones from hence , the parallel 
text in Exod. xiii. 19., twelve manuscripts, the Samaritan text, the Septuagint, 
Syriac, Arabic, and Vulgate versions, all add with you. These words therefore 
are part of the text, and are very properly incorporated in it by Dr. Boothroyd, in 
his new translation of the Scriptures. 

In Lev. ix. 21. the common reading is, as Moses commanded: but in thirty 
manuscripts, the Samaritan text, the Septuagint and Arabic versions, and the Tar- 
gum of Onkelos, we read, As Jehovah commanded Moses ; which unquestionably 
is the true reading, and is supported not only by these authorities, but also by the 
whole chapter itself. 

(11.) Readings in the Pentateuch, supported by the Samaritan text, antient 
versions, parallel places, and the sense, are certainly right, though they are not 
found in any (or in only one) Hebrew manuscript now extant. 

Thus in Gen. ii. 24. we read, And they shall be one flesh: but it is they two in 
the Samaritan text, and in the Septuagint, Syriac, Old Italic, Vulgate, and Arabic 
versions, compared with Matt. xix. 5. Mark x. 8. 1 Cor. vi. 16. Eph. v. 31., Philo 
Judaeus, Tertullian, Epiphanius, Jerome, and Augustine. In Exod. vi. 20. after 
she bare him Aaron and Moses, 1 and Miriam their sister,’ is added in the Samari¬ 
tan text, the Septuagint and Syriac versions, and in one manuscript. There is no 
doubt but that it forms part of the sacred text. Again, in Exod. xii. 40. we read, 
The sojourning of the children of Israel, xohicli they dwelt in Egypt, xcas four 
hundred and thirty years. But this is not true, for it was only two hundred and 
fifteen years ; and it contradicts Gal. iii. 17. which says, that it was only four 
hundred and thirty years from the calling of Abraham, two hundred and fifteen of 
which elapsed before the going into Egypt. (Compare Gen. xii. 4. xvii. 1. 21. 
xxv. 26. and xl. 9.) The following is the verse as it appears in all the MSS. and 
editions of the Samaritan Pentateuch, confirmed by the Alexandrian Manuscript 
of the Septuagint. Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, and of their 
fathers, which they sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt, wets 
four hundred and thirty years. This is the true reading, and removes all doubt 
and obscurity. It is proper to remark, that the last three examples of additional 
passages from the Samaritan text are introduced by Dr. Boothroyd into the text 
of his translation of the Bible. 

(5.) Such antient versions as were immediately made from the original 
are proper sources of emendation, when our present Hebrew and Greek 
manuscripts disagree ; and their respective value is in proportion to their 
priority of date, their being made from accurate exemplars, their being 
literal translations, and their being confirmed by one another, and, as 
far as respects the Pentateuch, by the Samaritan text: for the sole dis¬ 
sent of versions, 
dubious lection. 

Before, however, we admit any various reading into the text on the authority 
of an antient version, we must be certain that the text of such version has not 
been corrupted. And no various reading can be derived from the modern Latin 
Versions of the Greek or Oriental versions, which are given in the Polyglotts, 
because the Latin translators have in some instances mistaken the sense of such 
oriental versions. 

(6.) The Greek version of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint, 
being the most antient and illustrious, is preferable to the old Syriac 
version of the same portion of Scripture ; but the Old Syriac version of 
the New Testament, being executed at the close of the apostolic age, and 
consequently the most antient of all the tranlations of the New Tester 
ment, is preferable to every other version of it. 


unsupported by other authorities, constitutes only a 


1 pp. 270, 271. 




In the Old and New Testaments. 


325 


Ch. VIII.] 

The readings pointed out by the Greek version are sometimes the genuine lec¬ 
tions, even when they are not found in any Hebrew manuscripts now extant. 
For instance, in Gen. iv. 8. we read, And Cain said to Abel his brother : And it 
came to pass, token they were in the field, fyc. Here there is manifest deficiency 
in all the Hebrew MSS. and printed editions. The translators of the authorised 
English version, not being able to find that any thing was said on this occasion, 
ventured to intimate that there was a conversation, indefinitely, and therefore ren¬ 
dered the first clause of the verse, and Cain talked icith Abel his brother. The 
deficiency, which exists in all the MSS. and editions, is supplied in the Septua- 
gint version, which is supported by the Samaritan text, the Syriac and Vulgate 
Latin versions, the two Chaldee Targuins, the Greek translation of Aquila, and 
by the passage as cited by Philo : all of which supply the deficient words, Let us 
go out into the field. There is no doubt, therefore, that they form part of the 
original text, and that the verse ought to be translated thus: And Cain said unto 
Abel his brother, let us go out into the field. And it came to pass, token they were 
in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. Again, in 
Acts xiii. 18. we read about the time of forty years suffered he {crpovo^opriatv) 
their manners in the wilderness ; that is, he dealt indulgently with them. How¬ 
ever the Israelites provoked Jehovah, he mercifully bore with and endured them. 
On which clause we find in the margin of our authorised version the following 
conjecture : Gr. irpoiro^oprjaev, perhaps for irpoQixpoprjotv, bore or fed them as a nurse 
beareth or feedeth her child." This conjecture is confirmed by the Codices 
Alexandrinus, Ephremi, and Basiliensis, and four others of less note, as well as by 
the Syriac, Arabic, Coptic, and Ethiopic versions, and the quotations in some of 
the fathers ; all of which read hpcxpoipopriatv, he nourished and fed them, or bore 
them about in his arms as a tender nurse docs her child. This reading agrees 
excellently with the scope of the place, and is at least of equal value with that in 
the commonly received text. Griesbach has therefore admitted it, and excluded 
t.he other. Both readings indeed, when rightly understood, speak nearly the same 
sense ; but the latter is the most expressive, and agrees best with St. Paul’s dis¬ 
course, and with the history to which he alludes. The same form of expression 
occurs in Exod. xix. 4. Num. xi. 12. Isa. xlvi. 3, 4. and lxiii. 9. 

(7.) The Oldest Latin Versions of the New Testament, being of very 
high antiquity, notwithstanding they contain some false readings, arc 
nevertheless of great value, because they lead to a discovery of the read¬ 
ings in very antient Grech manuscripts, that existed prior to the date 
of any that are now extant. The Vulgate, for instance, in its present 
state, being (as ice have already seen) a mixture of the Old Italic ver¬ 
sion, and that of Jerome, points out the state of the original text, partly 
in the frst and partly in the fourth century, and it gives great authority 
to those readings which it clearly indicates: it also contains several 
which are preferable to the present readings, and arc supported by some 
of the. best and oldest manuscripts. 

Thus the literal rendering of Jer. li. 19. is — He is the former of all things, 
and the rod of his inheritance, which is unintelligible. The venerable translators 
of our authorised version have supplied Israel is the rod, &c. most probably from 
the parallel sentence in Jer. x. 16.; and that this is the true reading is evident 
from the Vulgate version, which reads ct Israel sceptrum heraditatis ejus, and 
also from the Chaldee paraphrase, which is further supported by twenty-three 
manuscripts collated by Dr. Kennicott.l 

(8.) The Syriac version being very literal, ascertains clearly the read¬ 
ings which it followed, to which, on account of its antiquity, it gives 
great authority; and it has preserved some, that appear to be genuine. 

Thus in 2 Sam. xv. 7. we read, It came to pass after forty years, which is mani¬ 
festly erroneous, though supported by the commonly printed Vulgate, the Septua- 
gint, and the Chaldee. David reigned only forty years, and, if we follow the text, 
the rebellion of Absalom would follow long after the death of David. In order to 
obviate this difficulty, some commentators have proposed to date from the time when 


1 Gerard’s Institutes, p. 87. Kennicott’s Socond Dissertation, pp. 439, 440, and 
his Dissertat.io Generalis. $ 47, at the end of the second volume of his Critical 
Edition of the Hebrew Bible. 



326 


On the Various Readings [Part I. 

David was first anointed by the prophet Samuel. But the Syriac version (which 
is confirmed by the Arabic version, by Josephus, by the Sixtine edition of the 
Vulgate, by several manuscripts of the same version, and by Theodoret,) reads 
four. Most learned men are of opinion that (arb«yim) forty, is an error 

for join (arBcL) four. Accordingly, Dr. Boothroyd has adopted the reading of 
the Syriac version, and translates, at the end of four years , in his new version 
of the Old testament. 

(9.) Every deviation in the antient versions, both of the Old and 
Neiv Testaments, is not to be considered as a proof of a various reading 
in the original manuscript, whence it teas taken; for the translator may 
have mistaken the original word, or he may have given it a signification 
different from ivhat it bears at present, and this is the case particularly 
with the Septuagint. 

(10.) One or a few antient versions may render a reading probable, 
when it is strongly supported by the sense, connection, or parallel places, 
in opposition to one that does not agree with these, though found in other 
versions and in manuscripts. 

Thus, in Gen. xiv. 20. we read, And he gave tithes of all. This leaves it un¬ 
certain whether Melchizedek or Abram gave tithes. It rather seems to be the 
former, but it was the latter. In Heb. vii. 4. the Samaritan text, and the Septua¬ 
gint version, we have, Abram gave to him a tithe of all, ibuiKev avroi "Appa/i SeKarrjv 
ano iravruv ; which is probably the genuine reading. 

Again, in Isa. xl. 5. we read, All flesh shall see together , which is an imperfect 
sentence. The translators of our authorised version have supplied it, referring to 
the glory of God mentioned in the preceding part of the verse. This omission is 
antient, being prior to the Chaldee, Syriac, and Vulgate versions : but all the co¬ 
pies of the Septuagint version and the parallel passage in Isa. lii. 10. read, shall 
see the salvation of our God, which lection is acknowledged by Luke (iii. 6.) 
Bishop Lowth therefore considers it as genuine, and has admitted it into the text 
of his translation of Isaiah. 

(ii.) The concurrence of all or most of the antient versions, in a 
reading not found in manuscripts now extant, renders such reading proba¬ 
ble, if it be agreeable to the sense, though not absolutely contrary to it. * 1 

Thus in 1 Sam. ix. 7. we read, What shall ice bring the man, kmn 1 ? (lg-isii) ? 
In one of the manuscripts collated by Dr. Kennicott, (No. 182. a manuscript of 
the fourteenth century) we read cnVxn P'N 1 ? (la-ish h-eloiiim), to the man of 
God ? which is confirmed by the Chaldee paraphrase, and by the Septuagint, Sy¬ 
riac, Vulgate, and Arabic versions, and is probably the genuine reading. 

(12.) Of the Chaldee paraphrases , 2 when manuscripts vary, those arc 
to be preferred which are the more antient, and which have not been cor¬ 
rected, according to the present Masoretic text. 

(13.) The Masora , 3 Talmud, and Talmudical writers are also sources 
of emendation, but of no great authority in readings of any moment. 

With regard to the Masora, that reading only is to be admitted 
from it which is supported by antient versions, and is in perfect harmo¬ 
ny with the context, the analogy of language, and parallel passages. 

In Isa. ix. 2. (Heb.; 3 of English version) we read, Thou hast multiplied the, 
nation, and not the joy. The Ketib has nS (la) not, with which the Vulgate ver¬ 
sion, and that of Symmachus agree : but the Keri reads >8 (li) to him, or it, that 
is, the nation ; and with this agree the Chaldee paraphrase, the Septuagint, the 
Vulgate version, the readings in the text of fifteen manuscripts collated by Dr. 
Kennicott, and six of those collated by M. De Rossi. The latter reading is not 
only best supported, but it is also excellently in unison with the preceding verse. 
Bishop Lowth has therefore adopted it, and translates thus : Thou hast multiplied 

the nation, thou hast increased their joy. 

1 Gerard s Institutes, pp. 280, 281, where several additional examples are given, 
for which we have not room. 

2 See an account of the Chaldee paraphrases, pp. 157—163. of this volume. 

3 See an account of the Masora in pp. 144, 145. and of the Talmud in pp. 295— 
297. of this volume. 




In the Old and JYew Testaments . 


327 


Ch. VIII.] 

Headings derived from the Talmud and Talmudical writers are 
only to be admitted, when they expressly cite the Hebrew text, and 
when their readings are confirmed by manuscripts. In judging of 
the various lections obtained from the Jewish writers, those which 
are collated from the Talmud, (though few in number,) are of 
great value and equal to those furnished by Aquila, Symmachus, the 
Syriac version, and the Chaldee paraphrase. But such as are de¬ 
rived from the commentaries and lexicons of the Rabbins, who lived 
between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, are (according to Prof. 
Bauer) to be accounted equal with the readings of manuscripts. 1 

4. Parallel Passages afford a very material help in determining 
various readings, where all other assistance fails. Cappel 2 and Dr. 
Kennicott 3 have shown at great length what use may be made of 
parallel passages, in order to ascertain the genuine reading where it 
may be dubious, or to restore it where it may be lost. Professor 
Bauer has given an abstract of Cappel’s collection of parallel pas¬ 
sages in pp. 235—33S of his Critica Sacra : and two or three instan¬ 
ces will show the importance of them in ascertaining a true reading 
in the New Testament. 

In Matt. i. 4. not fewer than fourteen manuscripts and two of the 
fathers read AfxivaSafx, AminadaM; but the parallel passage in 1 
Chron. ii. 10. has Aminadan, which therefore is the genuine reading 
of the Evangelist. Again, in Matt, xxvii. 46. instead of Xajuia (lama), 
many MSS. read Xsipoa ( leima ) Xipux (lima), or Xqxa (lema) ; but a re¬ 
ference to Psal. xxii. 2. (Heb.; or l of English version), shows that 
Xa/xa is the proper reading. Once more, in Matt. ii. 23. the common 
reading is Na^agsr (Nazare t) ; but in the Codices C. E. K. (Ephre- 
mi, Basileensis B. VI. 21, and Cyprius,) and many other MSS. of 
less note, besides several printed editions, and the Coptic, Armenian, 
Italic, Vulgate, and Anglo-saxon versions, and also in the quotations 
of Eusebius and Cyril, we read No^a^ (Nazare th.) And that this 
is the true reading is evident from comparing the numerous other 
passages of the four Gospels in which this place is called Nazareth 
and not Nazaret. 

(1.) Where parallel passages, together with the sense, support the read¬ 
ing of antient manuscripts, they show that such reading is per fectly right . 

Thus in Isa. lxi. 4. we read, they shall build the old wastes : but the sentence 
is incomplete, as we know not who are the builders. After they shall build , four 
MSS. (two of which are antient) add icd (momgd) they that spring from thee : 
and this reading is confirmed by lviii. 12. where the sentence is the very same, 
this word being added. Bishop Lowth therefore receives it into the text, and 
translates the sentence thus : 

And they that spring from thee shall build up the ruins of old times. 

(2.) In a text evidently corrupted, a parallel place may suggest a read¬ 
ing perfectly genuine . 4 

Thus, in the common printed editions, we read, Say of the Lord , and of Gideon. 
This is defective. The venerable English translators have, with great propriety, 

1 Bauer, Critica Sacra, pp. 444, 445. 

2 See his Critica Sacra, (lib. i. cc. iii.—xiv.) vol. i. pp. 14—135.8vo. edition, with 
Professor Vogel’s notes. 

3 In his first Dissertation on the Hebrew Text, pp. 13. 79. 198. 444. 457. 461. 
481. 484. 502. 510. 

4 Gerard’s Institutes, p. 273. Where the reader will find several additional il¬ 
lustrations of this canon. 



328 


On the Various Readings [Part I. 

supplied the sword, 2 m (iicrcd) from the successful exploit of Gideon, related 
in Judg. vii.18,20. The word which those learned but much traduced men thus supplied 
from a parallel place, proves to be right: for it is found in ten manuscripts, be¬ 
sides the Chaldee Paraphrase, and the Syriac and Arabic versions. In like manner, 
they have supplied the word fourth in 2 Kings xxv. 3. from Jer. lii. 6. to complete 
the sense ; and this supply is also confirmed by the different versions. 

(3.) To determine with accuracy the authority of parallel passages in 
the Old Testament , they should he divided into four classes , viz. 

1. Passages containing the historical narration of an event which occurred 
but once, or the record of a prayer or speech but once uttered. Ex. Gr. Jos. xix. 
50. xxiv. 30. comp, with Jud. ii. 9. 2 Sam. xxii. with Ps. xviii. The Book of 
Kings with that of Chronicles. 2 Kings xxv. with Jer. lii. 2 Kings xviii. to xx. 
with Isa. xxxvi. to xxxix. Isa. ii. 2. 4. with Micah iv. 1—3. 

2. Passages containing a command, and either a repetition of it, or a record of 
its being obeyed : Ex. xx. 2 —17. with Deut. v. 6—22. Ex. xxv. to xxx. with 
xxxvi. to xxxix. Levit. xi. 13—19. with Deut. xiv. 12—18. Ezekiel xii. G. with 7. 

3. Proverbial sayings, or expressions frequently repeated : Num. xxi. 28, 29. 
and xxiv. 17. with Jer. xlviii. 45, 46. Ezek. v. 7. with xi. 12. Jer. v. 9. and 29. 
with ix. 9. Psalm xlii. 5.11. with xliii. 5. Jer. x. 25. with Psalm lxxix. G, 7. Jer. 
x. 16. with li. 19. Isa. xxiv. 17, 18. with Jer. xlviii. 43, 44. 

4. Records of the same genealogies, 1 Chron. with several chapters of Gen. 
and Ezra, with Nehemiah. 

In any such passages as these, where there is a difference in num- 
bers or names — where there is more than a verbal difference in re¬ 
cords of the same transaction — or where there is even a verbal dif¬ 
ference in copies of the same prayer or speech, in the printed text, 
but not in manuscripts and versions, there it is erroneous, and ought 
to be corrected. 1 

5. Quotations from the Old and JYeiv Testaments in the Writ¬ 
ings of the Fathers show what were the readings of their day, and are 
so far emendatory sources. But only correct editions of their works 
should be consulted. Among the antient fathers of the church, 
those are particularly worthy of attention and collation who wrote 
in the Greek language ; because they spoke, and read, and wrote 
that very language in which the sacred writings of the New Testa¬ 
ment were originally composed. The phrase and diction of those 
writings was, therefore, familiar to them; they naturally expressed 
themselves in the scripture style and language. When they referred 
to any texts of scripture, or discoursed more at large upon them, 
they would of course be guided by the original Greek of the New 
Testament, 2 and not by any version that had been made, and might 
possibly vary from it: whereas the Latin fathers being only accus¬ 
tomed to the Latin version , it is as much to be expected that they 
should conform their language, and quotations, and comments to it } 
though, perhaps, upon some occasions, and according to their abi¬ 
lity, taking notice also of the Greek original. A Latin father will be 
an evidence for the Latin version, where he takes no express notice 
of the Greek: and according to the clearness and fulness of that evi¬ 
dence, we may argue, that the Latin version, or some copy or co¬ 
pies of it, had that reading in his time, which is cited by him. And 
this may deserve to be attended to with regard to any omissions in 
the Greek MSS. which the Latin may be thought to have supplied : 

1 Hamilton’s Codex Criticus of the Hebrew Bible, p. 18. 

2 It is to be observed that the Greek Fathers generally quote the Old Testament 
from the Septuagint version. 



In the Old and New Testaments. 


329 


Ch. VIII.] 

but still the testimony of the Latin father in this case will prove no¬ 
thing more than the reading of a Latin version : by what authority 
that version is supported, is a matter of further inquiry. Indeed 
where it can be shown that a Latin father followed no particular ver¬ 
sion, but translated directly for himself (as Tertullian and Cyprian 
have frequently done); this brings us somewhat nearer to some ma¬ 
nuscript in the original language, and may be considered, according 
as it shall happen to be circumstantiated, as a distinct testimony for 
the reading of some Greek MS. in particular. 1 

In order to judge of the true reading of any text of Scripture, 
from any quotation of it, with which we meet in the writings of the 
fathers, the following criteria have been laid down, principally by J. 
D. Michaelis. 

(1.) In considering the testimony of a single father, we are in the 
frst place to inquire in ichat age he lived, and what were his abilities ? 
Whether he was a person of learning and judgment, of accuracy and 
exactness, or otherwise ? And also whether the treatise or work, in which 
the Scriptures are so quoted, be the genuine production of the writer 
whose name it bears ? 

(2.) Wherever it is certain that the quotations were actually taken 
from manuscripts, they are of very great importance in deciding on the 
authenticity of a true reading, and arc in general to be preferred to any 
manuscripts of the Greek Testament now extant, the oldest of which 
cannot be placed earlier than the end of the fourth or the commencement 
of the fifth century. 

If therefore a father, who flourished in the fifth and subsequent ages, has a par¬ 
ticular reading, it is the same as if we found it in a manuscript of that time. 

(3.) yls the fathers have frequently, though not always, quoted from 
memory, it is necessary to make a distinction between those passages 
which they expressly declare that they have taken literally from manu¬ 
scripts, and those which they quote without any such assurance. 

(4.) We are not therefore to reject the quotation of a father, because 
it differs from the common text, but must first examine whether it cannot 
be discovered in manuscripts of the New Testament; and to enable those 
who have access to manuscripts to make this comparison with as much 
case as possible, we should endeavour to procure the most accurate and 
copious extracts from the writings of the fathers. 

If a reading, then, which had the appearance of being an error of memory, is 
actually discovered in manuscripts, we may without hesitation put it down in the 
list of various readings : its antiquity will be determined by the age in which the 
father w T ho quoted it lived: and the manuscripts which contain it will afford a se¬ 
condary evidence of its age and authenticity. But we must not judge of the writ¬ 
ings of all the fathers, nor of all the writings of the same father, in the same 
manner. They may be divided into three different classes. 1. Commentaries, to 
which may be referred also those discourses which were written as expositions of 
parts of the Bible. 2. Works of Education. 3. Polemical writings. In the first 
it is evident that the book which is expounded is not quoted from memory, but the 
author, in writing his commentary, had lying before him a manuscript of the 
Greek Testament. But with respect to the polemical writings of the fathers, 
those who are acquainted with their mode of disputation, and know that their 
principal object is sometimes to confound their adversaries rather than to support 
the truth, will refer the quotations which appear in these productions to the low¬ 
est class. If a father was acquainted with more than one reading to a passage, 
he would certainly quote that which best suited his purpose, and with which he 


1 Dr. Berriman’s Dissertation on 1 Tim. iii. 16. pp. 28, 29. 

vol. ii. 42 



330 


On the Various Readings [Part I. 

could most easny confute his opponents. It is therefore not sufficient to know 
what reading lit quotes, but we must likewise consider where he quotes it: and 
those therefore w no collect various readings from the writings of the antient fa¬ 
thers, would do veil to point out the book, chapter, edition, and page, in order to 
enable the reader to form a proper judgment. 

(5.) It is necessary to make an accurate distinction between a quota¬ 
tion properly so called, and a passage of scripture introduced and ap¬ 
plied as part of a discourse. 

For if a writer, in treating any known doctrine of the Bible, uses the words of 
Scripture, he is at liberty to add or subtract, to contract or dilate them in a man¬ 
ner that is best adapted to the tenor of his discourse. But even such passages 
are not unworthy of notice, for if they are different in different manuscripts, and 
any one of these latter coincides with the former, the coincidence is not to be 
considered as a matter of chance. But when no manuscript corroborates the 
reading in such a passage, it is entitled to no voice in deciding on the text of the 
Greek Testament. 

(6.) In collecting readings from the works of the fathers, ctn accu¬ 
rate distinction must be made between those who wrote in Greek, and 
those who wrote in another language. 

Properly speaking, the former only are to be considered when we select read¬ 
ings for the Greek Testament, and the latter immediately relate to the text of the 
version from which they are quoted, unless particular mention be made of the 
Greek, or the writer, like Jerome, made a practice of correcting the translation 
of his country from the original. 

(7.) It must cdso be observed, whether a father takes notice of a text 
only once, or but seldom, or very often. 

For xl frequent repetition will make the slighter kinds of difference deserving 
of more attention; whereas a single instance or two of that sort will be the more 
easily imputed to a slip of the memory, or a casual mistake. 

(8.) It is necessary to observe whether an author be uniform and con¬ 
sistent with himself, or different and various. 

If a text be found differently expressed by the same author, we shall often be 
at a loss to know" which he esteemed the right: and sometimes perhaps he may be 
wrong in each ; and yet sometimes too it may be easily discovered, that one pas¬ 
sage was designed to express the text more exactly, and another w r as only a refer¬ 
ence by memory, and from thence proceeded the variation. An example of this 
we have in Chrysostom. In his comment upon Acts xx. 28. he reads it eKK^ciav 
rov Qeov, Church of God, three times (though Dr. Mill cites him there for the read¬ 
ing of Kvpta Lord ): but in his comment on Eph. iv. 12. he casually refers to this 
text, and quotes it probably by memory, and there he puts it down eKK^ctav rov 
Kuptou, that is, Church of the Lord. 

(9.) The writings of the fathers are to be compared, one with ano¬ 
ther ; and an inquiry must be instituted, what testimony arises from 
them upon the whole. 

If it be a point, of which they generally take notice, or in which they are 
agreed ; if we meet with no contrary voice, or none worthy of being regarded, or 
with some who argue for it, w T hile others criticise or comment upon it, this will 
afford the clearest and strongest testimony that can be either desired or obtained. 

(10.) We must compare the evidence aidsing from an examination of 
(he writings of the fathers, with that ichich appears to be the reading of 
the Greek manuscripts in general, and see how well they agree together. 
Where the MSS. in general and the fathers do agree, it must be some¬ 
thing very extraordinary that will make it reasonable to believe that they 
are altogether in a mistake : Nay , that evidence from the fathers must 
he very strong, which will make it reasonable to think the Greek MSS., 
agreeing in general among themselves , are mistaken. 

A casual citation of a text will not be sufficient to prove them so mistaken, nor 
n bare comment upon a version, where it varies from the original: much less will 
this do, where opposite testimonies can be produced from Greek writers; and es¬ 
pecially where those opposite testimonies are so full upon the point, as supposes 
and implies that they found the reading which, they mention in the Greek copies 


In the Old and New Testaments. 


331 


ch. vny 

which were in use in their days. If any instance can be found in which it can be 
Nearly proved from the writings of the fathers, that the general and allowed read¬ 
ing of the Greek copies, in the early ages of the church was different from the 
general reading of the Greek MSS. in our days, we should without hesitation 
give up such general reading of our present MSS. But it is very questionable 
whether one single instance of this sort can any where be found : and those per¬ 
sons who raise general clamours about the corruption of the manuscripts of the sa¬ 
cred writings, unsupported by any solid proofs, are no more to be heard, but still 
more to be condemned, than those who speak in this manner of the writings of the 
fathers. But in a matter of doubt and uncertainty, where the MSS. of the sacred 
writings in the original language are divided, the united testimony of the fathers 
will turn the scale in favour of the side for which they appear, and will more pow¬ 
erfully establish and confirm the general reading of the Scripture MSS. where 
they are agreed. 1 

(11.) The Fathers having in general quoted the Scriptures very exact¬ 
ly , as they had it in their copies , whenever a reading followed by them 
agrees with any antient manuscript , it is in all probability the genuine 
reading. 

Thus, in most copies of Matt. vi. 1. we read Take heed that ye do not your 
alms ( t\tri^ioawt]v ); but in the Codices Vaticanus and Cantabrigiensis, and three 
or four other MSS. of less antiquity, as also in the old Italic and Vulgate versions 
and most of the Fathers, we read, Sikcuoovvtiv, righteousness , that is, acts of right¬ 
eousness. This reading is most agreeable to the mode of speech which obtained 
among the Jews 2 and consequently is the genuine one. Griesbach has therefore 
inserted it in the text. 

Again, in Luke x. i. we read that the Lord appointed other seventy disciples. 
The Codicue Vaticanus, Cantabrigiensis, and Medicaeus (No. 42 of Griesbach’s no¬ 
tation), together with the Persian, Armenian, Vulgate, and four copies of the Old 
Italic versions, read t^bon^Kovrn Svo, seventy-two ; and in this reading they are sup¬ 
ported by eleven Fathers principally of the Latin or Western Church. On the 
contrary, all the other MSS. have simply eflSonriKovTa, seventy , in which reading 
they are supported by the learned Greek Fathers, Eusebius, Gregory bishop of 
Nyssa, Cyril, Euthymius, Theophylact, and Theophanes, and by Irenaeus, Tertul- 
lian, Ambrose, Jerome Damasus, and others among the Latin writers. The com¬ 
mon reading therefore is established as the genuine one by the concurrence of the 
Fathers with MSS. 

Once more, in John i. 28. we read that These things were done in Bethabara. 
This lection is found in thirty-one manuscripts, in the printed editions, in the Ar¬ 
menian version, and a late exemplar of the Sclavonic version, and is preferred by 
Origen, and after him by Eusebius, Suidas, Jerome, and others. But it is certain 
that, instead of B>?^a/3apa, we ought to read Bethany, which word is found in 

the Codices Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephremi, Basileensis, Harleianus No. 5684, 
Seidelii, Stephani t), Stephani r, Regius No. 2243 2 (now 48) and Vaticanus 354, 
in B. and V. of Matthaei’s notation, in upwards of one hundred other MSS. of less 
antiquity, and in the Syriac, Armenian, Persic, Coptic, and Vulgate versions, and 
in three MSS. of the Sclavonic version (one of the twelfth, the other two of the 
fourteenth century). The reading of BrjSavta, Be-thany, is also confirmed by the 
most eminent of the primitive Fathers prior to the time of Origen (who is sup¬ 
posed to have first changed the reading) ; and is unquestionably the genuine one. 
Griesbach has therefore inserted it in the text. 

(12.) The total silence of the Fathers concerning a reading , ichich 
would have confirmed their opinion in a controverted point, justly ren¬ 
ders tlicd reading suspicious , unless such total silence can be satisfacto¬ 
rily accounted for. 

This negative argument against a reading will be of little weight where it re¬ 
spects the writings of one single author only : and where it is founded only upon 
some particular part of his works, and such author has himself taken notice of 
the text in other places, it will be of no weight at all. Nay, if but one or two 


1 Berriman’s Dissertation, p. 38. 

2 That the Jews in the time of Christ understood the word npi3f rs/DCKan, 
SiKaioffwrj, righteousness, in the sense of alms, is abundantly proved by Mr. John 
Gregory, Works, pp. 59, 60. (London, 1684, 4to.) and especially by Dr. Lightfoot* 
Works, vol. ii. pp. 153, 154. folio. 



332 


On the Various Readings [Part I. 

only have made mention of a text, this will be a better proof that it was read in 
their days, than any omission of their contemporaries, or of those that lived after 
them, will be a proof that it was not. But let us take this argument in the strong¬ 
est light, and let the utmost possible be made of it; it can only furnish matter of 
doubt and inquiry ; it can at most amount to no more than probable and presump¬ 
tive evidence, and nothing can be positively and certainly concluded from it. 
One plain positive proof from the original MSS. or the antient versions, will be 
able to weigh it down, unless it can be shown that they have been altered and cor¬ 
rupted. 

6. Critical conjecture is not alone a legitimate source of emen¬ 
dation, nor is it at all to be applied, unless the text is manifestly 
corrupted, and in the most urgent necessity: for the conjectural 
criticism of an interested party, in his own cause, and in defiance 
of positive evidence, is little better than subornation of testimony in 
a court of law. 

(1.) Conjectural readings, strongly supported by the sense-, connection, 
the nature of the language , or similar texts, may sometimes be probable, 
especially ichen it can be shown that they would easily have given occa¬ 
sion to the present reading: and readings frst suggested by conjecture 
have sometimes been afterwards found to be actually in manuscripts , or 
in some version. 

Thus, in Gen. i. 8. the clause, And God saw that it teas good, is wanting to 
complete the account of the second day’s work of creation, but it is found in the 
tenth verse in the middle of the narrative of the third day’s work. Hence, many 
learned men have conjectured, either 1. That the sentence, And the evening and 
the morning were the second day , has been transposed from verse 10 to verse 8 ; 
or 2. That the clause, And God saw that it was good , has been transposed from 
verse 8 to verse 10. The latter conjecture affords the most probable reading, and 
is to be preferred, being confirmed by the Septuagint version ; the translators of 
which most evidently found this clause in the copies which they used. 

(2.) A conjectural reading , unsupported by any manuscripts , and 
unauthorised by similarity of letters , by the connection and context of 
the passage itself and by the analogy of faith , is manifestly to be re¬ 
jected. 

In the address of James to the Apostles convened at Jerusalem, he gives it as 
his opinion that they should write to the believing Gentiles, that they abstain from 
pollutions of idols , and fornication , and things strangled , and blood. (Acts xv. 
20.) As the question related to the ceremonial and not to the moral law, the ce¬ 
lebrated critic Dr. Bentley conjectured that for iropvuas fornication, we should read 
Xoipeias, swine's flesh: and in this conjecture he has been followed by Mr. Reeves 
in the Scholia to his beautiful and useful editions of the Bible. But this reading 
is supported by no manuscript whatever, nor by any similarity of the letters, nor 
by the context of the passage ; for in the encyclical letter of the Apostles (ver. 
25.) we read fornication. If x<npaas had been the correct lection in the first in¬ 
stance, it would have been unquestionably retained in the second. And when it 
is recollected that the word iropvua, which in our version is rendered fornication , 
means not only the crime against chastity usually so called, but also adultery and 
prostitution of every kind (for which very many of the feasts of the idolatrous 
Gentiles were notorious), the force of the apostolic prohibition will be evident; 
and the genuineness of the commonly received reading will be established in op¬ 
position to Bentley’s arbitrary conjecture. 

No one should attempt this kind of emendation who is not most 
deeply skilled in the sacred languages ; nor should critical conjec¬ 
tures ever be admitted into the text, for we never can be certain of 
the truth of merely conjectural readings. Were these indeed to be 
admitted into the text, the utmost confusion and uncertainty would 
necessarily be created. The diligence and modesty of the Maso- 
rites are in this respect worthy of our imitation : they invariably in¬ 
serted their conjectures in the margin of their manuscripts, but 


In the Old and New Testaments. 


333 


Ch. VIII.] 

most religiously abstained from altering the text according to their 
hypotheses : and it is to be regretted that their example has not been 
followed by some modern translators of the Old and New Testament 
(and especially ol the latter); who, in order to support doctrines 
which have no foundation whatever in the sacred writings, have not 
hesitated to obtrude their conjectures into the text. This is particu¬ 
larly the case with the Greek and English New Testament, edited 
by Dr. Macey, 1 whose bold and unhallowed emendations were ex¬ 
posed by Dr. Twells, and also with the editors of the (Socinian) im¬ 
proved version of the New Testament, whose conjectures and erro¬ 
neous criticisms and interpretations have been most ably exposed by 
the Rev. Drs. Nares and Lawrence, the Quarterly and Eclectic Re¬ 
viewers, and other eminent critics. 

IV. Having thus stated the causes of various readings, and offered 
a few cautions with regard to the sources whence the true lection is 
to be determined, it only remains that we submit to the reader’s at¬ 
tention a few r general rules, by which an accurate judgment may be 
formed concerning various readings. 

1. That reading ichich is supported by the authority of the most an¬ 
tient manuscripts, and by all the antient versions, is to be accounted 
genuine. The earlier manuscript , caeteris paribus, is more likely to 
be right than the later , because every subsequent copy is liable to new 
errors. 

2. Readings arc certainly right, and that in the very highest sense , 
at all consistent with the existence of any various reading, which are 
supported by several of the most antient manuscripts, or by the majority 
of them, — by all or most of the antient versions, — by quotations, — 
by parallel places (if there be any), — and by the sense ; even though 
such readings should not be found in the common printed editions, nor 
perhaps in any printed edition . 2 

Thus, in the common printed editions of 1 Kings i. 20. we read, And thou , my 
Lord , 0 King , the eyes of all Israel are upon thee , which is not sense. Instead 
of nnw And thou, we have nnjno And now, in ninety-one of the manuscripts 
collated by Dr. Kennicott, in the Chaldee paraphrase, and in the Arabic and Vul¬ 
gate versions. This is the genuine reading, and is required by the sense. 

Again, in Matt. xxv. 29. we read, From him that hath not shall he taken away 
even that, which he hath, kcu ‘0 EXEI a^onai. This is found in all the antient 
copies, and in the majority of manuscripts, and in all the versions but one. But 
in twenty-two other manuscripts and in the Vulgate, as well as in some copies of 
the Syriac, Sclavonic, and Old Italic versions, and six Fathers, we read ‘O AOKEI 
EXEIN, that which he seemeth to have. But it is wrong, and has been cor¬ 
rected from Luke viii. 18. 

3. Greater is the authority of a reading found in only a few manu¬ 
scripts of different characters, dates, and countries, than in many manu¬ 
scripts of a similar complexion. Rut, of manuscripts of the same fami¬ 
ly or recension, the reading of the great number is of most weight. The 
evidence of manuscripts is to be weighed, not enumerated: for the agree¬ 
ment of several manuscripts is of no authority, unless their genealogy 
{if we may be allowed the term ) is known; because it is possible that a 
hundred manuscripts that now agree together may have descended from 
one and the same source. 

4. Readings are certainly right, which arc supported by a few antient 

1 See a notice of this edition in page 132. supra. 

2 Gerard’s Institutes, pp. 266—268. 



334 


On the Various Readings [Parti. 

manuscripts, in conjunction with the antient versions, quotations, parallel 
places (if any), and the sense ; though they should not be found in most 
manuscripts or printed editions, especially when the rejection of them in 
the latter can be easily accounted for. 

The common reading of Psalm xxviii. 8. is, The Lord is their strength 
(lamcv) ; but there is no antecedent. In six manuscripts and all the versions, 
however, we read, iDpS (lOMev) of his people, which completes the sense. This 
emendation is pronounced by Bp. Horsley, to be ‘ unquestionable he has there¬ 
fore incorporated it in the text of his New Version of the Psalms, and has trans¬ 
lated the sentence thus: 

Jehovah is the strength of his people. 

In most manuscripts and printed editions of Eph. v. 9. we read, The fruit of 
the Spirit (rev irvev/iaros ) is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth. But it 
is the fruit of the light (tov 0uros) in the Codices Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, and 
Claromontanus, Augiensis, San-germanensis, and Boernerianus, and six others of 
less note, as well as in the Syriac version, the Arabic version edited by Erpenius, 
the Coptic, Sahidic, Ethiopie, Armenian, Old Italic, and Vulgate versions; and it 
is so quoted by seven of the fathers. <J»wros, light, is therefore considered by most 
critics as the true reading, because the Spirit is not mentioned in any part of the 
context; and this reading is inserted in the text as genuine by Griesbach. The 
connection, indeed, shows that this last is the true reading, which was altered by 
some unknown copyist or critic, because it was uncommon, from Gal. v. 22. As 
light (Eph. v. 8.) not only means the divine influence upon the soul, but also the 
Gospel, the apostle Paul might with admirable propriety say that the fruit of the 
light (that ie, of the Gospel) is in all goodness , and righteousness, and truth : — 
goodness, aya&wovvij, in the principle and disposition ; righteousness, Sikoioovvij , 
the exercise of that goodness in the whole conduct of life ; —and truth, a\r)$eia, 
the director of that principle and of its exercifle to the glory of God and the good 
<o£ mankind. 

5. Of two readings , both of which are supported by manuscripts, the 
hist is to be preferred; but if both of them exhibit good senses , then that 
reading which gives the best sense is to be adopted . 

In Psalm ii. 6. there are two readings, one of which is found in the Masoretic 
copies, and the other in the Septuagint version. The former may be literally 
translated thus: Yet will I anoint my King upon my holy hill of Sion. This 
reading is supported by weighty evidence, viz. the Masora, the quotation of it in 
Aets iv. 27., the Greek versions of Aquila and Symmachus, the Chaldee para¬ 
phrase, and Jerome. The other reading, which is found in the Septuagint, may 
be thus rendered: But as for me, by him I am appointed king on Sion, his only 
mountain. Now here the authority for the two readings is nearly equal: but if 
we examine their goodness, we shall see that the Masoretic lection is to be pre¬ 
ferred, as being more grammatically correct, and more suited to the context. 

6. A good various reading, though supported only by one or two wit-- 
nesses of approved character, is to be preferred. 

7. In the prophetical and poetical books of the Old Testament, as 
well as in the New Testament, that reading is best which accords with 
the poetical parallelism. 

The subject of poetical parallelism is fully considered in Chapter X. §§ II. III. 
infra. The application of this canon to the various readings of the Old Testar 
ment has long been recognised ; but as its applicability to the New Testament i* 
not so obvious, we shall illustrate it by an example drawn from the latter. 

Thus, in Matt. vii. 2. we read, 

Ev A yap Kpivcre, Kpi$t]<Tcc$e. 

Kai cv w ncrpetre, avrtyerpjjS^aerat vpiv. 

For, with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged ; 

And, with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 

For avTifUTpri§r)(TtTai, shall be measured again, (which is the reading of the com 
mon printed editions, of the manuscript by Matthsei noted with the letter H, of 
the manuscript 13 of Griesbach’s notation, of the Vulgate version, of some manu¬ 
scripts of the Old Italic version, of Polycarp, of Clement of Alexandria, of Origen 
sometimes, and of the Latin Fathers,) we read /x£rp»?$j?<rcra(, shall be measured, in 
the Codices Vaticanus, Harleianus No. 5684, Cyprius, Stephani v, Regius 2243,2 


335 


Ch. Vni.] In the Old and New Testaments. 

(now 48), and Vaticanus 354, all of which are manuscripts in uncial characters 
of great antiquity, in twelve manuscripts in smaller characters, by Griesbach, 
numbered 1,17, 33, 77, 108, 114,117, 131, 218, 236 of Professor Birch’s Collation, 
the Evangelisteria, numbered 32 and 36, and seventy other manuscripts of inferior 
note, and by the manuscripts distinguished by Matthau with the Letters B and V 
(both of the eighth century), a. c. and d. (all of the tenth or eleventh century,) 
and by eight others of Matthcei’s manuscripts of less note, by the Armenian and 
Ethiopic versions, by the copies of the Old Italic version preserved at Verona, 
Vercelli, Forli, and Toledo, by Clement of Rome, by Origen once, by the author 
of the dialogue against Marcion, by Theodoret, Theophylact, Euthymius, Chriso- 
cephalus, and other Greek writers. The reading of perptiSwcTai, therefore, being 
supported by such an overwhelming body of evidence, is very properly introduced 
into the text by Griesbach as preferable to the common reading of avTiptrprjSriocTai} 
and it is further demanded by the parallelism. For Kpipan (judgment), Kpivere (ye 
judge), and Kpt$r)<rco$e (ye shall be judged), in the first line, require, in order to 
preserve the balance of the period, perpa (measure), ptrptnt (ye measure), and 
fitTpr\^<Ttr«u (ye shall be measured) in the second line. 1 

8. Of two readings of equal or nearly equal authority , that is to be 
preferred , which is most agreeable to the style of the sacred writer. 

If therefore one of two readings in the New Testament exhibits the Hebrew 
idiom, it is preferable to one that is good Greek, because the latter has the appear 
ance of being a gloss of some Greek writer, which the former does not present. 
Thus in Jude 1, tj yiaoptvois, sanctified, is a better lection than vyairrtptvon, beloved ; 
because the former is more in unison with the usage of the apostles in their salu¬ 
tations, and in the commencement of their Epistles. In Acts xvii. 26. the read¬ 
ing, e£ tvo ? atparoi, of one blood, is preferable to c| tvos, of one (which occurs in 
Rom. ix. 10.), because it is in unison with the Hebrew style of writing. In John 
vi. 69. the common reading, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,Xpi$vs 
b vios tov 0£ou £a)vrof, is preferable to that of the holy one of God, b ayios to w 
0£ot>, which Griesbach has admitted into the text, omitting tov {uvtos, on the au¬ 
thority of the Codices Vaticanus, Ephremi, Cantabrigiensis, Stephani rj, the Cop¬ 
tic version, and some other authorities of less note. That eminent critic, indeed, 
allows that the received lection is not to be despised ; but we may observe that its 
genuineness is not only confirmed by the consentient testimonies of many MSS. 
versions, and fathers, but also from the fact and from the style of writing adopted 
by the Evangelists. For the appellation of holy one of God is no where applied 
to our Saviour, except in the confession of the demoniac. (Mark i. 24. Luke iv. 
34.) In Acts iv. 27, 30. Jesus is termed ayios holy child ; but not holy on * 
of God. On the contrary, the appellation of Christ, the Son of God, occurs re¬ 
peatedly in the New Testament, and especially in this Gospel of John (i. 50.; 49 
of English version, and xi. 27.), and is elsewhere expressly applied to him by 
Peter. See Matt. xvi. 16. The common reading therefore of John vi. 69. is to be 
preferred, in opposition to that adopted by Griesbach, as being most agreeable to 
the style of the sacred writer. 

9. That reading is to be preferred which is most agreeable to the 
context , and to the author's design in writing. 

Every w r riter, and much more a divinely inspired writer, is presumed to write 
in such*a manner, as not to contradict himself either knowingly or willingly, and 
to write throughout with a due regard to the order and connection of things. Now 
in Mark i. 2, for tv tois rpoiprjrais , m the prophets, several manuscripts read tv Uoam 
ra» npocpriTTi, in the prophet Isaiah. Both Mill and Griesbach reject the common 
reading. But as the context shows that the evangelist cited not one but two 
prophets, viz. Mai. iii. 1. and Isa. xl. 3., the common reading ought to be retained, 
especially as it is supported by the Codex Alexandrinus, the Ethiopic and Coptic 
versions, and the quotations of many fathers. 

10. A reading , whose source is clearly proved to be erroneous , must 
be rejected. 

11. Of two readings , neither of which is unsuitable to the sense , 
cither of which may have naturally arisen from the other , and both of 
which are supported by manuscripts , versions , and quotations in the 
writings of the fathers; the one will be more probable than the other , 

l Bp. Jebb’s Sacred Literature, p. 144. In pp. 206, 329—331. of the same work 
the reader will find other instructive examples of the canon above given. 




336 On the Various Readings [Part I. 

in proportion to the preponderance of the evidence that supports it: and 

that preponderance admits a great variety of degrees, 1 2 
In Acts xx. 28. we read, Feed the church of God , which he hath purchased with 
his oion blood. Of this sentence there are not fewer than six various readings, 
viz. 1. Tr/v iiacXriiriav tov Xpi^ov the church of Christ. / 2. Tov 0£ov, oj God , which 
lection is expunged by Griesbach, who prefers, 3. Tov Kvptov, of the Lord. This 
reading is also preferred by Wetstein ; 4. Tov Kvptov kcu Ocov, of the Lord and God, 
which Griesbach has inserted in his inner margin ; 5. Tov 0cov km Kvptov, oj the 
God and Lord ; and 6. Tov Kvptov Oeov, of the Lord God : in order to determine 
which of these readings is to be adopted, it is necessary briefly to review the 
various authorities which have been adduced for each. 

1 Tov Xptfov — Of Christ. This reading is supported by no Greek MSS .) but 
it is found in the printed editions of the Peschito or old Syriac version, even in the 
Vatican copies of the Nestorians. This reading is also found in the Arabic version 
edited by Erpenius (which was made from the Syriac,) and it seems to be supported 
by Origen (probably, for the passage is ambiguous), by Athanasius, the anony¬ 
mous author of the first dialogue against the Macedonians, Theodoret, the inter- 

S olated Epistle of Ignatius, Basil, and Fulgentius. The popish synod of the 
Ialabar Christians, held in 1599, under the direction of Mendoza, the Portuguese 
archbishop of Goa, states that the Nestorians inserted this reading at the instiga¬ 
tion of the devil, instigante diabolo ! 

2. Tov 0eov — Of God. This is the common reading. It is supported by that 
most antient and venerable MS., B, or the Codex Vaticanus,2 and by seventeen 
others, none of which indeed are older than the eleventh century, and many of 
them are more modern. It is also supported by two MSS. of the Peschito or Old 
Syriac version, collated by Professor Lee for his edition of the Syriac New Tes¬ 
tament ; and which, he states, are much more antient than those upon which the 
printed text was formed. This reading is also found in a very antient Syriac MS. 
in the Vatican Library, in the Latin Vulgate, the Ethiopic, according to Dr. Mill, 
though Griesbach thinks it doubtful; and it is quoted or referred to by Ignatius, 
Tertullian. Athanasius, Basil, Epiphanius, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Celestine bishop 
of Rome, Oecumenius, Theophylact, and eleven other fathers of the Greek and 
Latin church, besides the sixth Synod in Trullo (held a. d. G80,) and the second 
Nicene Synod (held a. d. 787.) 

3. Tov kvpiov — Of the Lord. This reading is supported by thirteen manuscripts, 
viz. the Codices Alexandrinus, Cantabrigiensis, Ephremi, and Laudianus, (all of 
which are written in uncial letters, of great and indisputed antiquity, and derived 
from different and independent sources), the Moscow MS. which formerly belonged 
to Chrysostom, according to Matthaei (on Eph. iv. 9.), who has noted it with the 
letter B. and eight others of less note. This reading is also found in the Coptic, 
Sahidic, in the margin of the Philoxenian or later Syriac, in the Old Italic as 
contained in the Codex Cantabrigiensis, and as edited by Sabatier, and in the Ar¬ 
menian versions. The Ethiopic version has likewise been cited, as exhibiting the 
reading of Kvptov, Lord, but its evidence is indecisive, the same word being used 
therein for both Lord and God. Griesbach thinks it probable that this version 
reads Kvptov, from the consentient testimony of the Coptic and Armenian versions. 
Among the fathers, this reading is supported by Irenaeus, Eusebius Athanasius, 
Chrysostom, Ammonius, Maximus, Antonius, Ibas, Lucifer, Jerome, Augustine, 
Sedulius, Alcimus, the author of the pretended Apostolical Constitutions, and the 
second Council of Carthage (which, however, in the Greek, reads 0eov, of God). 

4. Tov Kvptov km Qtov — Of the Lord and God. This reading is supported only 

1 Gerard’s Institutes, p. 275. 

2 From Professor Birch (of Copenhagen) finding nothing noted in his collation 
of the Vatican MS. respecting the reading of 0£ov, (though he expressly says, that 
if any variety of reading had taken place in that MS. it could not have escaped 
him, as he intended to examine this remarkable place above all others in all the 
MSS. that came in his way,) Griesbach endeavours to set aside the testimony fur¬ 
nished by the Vatican MS. But it is a fact that 0£ov is the reading of that manu¬ 
script : for (1.) it WAS there in 1738, when it was collated by the very learned 
Thomas Wagstaffe, then at Rome, for Dr. Berriman, who was at that time en¬ 
gaged in preparing for publication his work on the genuineness of 1 Tim. iii. 16. ; 
and (2.) Qcov IS the reading of the Vatican MS., for a transcript of it was obtained 
by Mr. R. Taylor from the keeper of the Vatican library for the second London 
edition of Griesbach’s Greek Testament, printed by him in 1818, with equal beau¬ 
ty and accuracy. 




In the Old and A r ew Testaments. 


337 


Ch. vm.] 

by the Codex G. (Passionei, assigned by Blanchini to the eighth, but by Mont- 
faucon to the ninth century), and sixty-three other MSS.; none of which' though 
they form the majority in point of number, are among the most correct and 
authoritative. It is also found in the Sclavonic version, but is not cited by one of 
the fathers; and is printed in the Complutensian and Plantin editions. 

5. Tov 0£ou km Kvpiov — Of the God and Lord. This reading occurs only in the 
MS. by Griesbach numbered 47: it is an apograph transcribed in the sixteenth 
century by John Faber of Deventer from one written in 1293. 

6. 1 9v K vpiov Qeov — Of the Lord God. This reading is found only in one MS. 
(9o ol Griesbach’s notation) oi the fifteenth century, and the incorrect Arabic 
version printed in the Paris and London Polyglotts ; and it is cited by Theophy- 
lact alone, among the fathers. 

Of these six readings, No. 2. Tov 0£ov, Of God, No. 3. T ov K vpiov, Of the Lord, 
and No. 4. Tov K vpiov km Qeov, Of the Lord and God, are best supported by external 
testimony, and it is the preponderance of the evidence adduced for each, that must 
determine which of them is the genuine reading. 

1. The testimony of manuscripts is pretty equally divided between these three 
readings. 

^ Though Kvpiov is supported by the greater number of uncial MSS. (viz. the 
Codices Alexandrinus, Cantabrigiensis, Ephremi, and Laudianus), yet Qeov is sup¬ 
ported by the Codex Vaticanus, which is of the highest authority ; and Kvpiov km 
Qeov, though deficient in this respect (for G. or the Codex Passionei, as we have 
noticed, is not earlier than the eighth or ninth century), yet it is most numerously 
supported by manuscripts of different families, and especially by the Moscow 
manuscripts, and by the Complutensian edition. 

2. The antient versions, supporting Qeov and K vpiov, are equal to each other in 
number indeed, but those which support the former are superior in weight. For 
the Latin Vulgate, the Peschito or Old Syriac, and the Ethiopic,in favor of Qeov, 
are of higher authority than their competitors, the Coptic, Sahidic, and Armenian. 
The compound reading Kvpiov km Qeov is unsupported by any but the Sclavonic ; 
which is closely connected with the Moscow manuscripts. 

3. The testimony of the fathers is greatly in favour of Qeov. For though a con¬ 
siderable number of counter-testimonies in favour of Kvpioo is named by Wetstein, 
and copied by Griesbach ; yet no citations from thence are adduced by either, 
which leads us to suspect, that their testimony is either spurious, slight, or else 
refuted by the express citations on the other side. Thus, the objection of Athana¬ 
sius to the phrase, “ the blood of God,” as “ being no where used in Scripture, 
and to be reckoned among the daring fabrications of the Arians,” recorded by Wet¬ 
stein,! is abundantly refuted by his own counter-testimony, citing the received 
reading of Acts xx. 28. and by the frequent use of the phrase by the orthodox 
fathers, Ignatius, Tertullian, Leontius, Fulgentius, Bede, Theophylact, and others 
above enumerated. The objection, therefore, was urged inconsiderately, and 
probably in the warmth of controversy ; in which Athanasius was perpetually en¬ 
gaged with the Arians, his incessant persecutors. 

Kvpiov km Qeov, is unsupported by the fathers before Theophylact; and is contra¬ 
dicted by his testimony in favour of Qeov. 

From this abstract, it appears to the writer of these pages, that the external 
evidence preponderates, upon the whole, in favour of Qeov ; and this is further con¬ 
firmed by the internal, evidence. For, in the first place, the expression eKK^rjoia tov 
Qeov, church of God, is in unison with the style of St. Paul ;2 and it occurs in not 
fewer than eleven passages of his epistles, 1 2 3 while the phrase eKK^rjoin tov Kvpiov, 
church of the Lord, occurs no where in the New Testament. And, secondly, Qeov 
might easily give occasion to the other readings though none of these could so easily 
give occasion to Qeov. If (as Michaelis remarks) the evangelist Luke wrote Qeov, 
the origin of Kvpiov and Xpis-ov may be explained either aS corrections of the text, or 
as marginal notes ; because “ the blood of God” is a very extraordinary expression ; 
but if he had written K vpiov, it is inconceivable how any one should alter it into 


1 Nov. Test. vol. i. p. 597. 

2 See canon 8. p. 335. supra. 

3 Compare 1 Cor. i. 2. x. 32. xi. 15. 22. xv. 9. 2 Cor. i. 1. Gal. i. 13. 1 Thess. ii. 
14. 2 Thess. i. 4. and 1 Tim. iii. 5. 15. The phrase tKK\riaia tov Kvpiov, congrega¬ 
tion of the Lord, is of frequent occurrence in the Septuagint version, whence it 
might have crept into the text of the MSS. that support it, particularly of the Co¬ 
dex Alexandrinus, which was written in Egypt, where the Septuagint version wa* 
made. 

VOL. II. 


43 



338 


On the Various Readings [Part 1. 

eeov. And on this latter supposition, the great number of various readings is in¬ 
explicable. It seetns as if different transcribers had found a difficulty in the passage, 
and that each corrected according to his own judgment. 

Upon the whole, then, the received reading, tKKXnaia tov Oeov , church of God , is 
better supported than any of the other readings, and consequently we may con¬ 
clude that it was the identical expression uttered by Paul, and recorded by LukeJ 

(12.) Whenever two different readings occur, one of which seems dif¬ 
ficult ; , and obscure, but which may be explainedby the help of antiquity, 
and a more accurate knowledge of the language, whereas the other is so 
easy as to be obvious to the meanest capacity, the latter reading is to be 
suspected; because the former is more in unison ivith the style of the 
sacred ivriters, which, abounding with Hebraisms, is repugnant to the 
genius of the pure or strictly classical Greek language. 

No transcriber would designedly change a clear into an obscure reading, nor is 
it possible that an inadvertency should make so happy a mistake as to produce a 
reading that perplexes indeed the ignorant, but is understood and approved by the 
learned. This canon is the touchstone which distinguishes the true critics from 
the false. Bengel, Wetstein, and Griesbach, critics of the first rank, have admit¬ 
ted its authority ; but those of inferior order generally prefer the easy reading, for 
no other reason than because its meaning is most obvious. 

(13.) If for a passage, that is not absolutely necessary to the con¬ 
struction, various leadings arc found, that differ materially from each 
other, we have reason to suspect its authenticity; and likewise that all 
the readings are interpolations of transcribers who have attempted by 
different methods to supply the seeming deficiency of the original. 

This rule, however must not be carried to the extreme, nor is a single variation 
sufficient to justify our suspicion of a word or phrase, though its omission affects 
not the sense, or even though the construction would be improved by its absence : 
for, in a book that has been so frequently transcribed as the New Testament, mis¬ 
takes were unavoidable, and therefore a single deviation alone can lead us to no 
immediate conclusion. 

14. Readings, which are evidently glosses, or interpolations, are in¬ 
variably to be rejected. 

(1.) Glosses are betrayed, 1. When the words do not agree with the scope and 
context of the passage ; 2. When they are evidently foreign to the style of the 
sacred writer; 3. When there is evident tautology; 4. When words, which are 
best absent, are most unaccountably introduced ; 5. When certain words are more 
correctly disposed in a different place ; and lastly, when phrases are joined to¬ 
gether, the latter of which is much clearer than the former. 

(2.) u An interpolation is sometimes betrayed by the circumstance of its being 
delivered in the language of a later church. In the time of the apostles the word 
Christ was never used as the proper name of a person, but as an epithet expressive 
of the ministry of Jesus, and was frequently applied as synonymous to ‘ Son ot 
God.’ The expression therefore 1 Christ is the Son of God,’ Acts viii. 37. is a 
kind of tautology, and is almost as absurd as to say Christ is the Messiah, that is, 
the anointed is the anointed. But the word being used in later ages as a proper 
name, this impropriety was not perceived by the person who obtruded the passage 
on the text.” 

(3.) “ If one or more words that may be considered as an addition to a passage, 
are found only in manuscripts, but in none of the most antient versions, nor in the 
quotations of the early fathers, we have reason to suspect an interpolation.” In 

Acts viii. 39. the Alexandrian manuscript reads thus : IINA [AriONEIIEEENEni- 

TONETNOYXONANrEAOEAE] ItYHPnASENTONMAIimON — The Spi [ holy fell 
upon the eunuch, hit the Angel] of the Lord caught away Philip. The words be¬ 
tween brackets, Michaelis thinks, are spurious ; and Griesbach decidedly pro¬ 
nounces them to be an emendation of the copyist. They are found in six manu- 

1 Nov. Test, a Griesbach, tom. ii. pp. 112—117. and Appendix, p. (34.) 2d edit. 
(Halos Saxonum, 1806.) Dr. Hales, on Faith in the Trinity, vol. ii. pp. 105—131 
Michaelis’s Introduction to the New Testament, vol. i. p. 335. Nolan’s Inquiry 
into t he Integrity of the Greek Vulgate, pp. 286—289. 516—518. Mr. N. has given 
at length the quotations from the writings of the fathers in which Qeov is found. 



In the Old and JYew Testaments. 


339 


Ch. VIII.] 


scripts cited by him, but these are not antient; and they are also in the Armenian 
version executed in the end of the fourth, or early in the fifth century, and in the 
Sclavonic version executed in the ninth century. We are justified therefore in 
stating that they are not to be received into the sacred text. 

15. Expressions that are less emphatic, unless the scope and context 
of the sacred writer require emphasis, are more likely to be the genuine 
reading, than readings differing from them, but which have, or seem to 
have, greater force or emphasis. For copyists, like commentators, who 
have but a smattering of learning, are mightily pleased with emphases. 

16. That reading is to be preferred, which gives a sense apparently 
false, but ivhich, on thorough investigation, proves to be the true one. 

17. Various readings, ivhich have most clearly been occasioned by the 
errors or negligence of transcribers, are to be rejected. How such read¬ 
ings may be caused, has already been shown in pp. 313—319., supra. 

18. Lectionarics, or Lesson Books, used in the early Christian church, 
are not admissible as evidence for various readings. 

Whenever, therefore, Itjaovs, Jesus, a5e\<poc, brethren, or similar words (which 
were antiently prefixed to the lessons accordingly as the latter were taken from 
the Gospels or Epistles, and which are found only in lectionaries), are found at 
the beginning of a lesson, they are to be considered as suspicious ; and fifty manu¬ 
scripts that contain them have no weight against the same number which omit 
them. 

19. Readings introduced into the Greek text from Latin versions are 
to be rejected. 

20. A reading that is contradictory to history and geography is to be 
rejected, especially when it is not confirmed by manuscripts. 

In Acts xii. 25. we read that Barnabas and Saul returned from (s£) Jerusalem, 
where seven manuscripts, two manuscripts (5 and 7) of the Sclavonic version, and 
the Arabic version in bishop Walton’s Polyglott, have as, to Jerusalem. This 
last reading has been added by some ignorant copyist, for Barnabas and Saul were 
returning from Jerusalem to Antioch with the money which they had collected 
for the poor brethren. 

21. That reading which makes a passage more connected is prefera¬ 
ble, all due allowance being made for abruptness in the particular case. 
Saint Paul is remarkable for the abruptness of many of his digressions. 

22. Readings, certainly genuine, ought to be restored to the text of 
the printed editions, though hitherto admitted into none of them; that 
they may henceforth be rendered as correct as possible they ought like¬ 
wise to be adopted in all versions of Scripture: and till this be done, 
they ought to be followed in explaining it. 

23. Probable readings may have so high a degree of evidence, as 
justly entitles them to be inserted into the text, in place of the received 
readings which are much less probable. Such as have not considerably 
higher probability than the common readings, should only be put into 
the margin : but they, and all others, ought to be weighed with imparti¬ 
al i ty. 

24. Readings certainly, or very probably false, ought to be expunged 
from the editions of the Scriptures, and ought not to be followed in ver¬ 
sions of them, however long and generally they have usurped a place 
there, as being manifest corruptions, which impair the purity of the sa¬ 
cred books. 


The preceding are the most material canons for determining various 
readings, which are recommended by the united wisdom of the most 
eminent biblical critics. They have been drawn up chiefly from Dr. 



340 


On the Various Readings 


[Part 1 


Kennicott’s Dissertations on the Hebrew Text, the canons of De 
Rossi in his Prolegomena so often cited in the preceding pages, and 
from the canons of Bauer in his Critica Sacra, of Ernesti, of PlafF, 
Wetstein, Griesbach, and above all, of Michaelis, with Bishop Marsh’s 
annotations, often more valuable than the elaborate work of his author. 
As the subject of various readings is of great importance, and has 
been treated at considerable length by different learned men, we shall 
conclude this article with a list of the principal separate treatises in 
which it has been discussed. 

1. Adami Rechenbergii Dissertatio Critica de Variantibus Novi 
Testamenti Lectionibus Grsecis. Lipsise, 1690. 4to. 

2. Joannis Clerici Ars Critica. 8vo. London, 1698. 

The two first sections of the third part of this very valuable critical work treat 
on the origin and correction of false readings, both in profane and particularly in 
the sacred writers. 

3. Christoph. Matt. Pfaffii Dissertatio Critica de Genuinis Libro- 
rum Novi Testamenti Lectionibus. Amstelodami, 1709. 8vo. 

4. J. H. ab Elswich Dissertatio de Recentiorum in Novum Fcedus 
Critice. Vitebergse, 1711. 

5. J. W. Baieri Dissertatio de Variarum Lectionum Novi Testa¬ 
menti usu et abusu. Altdorf, 1712. 

6. J. L. Frey Commentarius de Variis Lectionibus Novi Testa¬ 
menti. Basil, 1713. 

7. Chr. Luderi Dissertatio de Causis Variantium Lectionum 
Scripturse. Lipsise, 1730. 

8. J. A. Osiandri Oratio de Originibus Variantium Lectionum 
Novi Testamenti. Tubingen, 1739. 4to. 

9. J. A. Osiandri Disputatio de Prsecipuis Lectionibus Variis Novi 
Testamenti. Tubingen, 1747. 4to. 

10. J. C. Klemm Principia Criticse Sacrse Novi Testamenti. Tu¬ 
bingen, 1746. 4to. 

11. Jo. Geo. Richter Exercitatio de Arte Critica Scripturse In- 
terprete. Lugd. 1750. 4to. 

12. C. B. Michaelis Tractatio Critica de Variis Lectionibus Novi 
Testamenti caute colligendis et dijudicandis, in qua cum de illarum 
causis turn de cautelis agitur, simulque de codicibus, versionibus an- 
tiquis, et Patribus, partim curiosa, partim utilia, asseruntur. Halse, 
1749. 4to. 

This treatise was the foundation on which J. D. Michaelis built his “ admirable 
chapter” on the various readings of the New Testament, as Bishop Marsh most 
truly terms it. This chapter forms by far the largest portion of the first volume 
of his introduction to the New Testament. The Latin treatise of his father is of 
extreme rarity. 

13. Jo. Jac. Wetstenii Libelli ad Crisin atque Interpretationem 
Novi Testamenti. Adjecta est Recensio Introductionis Bengelii ad 
Crisin Novi Testamenti, atque Glocestrii Ridley Dissertatio de Sy- 
riacarum Novi Foederis Indole atque Usu. Illustravit Joh. Salomo 
Semler. Halse Magdeburgicse, 1766. 8vo. 

The first 109 pages of this volume contain Wetstein’s Animadvcrsiones et Cau- 
tioncs ad Examen Variarum Lectionum Novi Testamenti Necessarice, which were 
first printed in the second volume of his edition of the Greek Testament, pp. 859 
—874. They have been consulted for the preceding observations on various read¬ 
ings. Wetstein’s rules for judging of various readings are given with groat 
clearness and precision; and the whole volume “ is a publication which should be 
in the hands of every critic.” (Bishop Marsh.) 


Ch. IX.] 


( 341 ) 


CHAPTER IX. 

/ 

ON THE QUOTATIONS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT IN THE NEW_ 

QUOTATIONS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT FROM THE APOCRYPHAL 
WRITERS, AND FROM PROFANE AUTHORS. 

It is obvious, even on the most cursory perusal of the Holy Scrip¬ 
tures, that some passages are cited in other subsequent passages; 
and, in particular, that numerous quotations from the Old Testament 
are made in the New. In these references, there is frequently an 
apparent contradiction or difference between the original and the quo¬ 
tation ; of which, as in the contradictions alleged to exist in the Scrip¬ 
tures, (which have been considered and solved in the preceding 
volume,) 1 infidelity and scepticism have sedulously availed themselves. 
These seeming discrepancies, however, when brought to the touch¬ 
stone of criticism, instantly disappear: and thus the entire harmony 
of the Bible becomes fully evident. The appearance of contradic¬ 
tion, in the quotations from the Old Testament that are found in the 
New, is to be considered in tw T o points of view, namely, 1. As to the 
external form , or the words in which the quotation is made ; and, 2. 
As to the internal form , or the manner or purpose to which it is ap¬ 
plied by the sacred writers. 

A considerable difference of opinion exists among some learned 
men, whether the Evangelists and other writers of the New Testa¬ 
ment quoted the Old Testament from the Hebrew, or from the vene¬ 
rable Greek version, usually called the Septuagint. Others, however, 
are of opinion, that they did not confine themselves exclusively to 
either ; and this appears most probable. The only way by which to 
determine this important question, is to compare and arrange the texts 
actually quoted. Drusius, Junius, Glassius, Cappel, Hoffmann, 2 
Eichhorn, Michaelis, and many other eminent Biblical critics on the 
Continent, have ably illustrated this topic; in our own country indeed, 
it has been but little discussed. The only writers on this subject, 
known to the author, are the Rev. Dr. Randolph, 3 formerly Regius 

1 See Vol. I. Appendix, No. III. pp. 530—597. 

2 “ Immanuelis Hoffmanni, Ling. Grtec. in Acad. Tub. Prof. P. O. et Ill. Sem. 
Theol. Ephori, Demonstratio Evangelica per ipsum Scripturarum consensum, in 
oraculis ex Vet. Testamento in Novo Allegatis Declarata. Edidit, observationibus 
illustravit, Vitam Auctoris, et Commentationem Historico-Theologicam de recta 
ratione allegata ista interpretandi, pnemisit Tob. Godofredus Hegelmaier, Collegii 
Bebenhusani Professor, et Verbi Divini Minister Tubing©.” 1773-79-81, in three 
volumes 4to. In this very elaborate work, every quotation from the Old Testa¬ 
ment in the New, is printed at full length, first as cited by the Evangelists and 
Apostles, then in the original Hebrew, and thirdly in the words of the Septuagint 
Greek Version. The learned author then examines it both critically and herme¬ 
neutically, and shows the perfect harmony subsisting between the Old and New 
Testaments. Hoffmann’s Demonstratio Evangelica is extremely scarce, and very 
little known in this country. 

3 “ The Prophecies and other texts cited in the New Testament, compared with 
the Hebrew original, and with the Septuagint version. To which are added notes 




342 


Quotations from the Old Testament. [Part I. Ch. 

Professor of Divinity in the University of Oxford, the Rev. Dr. Henry 
Owen, * 1 and the Rev. Thomas Scott : 2 but they have treated it with 
so much ability and accuracy, that he has to acknowledge himself 
indebted to their labours for great part of his materials for the present 
chapter ; 3 having only classified what they have noticed in the order 
of the sacred books; an arduous undertaking, from which, however, 
die author has himself derived equal pleasure and benefit. And, in 
the hope that it may contribute to elucidate some very difficult pas¬ 
sages, he offers the result of his labours in the following tables. 

As it respects, then, the external form of the quotations, or the 
words in which the citations are actually made in the New Testa¬ 
ment, the passages adduced from the Old Testament may be arranged 
under the two following classes, viz. 1. Quotations made from the 
Hebrew Scriptures; and, 2. Quotations made from the Septuagint 
version of them. 

by Thomas Randolph, D. D. Oxford, 1782.” 4to. This valuable and beautifully 
printed tract, is now rarely to be met with, and only to be procured at six times its 
original price. The most material of this excellent critic’s observations are insert¬ 
ed in the notes to this chapter. 

1 “ The Modes of Quotation, used by the Evangelical Writers explained and 
vindicated. By the Rev. Dr. Henry Owen, London, 1789.” 4to. The design of 
this elaborate work is, 1. To compare the quotations of the evangelists with each 
other, and with the passages referred to in the Old Testament, in order to ascer¬ 
tain the real differences : — 2. To account for such differences ; and to reconcile 
the Evangelists with the Prophets, and with each other : — and, 3. To show the 
just application of such quotations, and that they fully prove the points which they 
were brought to establish. 

2 In a collation of the quotations from the Old Testament in the New, with the 
Septuagint. This valuable comparison is inserted in the 9th and 10th volumes of 
the Christian Observer for the years 1810 and 1811: and is simply designated by 
the initials of the late venerable and learned author’s name. 

3 Besides the works mentioned in the preceding notes, the author has constantly 
availed himself of the researches of Drusius (Parallela Sacra), in the 8th volume 
of the Critici Sacri; — of Cappel’s Critica Sacra, lib. ii. (in vol. i. pp. 136—172. 
of Prof., Vogel’s edition); — of Glassius’s Philologia Sacra, part ii. pp. 1387, et 
seq. (ed. Dathii) ; and of Michaelis’s Introduction to the New Testament, translat¬ 
ed by Bishop Marsh (vol. i. pp. 200—246, 470—493.) Dr. Gerard’s Institutes of 
Biblical Criticism have also been occasionally referred to, as well as Schlegelius’s 
Dissertatio De Agro sanguinis et Prophetia circa eum allegatd, in the Thesaurus 
Dissertationum Exegeticarum ad Nov. Test. tom. ii. pp. 309—340. 



IX. Sect. I.] Quotations exactly agreeing with the Hebrew. 343 


SECTION I. 

ON THE EXTERNAL FORM OF THE QUOTATIONS FROM THE OLD 

TESTAMENT IN THE NEW. 

* 

Quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures in the New Testament. 

I. Quotations exactly agreeing with the Hebrew. —II. Quotations 
nearly agreeing with the Hebrew. — III. Quotations agreeing with 
the Hebrew in sense , but not in words. — IV. Quotations that give 
the general sense , but abridge or add to it. —V. Quotations taken 
from several passages of Scripture. — VI. Quotations differing from 
the Hebrew , but agreeing with the Septuagint. —VII. Quotations 
in which there is reason to suspect a different reading in the He¬ 
brew. — VIII. Passages in which the Hebrew seems to be corrupted. 
— IX. Passages which are mere references or allusions. 

The quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures may be considered 
under the nine following classes, viz. 1. Quotations exactly agreeing 
with die Hebrew; — 2. Those which agree nearly with the Hebrew; 

— 3. Quotations, agreeing with the Hebrew in sense , but not in 
words; — 4. Such as give the general sense ; — 5. Quotations, 
which are taken from several passages of Scripture; — 6. Quota¬ 
tions differing from the Hebrew, but agreeing with the Septuagint; 

— 7. Quotations, in which there is reason to suspect a different 
reading in the Hebrew, or that the Apostles understood the words 
in a sense different from that expressed in our Lexicons; — 8. 
Passages, in which the Hebrew seems to be corrupted : — and 9. 
Passages, which are not properly citations, but mere references or 
allusions. 

I. Quotations exactly agreeing with the Hebrew. 1 
1. Hos. xi. 1. agrees with Matt. ii. 15. 

Eg Aiyvtfrov sxaXstfa rov uiov you. 
Out of Egypt have I called my son. 
Matt. iv. 4. Iiuke iv. 4. 

Oux ex’ aeru (xovw ^r\dsrai av^o>- 
* 0 $, a XX’ siri crav-n fayari sxtfo^eu- 
oysvu Sia droyarog ©sou. 

Man shall not live by bread alone, 
but by every word that proceedeth 
out of the mouth of God. 

man live. 


»n>np erttoDi 

I_called my son out of Egypt. 

2. Deut. viii. 3. 

nsS, onSn - by ib 

■byiy o cnNn rt’ir 
nvr»a jcdd 

Man doth not live by bread only, 
but by every word that proceedeth 
out of the mouth of the Lord doth 


1 In the first edition of this work, the author had simply given the references to 
these quotations. They are now inserted at length, in order to save the student’s 
time, and also to enable him more readily to compare the Hebrew and Greek to¬ 
gether ; and the English version of the passages is annexed for the convenience of 
the mere English reader. 



Thou shalt not tempt the Lord 
thy God. 

4. Isa. liii. 4. 

Kin vbri px 

C373D U»3X301 

Our infirmities he hath borne: 
And our sorrows, he hath carried 
them. (Bp. Lowlh.) 

5. Hos. vi. 6. 

W?i 'man non o 

rot 

I desired mercy and not sacrifice. 

6. Lev. xix. 18. 

-poo *pn*? ronxi 

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as 
thyself. 

7. Psal. cxviii. 22, 23. 

rwvn D^nrr pit , 
mm mto :iu& umt? 
nvbe& m nitr nrvn 

myz 

The stone which the builders re¬ 
fused, is become the head stone of 
the corner. This is the Lord’s do¬ 
ing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. 


8. Psal. cx. 1. 

( 

atr tik 1 ? run* ox:, 

1’3'X iTTO * IP, *J’Dv 

j?rr? cnn 

The Lord said unto my Lord, 
Sit thou at my right hand, until I 
make thine enemies thy footstool. 

9. Psal. xxii. 19. (18. of English 

Version.) 

-Sri onS, ’“ifi. ipSrr, 
T)U mr ’snaS 


thy God. 

Matt. viii. 17. 

Autos Tag arfSevsiag ypuv e\a£e f 
xou Tas votfoug sSatfTatfsv. 

Himself took our infirmities, and 
bare our sicknesses. 

Matt. ix. 13. xii. 7. 

EXsov SsXw, xai ou $W»av. 

I will have mercy and not sacri¬ 
fice. 

Matt. xix. 19. xxii. 39 

Ayaityffeis tov crX^iov tfou wg 
(feccvrov. 

Thou shalt love thy neighbour, as 
thyself. 

Matt. xxi. 42. Mark xii. 10. 

Luke xx. 17. Acts iv. 11. 

AjSov ov artsfioxi^atfoLv oi oixodo- 
[xovvrsg, ouTog sysvrj^rj s ig xstpaXrjv 
ywvjag* <ra£a Ku^jou sysvsro avry, xai 
stfn Suvpacfrr) sv opSaX^oig fyxwv. 

The stone which the builders re¬ 
jected, the same is become the head 
of the corner: this is the Lord’s do¬ 
ing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. 

Matt. xxii. 44. Mark xii. 36. 

Luke xx. 42. 

ElrfSV 0 Ku^og TW Ku£» 0 J (txou* 
KaSou sx 5s|»wv jaou, £wg av Sw Toug 
£ X ^°Ug tf 0 U VrfOVoSlOV TWV rfoSuV ffOV. 

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit 
thou on my right hand until I make 
thine enemies thy footstool. 

Matt, xxvii. 35. 

AiSjas^itfavro Ta ipana pov hxuToig, 
xou z<Ki tov i/Aantf/xov pou s§aXov xXtj- 


They parted my garments among 
They part my garments among them, and upon ray vesture did they 
them, and cast lots upon my vesture, cast lots. 


344 Quotations exactly agreeing with the Hebrew. [Part I. Ch. 

3. Deut. vi. 16. agrees with Matt. iv. 7. 

mm-nit mn nS, Oux sxtfsi£a<tag Ku£»ov tov ©sov 

do™ *>»• 

Thou shalt not tempt the Lord 




IX. Sect. I.] Quotations exactly agreeing with the Hebrew. 345 


10. Psal. xxii. 2. (1. of agrees 

English Version.) 

’rory nt±> ’Vx ’Sx 

My God, my God, why hast thou 
forsaken me. 

11. Isa. liii. 12. 

rnoj oyt?£rnxi 

And he was numbered with the 
transgressors. 

12. Lev. xii. 8. 

ix onrrw 
mv 

Two turtles or two young pigeons. 

13. Psal. lxix. 10. (9. of English 

Version.) 

»i“fax yn nN'jp-’D 

The zeal of thine house hath 
eaten me up. 

14. Psal. lxxxii. 6. 

ddx ovtSx ’max ax 

I have said, Ye are gods. 

5. Isa. liii. 1. 

jmn unya eh poxn ’a 
nnSn ’a-Sr nw 

Who hath believed our report ? 
And to whom hath the arm of the 
Lord been revealed ? 

16. Psal. xxii. 19. (18. of English 

Version.) 

-S jn anS »td lpSm 
‘nu iW mib 

They part my garments among 
them, and cast lots upon my ves¬ 
ture. 

17. Psal. cix. 8. 

nnx up* imps 

Let another take his office. 


with Matt, xxvii. 46. 

HX<, HXi, Xa/xa tfaSa^avi; 
tout’ sdn, &ss (loo, Oss p-ou, »vcct» fxs 
syxarsXiirs^} 

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ? That 
is to say , My God, my God, why 
hast thou forsaken me. 

Mark xv. 28. Luke xxii. 37. 

Ka» ixsra. avojuiwv sXoyid^s. 

And he was numbered with the 
transgressors. 

Luke ii. 24. 

Zsvyog T£uyovwv t) <5oo vsoddo\>$ 
rtsgidrsp wv. 

A pair of turtle doves or two 
young pigeons. 

John ii. 17. 

*0 ^Xos tou oixou dov xarstpays 

[AS. 

The zeal of thine house hath 
aten me up. 

John x. 34. 

Eyu sura, Ssoj sdrs. 

I said, Ye are gods. 

John xii. 38. see Rom. x. 16. 

Ku£i s, tj s siridrsvds rrj axorj yjAuv : 

Ka» 6 /3gap^wv Ku^iou tivi airsxa- 

XuipS?]. 

Lord, Who hath believed our re¬ 
port ? 

And to whom hath the arm of the 
Lord been revealed ? 

John xix. 24. 

AiZfisgidavro tcc l{Aana. pou iauToic:, 
xat siri tov i[AaTid/Aov pou s§aXov xXtj- 

f ov - 

They parted my raiment among 
them, and for my vesture they did 
cast lots. 

Acts i. 20. 

T'/jv siridxoiryv auTou XaSoi krsgo$. 

His bishoprick let another take. 


1 This is taken from the Hebrew, but the words are Syriac or Chaldee. Sa¬ 
bachthani is the word now in the Chaldee paraphrase. (Dr. Randolph.) 

vol. ii. 44 




346 Quotations exactly agreeing with the Hebrew. [Parti. Ch. 


18. Gen. xxii. 18. agrees 

*na 7D njno tmnm 

1 pWT 

And in thy seed shall all the na¬ 
tions of the earth be blessed. 

19. Psal. ii. 1, 2. 

cm wn no? , 

mm* : p'rw didnti 

TlDU Mm 

wo-?yi mrrSy -in* 

Why do the heathen rage, and 
the people imagine a vain thing ? 

The kings of the earth set them¬ 
selves, and the rulers take counsel 
together, against the Lord, and 
against his Anointed. 


20. Psal. ii. 7. 

nrn un nro<*a , 

7 mV» 

Thou art my Son, this day have 
I begotten thee. 

21. Exod. xxii. 27. (28. of English 

Version.) 

-inti ib -pin N’twi 

Thou shalt not... curse the ruler 
of thy people. 

22. Psal. v. 10. (9. of English 

Version. 

omh om mnsrrap 

ppvtt* 

Their throat is an open sepulchre, 
they flatter with their tongue. 

23. Psal. cxl. 4. (3. of English 

Version.) 

nnn susoy non 

witr 

Adders’ poison is under their lips. 

24. Psal. xxxvi. 2. (1. of English 

Version.) 

-i xb orb* Tnsrm 

vxy 

There is no fear of God before his 
eyes. 


pith Acts iii. 25. 

Kai rw dVs£jua<n doo svsvXoytj6if- 
dovrai •nadai a» tfar^iai rr)S yrjg. 

And in thy seed shall all the kin¬ 
dreds (i. e. nations , as being derived 
from one common ancestor) of the 
earth be blessed. 

Acts iv. 25, 26. 

‘Ivan sp^uafav s6v> j, xai Xaoi 
S[xsXsrY]dav xsva; 

TLagsd<rr}dav oi (3adiksig rys yrjg, 
xai oi ag'X'Ovreg do\rfxfsv\dao Siri to auro 
xara tou Ku£»ou, xai xara rou Xgidrov 
aurou. 

Why did the heathen rage, and 
the people imagine vain things ? 

The kings of the earth stood up, 
and the rulers were gathered toge¬ 
ther,against the Lord,and against his 
Christ, (i. e. Messiah, or Anointed 
one.) 

Acts xiii. 33. 

'Yiog fxou Si do, syu dvjpsgov ysysv- 
vrjxa ds. 

Thou art my Son, this day have 
I begotten thee. 

Acts xxiii. 5. 

Afx ov<rcl T0U ^ aou dov ovx s $ Sl S 

xaxw£. 

Thou shalt not speak evil of the 
ruler of thy people. 

Rom. iii. 13. 

Tapog avsuyfisvos o Xa£uyg aurwv* 
rats yXuddais aurwv s^oXioutfav. 

Their throat is an open sepulchre. 

With their tongues they have used 
deceit. 

Rom. iii. 13. 

log aditiSuo vifo ra p(SiX?) aurwv. 

The poison of asps (a venomous 
species of serpent) is under their lips. 

Rom. iii. 18. 

Oux sdn po§o s ©sou atfsvavri rwv 
opdaX/xwv aurwv. 

There is no fear of God before 
their eyes. 


IX. Sect. I.] Quotations exactly agreeing with the Hebrew. 347 

25. Psal. xxxii. 1, 2. agrees with Rom.iv. 7, 8. 


noD yv&m nw 
xb o-ix-ncx : nxtsn 
py iS wn aarr 

Blessed is he whose transgression 
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 

Blessed is the man unto whom 
the Lord imputed not iniquity. 

26. Gen. xvii. 5. 

“jwo ok psrr-DK 

A father of many nations have I 
made thee. 

27. Gen. xv. 5. 

"jjnt rm* ro 

So shall thy seed be. 

28. Psal. xliv. 22. 

-ho umn ph - o 
nroto pwo uaero avr» 

For thy sake we are killed all the 
day long; we are counted as sheep 
for the slaughter. 


29. Gen. xxi. 12. 

nr *f? jnp* prwo o 

For, in Isaac shall thy seed be 
called. 

30. Gen. xxv. 23. 

“i’n nar mi 

The elder shall serve the younger 

31. Mai. i. 2, 3. 

-nai : apjroK mxi 

wop ey 

I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau. 

32. Exod. xxxiii. 19. 

jhn “ n# wn 
orm ntwnN ♦nomi 

I will be gracious to whom I will 
be gracious, and I will show mercy 
on whom I will show mercy. 


Maxa^ioi wv afps^rfav cu avopiai, 
xai wv etfsxaXuq&'i'jcJ'av ai u^aenaj. 
Maxagio g avij£ u ou w XoyjcfyTai 
Ku^iog ajxa^Tiav. 

Blessed are they, whose sins are 
forgiven, and whose iniquities are 
covered. 

Blessed ts the man to whom the 
Lord will not impute sin. 

Rom. iv. 17. 

IIar££a <rroXXwv s&vwv T£^£»xa <f£. 

A father of many nations have I 
made thee. 

Rom. iv. 18. 

OuTwg eCrat to C^sgfJktt o' ou. 

So shall thy seed be. 

Rom. viii. 36. 

'0<rt Ivsxa tfou SavaTou;x£$a oX*iv 
ryv Tjps^av* sXoyiO'^rjp.ev wg tf£o€ara 
(fcpctyris. 

For thy sake we are killed all 
the day long. 

We are accounted as sheep for 
the slaughter. 

Rom. ix. 7. 

AXX’ sv Io'aax xX'i^fl'STCu Cot 
Ctfegfi a. 

But, in Isaac shall thy seed be 
called. 

Rom. ix. 12. 

*0 pag wv 5ouXsufl'£» tw e’kuCCo'Ji. 
The elder shall serve the younger. 

Rom. ix. 13. 

Tov Iaxw§ yjyoon'rjCa, tov Ss HCav 
spKfrjCa. 

Jacob have I loved, but Esau 
have I hated. 

Rom. ix. 15. 

EXfiiqO'w ov av £Xsw, xai o»xr sigr\Cw 
ov av oixrstgu. 

I will have mercy on whom I 
will have mercy, and I will have 
compassion on whom I will have 
compassion. 


348 Quotations exactly agreeing with the Hebrew. [Part I. Ch. 


33. Exod. ix. 16. agrees with Rom. ix. 17. 


m *tojd oWi 

yoon mp jrnojn 

’OB' -|i)D [V07I TiarnK 

pKrr^DS 

For this cause have I raised thee 
up, for to show in thee my power, 
and that my name may be declared 
throughout all the earth. 

34. Lev. xviii. 5. 


Ei£ auro rouro s^ysi^a 0's, otfwg 
sv5s»gwpa» sv tfoi ryv Suvafuv [lov, xcu 
ortug biayyz\r\ ro ovopa pou sv crao>) 
rv] yr)‘ 

For this same purpose have I 
raised thee up, that I might show my 
power in thee, and that my name 
might be declared throughout all 
the earth. 

Rom. x. 5. 


on# ney itw 
oro’m OTNn 

Judgments .... which if a man 
do, he shall live in them. 

35. Psal. Ixix. 10. (9. of English 
Version.) 

‘|’STn nisim ^ 

The reproaches of them, that re¬ 
proached thee, are fallen on me. 


36. Psal. xviii. 50. (49. of En¬ 

glish Version.) , 

mrr O’m -jiiss p-y 
fmt “pB^n 

Therefore will I give thanks unto 
thee, O Lord, among the heathen, 
and sing praises unto thy name. 

37. Psal. cxvii. 1. 


*0 tfoirjo'as aura av0£w <nog ^o'sra* 
sv auroig* 

The man, which doeth those 
things, shall live by them. 

Rom. xv. 3. 

Oi ovstSitTfAoi rwv ovs»<h£ovrwv 0's 
StfStfSO'oV Stf’ sps. 

The reproaches of them, that re¬ 
proached thee, fell on me. 

Rom. xv. 9. 

Aia rouro sgopoXoyTja'opai dot sv 
s6vS(fij xai rw cvopar/ 0'ou -^aXw. 

For this cause will I confess to 
thee among the Gentiles, and sing 
unto thy name. 


Rom. xv. 11. 


-ha rnrr - nx bbrt 

ODNfTvD vtcob' cana 

Praise the Lord all ye nations: 
praise him all ye people. 

38. Isa. lii. 15. 

onS tsd-nS ~\m 

ijw - ntwi wn 

■worn 

That, which had not been told 
them, shall they see, and that which 
they had not heard shall they con¬ 
sider. 


Aivsirs rov Ku^iov ^avra ra sflvij, 
xai stfaivsa’ars aurov tfavreg oi Xaoi. 

Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles ; 
and laud him all ye people. 

Rom. xv. 21. 

'Oig oux avTjyysXrj <jrs£» aurou, 
o-^ovrai, xaj oi oux ctXTjxoao'/, a'uvi?- 
dovdi. 

To whom he was not spoken of, 
they shall see ; and they that have 
not heard shall understand. 


39. Job v. 13. 

QonjD cd’ddd -tab 

He taketh the wise in their own 
craftiness. 


1 Cor. iii. 19. 

'O S^addofMSvog roug docpovg sv <rq 
•ravou^yia aurwv. 

He taketh the wise in their own 
craftiness. 


IX. Sect. I.] Quotations exactly agreeing ivith the Hebrew. 349 


40. Deut. xxv. 4. agr< 

icra aanmb 

Thou shalt not muzzle the ox 
when he treadeth out the corn. 

41. Exod. xxxii. 6. 

wi Sdn'S oyn aen 

: prth iDp’i 

The people sat down to eat and 
to drink, and rose up to play. 

42. Psal. xxiv. 1. 

iWxtt pxn nvrS 

The earth is the Lord’s, and the 
fulness thereof. 

43. Psal. viii. 6. 

vSrrnnn n w Sa 

Thou hast put all things under 
his feet. 

44. Isa. xxii. 13. 

ino »a lm Sidn* 

rriDi 

Let us eat and drink, for to-mor¬ 
row we die. 

45. Isa. xxv. 8. 

rajS man jfo 

He will swallow up death in vic¬ 
tory. 

46. Psal. cxvi. 10. 

W '3 TOil 

I believed, therefore have I spo¬ 
ken. 

47. Isa. xlix. 8. 

ymy pn njn 

orm 

In an acceptable time have I 
heard thee, and in a day of salvation 
have 1 helped thee. 

48. Exod. xvi. 18. 

reran .“pyn _ .vtVi 

Tom xb oyooni 

He that gathered much had no¬ 
thing over; and he that gathered 
little, had no lack. 


IS witJl 1 Cor. ix. 9. 

Ou (pifAurfsig (3ovv aXowvra. 

Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth 
of the ox that treadeth out the corn. 

1 Cor. x. 7. 

Exaditfev 6 Xao g cpuysiv xa i «nsni \ 
xai avstfr^tfav tfai^siv. 

The people sat down to eat and 
drink, and rose up to play. 

1 Cor x. 26. 

Tou yag Ku^iou r) yrj, xai ro r:\r r 
£wpa avrrjg. 

For the earth is the Lord’s, and 
the fulness thereof. 

1 Cor. xv. 27. 

navra yag uirsragsv uir o rovg rfoSag 
aurou. 

For he hath put all things under 
his feet. 

1 Cor. xv. 32. 

ftayufisv xai rfiufisv avg iov yag 
wn’oQvrjtfxonsv. 

Let us eat and drink, for to-mor¬ 
row we die. 

1 Cor. xv. 54. 

KarsrfoSr] o Savarog sig vixog. 

Death is swallowed up in victory. 

2 Cor. iv. 13. 

EtfKJ'rsutfa, Sio sXaXTjtfa. 

I have believed, therefore have I 
spoken. 

2 Cor. vi. 2. 

Kuigw Ssxtoj SCT^X ovrfa tfou, xai sv 
rjlisga durygiag sSoijfrrjtfa dot. 

I have heard thee in a time ac¬ 
cepted, and in the day of salvation 
have I succoured thee. 

2 Cor. viii. 15. 

'O ro tfoXu, oux stfXsovatfs* xai o 
ro o XiyoVj oux ^Xa-rTovrjtfs. 

He that had gathered much, had 
nothing over; and he that had ga¬ 
thered little, had no lack. 


350 Quotations exactly agreeing with the Hebrew. [Part I. Ch. 


49. Psal. cxii. 9. agrees with 2 Cor. ix. 9 


inp-ra Dmox 1 ? fro ito 

ny 1 ? may 

He hath dispersed, he hath given 
to the poor; his righteousness en- 
dureth for ever. 

50. Isa. liv. 1. 

rrb _ mpy ti 
nSn-xb mi nra 
ana noaitran oarra 

nSim 

Sing, O barren, thou that didst 
not bear; break forth into singing 
and cry aloud, thou that didst not 
travail with child ; for more are the 
children of the desolate, than of the 
married wife. 

51. 2 Sam. vii. 14. 

Kim n>s'S ibr-rnx ax 

in'? Vmm 

I will be his father, and he shall 
be my son. 


E (txogtfitfsv, sSuxs <roig wsvrjtfiv 7j 
Sixcaorfvvr] avrov jxsvsi Sig <rov aiwva. 

He hath dispersed abroad, he 
hath given to the poor: his right¬ 
eousness endureth for ever. 

Gal. iv. 27. 

EvtpgocvQrjri rfrsigu y ov nxrovda.' 
£yj|ov xai /So^tfov, 7) oux oxhvoutfa* on 
woXXa <nx <rsxva ryg sg/xov ju-aXXov tj 
<r v\g syouting <rov uvSga. 

Rejoice, thou barren thatbearest 
not: break forth and cry, thou that 
travailest not: for the desolate hath 
many more children than she which 
hath an husband. 


Heb. i. 5. 

Eyw stfojaai aucrw stg wars^a, xai 
avrog ztfrcu p-oi sig Ciov. 

I will be to him a father, and he 
shall be to me a son. 


52. Psal. civ. 4. 

rmmi vdnVd nay 

an 1 ? vrwa 

Who maketh his angels spirits, 
his ministers a flaming fire. 


Heb. i. 7. 

'O woiwv rovg ccyysXovg auTou 
wvsu/xara, xai rovg Xsirovgyovg aurcy 
•irvgog 

Who maketh his angels spirits, 
and his ministers a flame of fire. 



53. Psal. xlv. 7, 8. (6,7. of En¬ 
glish Version.) 

in nSiy omSn pNon 
: piTinSa ana» itna ana* 
ran warn pir nartK 
pnW orb* pns’a p-Sy 
pnana jw joc' 

Thy throne, O God, is for ever 
and ever: the sceptre of thy king¬ 
dom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest 
righteousness and hatest wicked¬ 
ness ; therefore God, thy God, hath 
anointed thee with the oil of glad¬ 
ness above thy fellows. 


Heb. i. 8, 9. 

'O Sgovog <fov 6 Gzog, stg <rov aiwva 
Toy aiwvo g" £a £Sog sv&vrrjrog vj £a§<5og 
t rjg (3adt\siag tfou* ’Hyawrjtfag Sixai- 
o(f uvrjv, xai S[xio'i](fug avo/xiav Si a 
to vro sy^ids tfs 6 Osog, o Osog C ou, 
sXaiov ayuWiatfsug wa^a <roug fxSTo- 
tfou. 

Thy throne, O God, is for ever 
and ever: a sceptre of righteous¬ 
ness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 
Thou hast loved righteousness and 
hated iniquity: therefore, God, thy 
God, hath anointed thee with the oil 
of gladness above thy fellows. 


[X. Sect. I.] Quotations exactly agreeing unth the Hebrew. 351 


o4. Psal. viii. 4 —6. agrees with Heb. ii. 6 8. 

-pi imn - o tm-no Ti gtfriv avtigunog, on (ii[ivri(fxr) 


irronni :inpan *3 oik 
nn 11331 q’iSn. 0 ayn 
zyo 3 matron : imuyn 
r rSn -nnn nru? Ss -pr 

What is man that thou art mind¬ 
ful of him ? And the son of man 
that thou visitest him ? For thou 
hast made him a little lower than 
the angels, and hast crowned him 
with glory and honour. Thou 
madest him to have dominion over 
the works of thy hands: thou hast 
put all thmgs under his feet. 


aurou \ y\ viog avtigunov, on StfKfxsrfrr) 
aurov* IIXaTTwtfas aurov /3g(f)(y r\ 
1 rfa £ ccyysXovg' So^rj xai n^y] stfrs- 
(pavwtfag aurov, xai xa,rsdrr\<fag aurov 
stfi ra sgya. rwv Cou. <7ravra 

wsragag uiroxarw rwv tfoSuv auTOU* 
What is man, that thou art mind¬ 
ful of him ? or the son of man, that 
thou visitest him? Thou madest 
him a little lower than the angels ; 
thou crownedst him with glory and 
honour, and didst set him over the 
works of thy hands: thou hast put all 
things in subjection under his feet. 


55. Psal. xxii. 23. (22. of 
English Version.) 

*]in 3 *rW? yx* m&DN 

“| 77 i 1 N 7 , 1 p 

I will declare thy name unto my 
brethren : in the midst of the con¬ 
gregation will I praise thee. 

56. Isa. viii. 17, 18. 

uux run :b M’lpi 

b - rru itrx ohSmi 

mn* 

I will look for him.—Behold, I 
and the children which the Lord 
hath given me. 

57. Gen. ii. 3. 

oinx onSx 1131 

13 ’3 11 X B'lpl y’ 3 BT» 
*X’X itoxSd-^dd D 3 S? 

rwjh orbx xi 3 

And God blessed the seventh day, 
and sanctified it; because that in it 
he had rested from all his work 
which God had created and made. 

58. Gen. xxii. 16, 17. 

-oio d -on 

-pnnN Tin - o ♦ ♦ • rm* 

TinrnN' nma nmm 

By myself have I sworn, saith the 
Lord, .... that in blessing I will 
bless thee, and in multiplying I will 
multiply thy seed. 

1 This citation is an abr 


Heb. ii. 12. 

AirocyysXu ro ovofxa Cov roig aSsX~ 
<poig fxov, Sv jxstfw SxxXrjtfias vfxvrjffoj 
tfs. 

I will declare thy name unto 
my brethren: in the midst of the 
church will I sing praise unto thee. 

Ileb. ii. 13. 

Eyu stfop-ai tfSrfoiQug sir’ aurw — 
I$ou syu xai roc tfaibiu a /xoi sduxsv 
6 Qsog. 

I will put my trust in him.—Be¬ 
hold, I and the children which God 
hath given me. 

Heb. iv. 4. 

Kai xarstfautfev o ©s os sv rv\ fy xs^a 
T'/j tSSo/Av] anto cravrwv rwv au- 

TOU . 1 

And God did rest the seventh day 
from all his works. 


Heb. vi. 13, 14. 

Qsog .wp-otfs xa0’ £aurou, 

Xsywv* H p]v suXoywv suXo yrjdu 
tie, xai TrX'/jduvwv rXv;$uvw tfe. 

God .... sware by himself, say¬ 
ing, Surely, blessing, I will bless 
thee; and multiplying, I will multi¬ 
ply thee. 

lament of the Hebrew. 






352 Quotations exactly ageeeing with the Hebrew. [Part I. Ch. 

59. Deut. xxxii. 36. agrees with Heb. X. 30. 

lay mrr Kvgiog xgivzi tov Xaov avrov. 

The Lord shall judge his people. The Lord shall judge his people. 


60. Gen. xlvii. 31. 

tnrrby bxnv' mw*i 

And Israel bowed himself upon 
the bed’s head. 

61. Prov. iii. 11. 

DNon-Vx ’33 mrr “idid 
irroiro pprr»n 

My son, despise not the chasten¬ 
ing of the Lord ; neither be weary 
of his correction. 


Heb. xi. 21. 


Kai rfgorfsxvvridsv Stfi to ctxgov ryg 
£a§<5ou auTou. 1 

And worshipped, leaning upon 
the top of his staff. 

Ileb. xii. 5. 


'Yis fxou, [xrj o Xiyugsi <irui8sittg 
Ku^iou, [xyiSs sxXuou W auTou sX zy- 
XOfxsvos. 

My son, despise not thou the 
chastening of the Lord, nor faint 
when thou art rebuked of him. 


62. Josh. i. 5. 

(and see Deut. xxxi. 8.) 


I wi 
thee. 


1 not fail thee nor forsake 


63. Lev. xi. 44. 


’3 onp Dmti 

1 >3x c*np 

Ye shall be holy, for I am holy. 


Heb. xiii. 5. 

Ou un tfs avw, ou<5’ ou [xr] dz zyx a- 
TaXitfw. 

I will never leave thee, nor for¬ 
sake thee. 

1 Pet. i. 16. 

'Ay»o< ysvsdfe, on syu ayiog si/xu 
Be ye holy, for I am holy. 


II. Quotations nearly agreeing with the Hebrew. 

These correspond nearly with the Hebrew, though not so literally 
as those in the preceding class, to which they are nearly equal in 
number : Thus, 

1. Isa. vii. 14. nearly agrees with Matt. i. 23. 


mSp mn naSyn run 
7NUDy w nxipi p 

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, 
and bear a son, and shall call his 
name Immanuel. 


l5ou 7} rfafizvog sv yadrgt Igsj, xai 
TsgsTou uiov, xai xaXsdovdi to ovofxa 
auTou Epifxavou^X. 

Behold, a virgin shall be with 
child, and shall bring forth a son: 
and they shall call his name Em¬ 
manuel. 


1 Hebrew, xi. 21. This quotation is taken from the Septuagint version of Gen. 
xlvii. 31. omitting only the word Israel. The variation from the Hebrew is merely 
in the vowel points : naan, a led, the Septuagint read ntson, a staff. And that this 

is the true reading seems probable, because it does not appear that Jacob was then 
confined to his bed, and because it is not easy to understand what can be meant by 
worshipping or bowing himself on the head of his bed. In the other reading the 
sense is plain : Jacob worshipped God, and, being old and feeble, supported him¬ 
self by leaning on the top of his staff. Dr. Randolph on the Quotations, p. 45. 





353 


IX. Sect. I.] Quotations nearly agreeing with the Hebrew. 


Jer. xxxi. 15. . nearly agrees with Matt. ii. 18 

vn ynm ncro Tip ‘I’WVT) sv 'Pajjia rjxouo'd»], xat 

^|-p) EDHTUDfi x ^ av ^° s ’ xal °typos rfoXvs, 'Pa^X 

xXaioutfa <ra tsxv a aur'/js, xa< oux 


• • » TO <TS 

•7y 0173,7? ,7JN0 n’32'7y rfeXs mgmWn 


vet,. oti oux eitfi. 


dw ^ rm In Rama was there a voice heard, 
A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and weeping, and 
lamentation, and bitter weeping; great mourning, Rachel weeping 
Rachel weeping for her children, f or her children, and would not be 
refused to be comforted for her comforted, because they are not. 


children, because they were not. 

3. Psal. xci. 11, 12. 

•fnw vnxVo 
: 7777 - So 
lun-p 13 ikb* osaby 

1*?37 pfo 


Matt. iv. 6. 




'Oti . 

smtsXsito.1 


. . . rots ayysXots ocu<rou 
ftSPt tfou, xat erfi ^sipwv 
cePourft tfSj [Ai'y)'ji'ots ‘7r'^ , o<Txo-v^'''/3^ wgos 
Xt'hov tom rfoSa tfou. 

For .... he shall give his amjels 
charge concerning thee: and in 
For he shall give his angels charge their hands they shall bear thee up 
over thee, to keep thee in all thy lest at any time thou dash thy foot 
ways. They shall bear thee up in against a stone. 
their hands, lest thou dash thy foot 
against a stone. 


4. Deut. vi. 13. 

ton 'vrba mrrrw 

7Dgn 1.7K1 

Thou shalt fear the Lord thy 
God, and serve him. 

5. Isa. ix. 1, 2. 

nnx bpn ptrton nyo 

’ 7 » 7 &i nnxi p 73 f 
O’D 177 7’33,7 pTTOtm 
: 073,7 Su p7'7 7Hy 

1 N 7 ictd oSm ay ,7 

pto *3t5* Sl73 71X 

orSy ,733 7w moS 

At the first he lightly afflicted 
the land of Zebulun, and the land 
of Naphtali, and afterwards did more 
grievously afflict her by the way of 
the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee 
of the nations. The people that 
walked in darkness have seen a 
great light; they that dwell in the 
land of the shadow of death, upon 
them hath the light shined. 


Matt. iv. 10. 

Ku^lOV TOM GSOM (foil T‘gO(fXUMriff;ig y 
xat au-TGj (j iovw Xa Tgsvtfsts' 

Thou shalt worship the Lord thy 
God, and him only shalt thou serve. 

Matt. iv. 15, 16. 

Tii Za§ouXwv, xat yvj NspSaXsiju, 
6<5ov StxXa.rftfris, itzgcw tom Io£<$avou, 
TaXiXaia tum sSvwv. 'O Xaos 6 xa~ 
%r)[xSMos sv dxoTZt stds (pug p-sya, xat 
Tots xa^jxsvoJS SM xuga. xat ffxtu 
Sava-rou (pus a mstsiXsm olvtois. 1 

The land of Zabulon, and the 
land of Nephtalim, by the w r av of 
the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of 
the Gentiles, the people which sat 
in darkness saw great light: and to 
them which sat in the region and 
shadow of death, light is sprung up. 


1 These words are not an exact translation of the Hebrew ; and Dr. Randolph 
observes that it is difficult to make sense of the Hebrew or of the English in the 
order in which the words at present stand. But the difficulty, he thinks, maj ea- 

TOL. II. 45 




354 


Quotations nearly agreeing with the Hebrew. [Part I. Ch. 


6. Isa. vi. 9, 10. nearly agrees w 

: ijnn " Ski ijn ikti 
vjm nrn oyrrrn ptrn 
nirrffi jwn vyjn “om 

‘Dm VW\ VJtKDl V^JD 

17 *ttni m 

Hear ye indeed, but understand 
not: And see ye indeed, but per¬ 
ceive not. Make the heart of this 
people fat, and make their ears 
heavy, and shut their eyes; lest 
they see with their eyes, and hear 
with their ears, and understand 
with their heart, and convert, and 
be healed. 


7. Gen. ii. 24. . 

TIN C*'N - Dry p- 7 jr 

pan ion rm vdn 

1 -tnN -it?D7 vm wto 

Therefore shall a man leave his 
father and his mother, and shall 
cleave unto his wife, and they shall 
be one flesh. 

8. Exod. xx. 12—16. 

TIN) I’DN - DN 7DD 

f|Non nV nnn nS *pN 

-nnn nyn t6 Dim nS 

1 -ipt? tt 

Honour thy father and thy mo¬ 
ther. Thou slialt not kill. Thou 
shalt not commit adultery. Thou 
shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear 
false witness against thy neighbour. 


ith Matt. xiii. 14, 15. Acts xxviii. 
26. Mark iv. 12. Luke viii. 10. 

Axorj axovdsrs, xai ou p.y ) Cuvets* 
xai fiXerfo vrsg [3\q-\>sts, xai on p-yj 
i5r\re. Etfa^u v$t] ya£ yj xagSia <rou 
Xaou rovrou, xai <roig wtfi (3agsw$ 
Tjxoutfav, xai <roug ocpSaXpioug au<rwv 
sxa/x^uo'av, iSu&i roig otpSaX- 

fxoig, xai <roig axriv axo utfwtfi, xai ryj 
xagSiu c'uvwtfi, xai srfio'rgs^uo'i, xai 
latfwpiai auroug. 

By hearing ye shall hear, and 
shall not understand: and seeing 
ye shall see, and shall not perceive : 
for this people’s heart is waxed 
gross, and their ears are dull of 
hearing, and their eyes they have 
closed ; lest at any time they should 
see with their eyes, and hear with 
their ears, and should understand 
with their heart, and should be con¬ 
verted, and I should heal them. 
Matt. xix. 5. 

Evsxsv toutou xaTaXsi-^si avQgutfog 
<rov irosega xai <njv jjujrsga, xai <7r£og- 
xoXXTj^rfgrai <rv} yuvaixi aurou* xai 
stfovrai oi <$uo sig tfagxu jaiav. 1 

For this cause shall a man leave 
father and mother, and shall cleave 
to his wife ; and they twain shall 
be one flesh. 

Matt. xix. 18, 19 

Ou povsutfgig* Ou (xoi^sutfsig* Ou 
xXs-^sig. Ou '^su^ojxa^Tu^tfsig* Tijxa 
<rov tfars^a (tou xai ttjv jxnjrsga. 

Thou slialt do no murder: thou 
shalt not commit adultery: thou 
shalt not steal: thou shalt not bear 
false witness: honour thy father 
and thy mother. 


sily be obviated, by removing the first six words of Isa. ix. and joining them to the 
former chapter, as they are in all the old versions : And then the words may be 
thus rendered : Jls the former time made vile, or debased, the land of Zabulon, and 
the land of Nephtali, so the latter time shall make it glorious. The icaij of the sea , 
4-c. A prophecy most signally fulfilled by our Saviour’s appearance and residence 
in these parts. The evangelist, from the first part of the sentence, takes only the 
land of Zabulon, and the land of JYephtalim ; What follows is an exact, and almost 
literal translation of the Hebrew : only for D'Dbnn, walked, is put KaStr)/xevos, sat. 
How properly this prophecy is cited, and applied to our Saviour, see Mr. Mede’s 
Disc, on Mark i. 14, 15. Mr. Lowth’s Comment on Isa. 9. and Bishop Lowth’s 
translation. Randolph on the Quotations, p. 28. 

1 This quotation agrees with the Hebrew, excepting that the word for two is 
there omitted. But it ought to be inserted in the Hebrew text, as we have already 
seen in p. 324. supra. 



t 


IX. Sect. I.] Quotations nearly agreeing with the Hebrew . 355 

9. Exod. iii. 6. nearly agrees with Matt. xxii. 32. Mark xii, 

26. Luke xx. 37. 


rbx “px rbx 

rh» i pro rhtt otto* 

npr* 

I am the God of thy father, the 
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 
and the God of Jacob. 

10. Deut. vi. 5. 

rnn* m , rorm 

-7331 *|337-733 yrPN 

“J7N»- t 7331 

Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thine heart, and with 
all thy soul, and with all thy might. 

11. Zech. xiii. 7. 

jTOrvi njnirn# *]n 

p«rr 

Smite the shepherd, and the sheep 
shall be scattered. 


12. Psal. lxxviii. 24. 

id 1 ? jm Dwjm 

And had given them of the corn 
ofheaven. 

13. Isa. liv. 13. 

mrr hidS 713-P31 

And all thy children shall be 
taught of the Lord. 

14. Psal. xli. 9. 

hy Snjrt 'orb bn* 

Mine own familiar friend,. 

which did eat of my bread, hath lift 
up his heel against me. 


Eyw sifju 6 ©sog A§£a afi 9 xai 0 
©sog Itfaax, xai 6 ©sog Iaxw§. 

I am the God of Abraham, and 
the God df Isaac, and the God of 
Jacob. 


Matt. xxii. 37. Mark xii. 30. 
Luke x. 27. * 

Ayatfrjfl’srg Ku^iov <rov ©sov dov 
oXrj rrj xagSia dov, xai sv oXr) rr\ 
*4^ u X y ) ° , ° u j xai £v <ri 'l &avoia tfou. 1 

Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart, and with 
all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

Matt. xxvi. 31. 

Ilaragoj rov tfoip-sva, xai Siadxog- 
rfidtirjdsrui roc rfgoGaru, rrjs tfoifAvrig. 

I will smite the shepherd, and 
the sheep of the flock shall be scat¬ 
tered abroad. 

John vi. 31. 

A£tov sx <rou ovguvov eSuxsv auroig 
(puysiv. 

He gave them bread from heaven 
to eat. 

John vi. 45. 

Kai sdovrai tfavTSg biSaxroi rov 
©sou. 

And they shall all be taught of 
God. 

John xiii. 18. 

'O rpuyuv /j.sr’ S[xov rov a£<rov, 
erfypsv Stf' s/xs rr\v tfrsgvuv avrov. 

He that eateth bread with me, 
hath lifted up his heel against me. 


1 The Vatican edition of the Septuagint here translates -ps 1 ? by ttk iiavoias aov , 
thy mind. But the Alexandrian edition renders it ttjs KapSias <rov, thy heart. St. 
Matthew takes in both : but puts ipvxij, soul, between: He also puts tv b\r) for 
b\ris agreeably to the Hebrew: And he leaves out the latter clause, with all thij 
strength. St. Mark and St. Luke agree entirely with St. Matthew, only they add 
the latter clause. Dr. Randolph on Quotations, p. 29. 




356 Quotations nearly ageeeing with the Hebrew. [Part I. Ch. 

15. Psal. cix. 3. nearly agrees with John XV. 25. 

(See Psal. xxxv. 19. and lxix. 4.) 

Djrr ’Jiarta 


They... fought against me with¬ 
out a cause. 

16. Exod. xii. 46. 

(see Psal. xxxiv. 20.) 

mwm 1 ? cwyi 

Neither shall ye break a bone 
thereof. 

17. Zech. xii. 10. 

'nprxw nK imm 

They shall look on him 2 whom 
they pierced. {Archbp. Newcome's 
version.) 

18. Joel iii. 1—5. (ii. 28—32. of 

English version.) 

qwx p-prct rrm 
■uwr 73 ■ rm - ns 
odtudi non 

poSit rtioSn CD’ipr 
un* nwrr osmra 
- 7 jn izroyrny n.n 
nonn eroo mnse^n 
woi : *rm * hn ~\)$m 

pN31 C3W3 onsia 

mm aw on 

rrmi -\mb pam t mm 

Of Nia . *3sh arh 
: xnum Srun rrm 

DtJO N'7p'-7E’N' 73 ITHl 

t&a* mir 

And it shall come to pass after¬ 
ward, that I will pour out my spirit 
upon all flesh; and your sons and 


E pi<fv}doLv ps Sugeav . 1 

They hated me without a cause. 

John xix. 36. 

OflVouv ou <fvvrgi£r\(fSTUi aurou. 

A bone of him shall not be broken. 

John xix. 37. 

O-^ovtcu stg ov s\sxsvni jtfav . 2 

They shall look on him whom 
they pierced. 

Actsii. 17—21. (See Rom. x. 11.) 

Kai stfrui sv rats sdyanaig 'hpsgaig 
{Xsysi o Osog), sxyso ano nou nvsvpa- 
rog pov sni nadav dagxa' xai ngotpri- 
rsvdovdiv ol uloi vpuv, xai ai Swyarsgsg 
Cpuv, xai ol vsavidxoi vpojv o gad sig 
o-^ovrai, xai ol ngsdfivnsgoi vpuv svuir- 
via svvnviadthtjdovrai. Kai ys sm novg 
<5ouXou£ pov, xai siti nag Sov'hag pov, 
sv naig ripsgaig sxsivaig sxys w a-rro <rou 
nvsvpanog pov, xai ngotprjnsvdovd i. 
Kai 8udu nsgana sv nu ovgavu a vu, 
xai dr\psia ski nr\g yr\g xa rw, a]pa xai 
Kvp xai anpiSa xanvov. 'O vjXiog 
psnadngaqpydsrai sig dxonog, xai f) 
O'sXtjvj] sig aipa, ngiv y sXSsiv nrjv yps- 
gav Kvgiov nr)v psyaXrjv xai swcpavr}. 
Kai sdnai, nag og av smxahsdynai no 
ovopa Kvgiov, dorfydsnai. 

And it shall come to pass in the 
last days (saitli God), I will pour 
out of my spirit upon all flesh : and 
your sons and your daughters shall 
prophesy, and your young men shall 


1 This agrees both with the Septuagint (as will be seen in a subsequent page) 
and also with the Hebrew, only that the word which the Septuagint renders trobs- 
firjirav, fotight, is here rendered tfucritrav, hated, or possibly this may refer to Psal. 
xxxv. 19. or lxix. 4. where the Psalmist speaks of those who were his enemies 
wrongfully. Randolph on Quotations, p. 30. 

2 It is evident that the Evangelist here plainly read vVx {him) instead of 
(me) in the Hebrew: But so also read thirty-six Hebrew MSS. and two antient 
editions. And that this is the true reading appears by what follows — and they 
shall mourn for him. On the authority of these manuscripts, Archbishop New 
come reads and translates vSa him . Minor Prophets, p. 330. 8vo. edit. 



IX. Sect. I.] Quotations nearly agreeing with the Hebrew. 357 


your daughters shall prophesy, your 
old men shall dream dreams, and 
your young men shall see visions. 
And also upon the servants and the 
handmaids in those days will I pour 
out my spirit. And I w r ill show 
wonders in the heavens and in the 
earth, blood and fire, and pillars of 
smoke. The sun shall be turned 
into darkness and the moon into 
blood, before the great and the ter¬ 
rible day of the Lord come. And 
it shall come to pass, that whosoever 
shall call on the name of the Lord 
shall be delivered. 


see visions, and your old men shall 
dream dreams: And on my ser¬ 
vants and on my handmaidens, 1 
will pour out in those days of my 
spirit; and they shall prophesy. 
And I will show wonders in heaven 
above, and signs in the earth be¬ 
neath, blood and fire and vapour of 
smoke. The sun shall be turned 
into darkness, and the moon into 
blood, before that great and notable 
day of the Lord come. And it shall 
come to pass that whosoever shall 
call on the name of the Lord shall 
be saved. 


19. Gen. xii. 1. nearly agrees with Acts vii. 3. 


•jmSm “pnND *frp 

•ktn pNrr^N ton jtooi 
1 1 you 

Get thee out from thy country, 
and from thy kindred, and from thy 
father’s house, unto a land that I 
will show thee. 

20. Isa. lxvi. 1, 2. 

own mm ion no 

cm pNro »ndo 

*roon ton no nr*N 
: ’nrruo coipo nr - w 

nnpr n* pontotwi 

Thus saith the Lord, the heaven 
is my throne, and the earth is my 
footstool: where is the house that 
ye build unto me ? And where is 
the place of my rest ? For all those 
things hath mine hand made. 

21. Isa. xlix. 6. 

nvrn am tin 1 ? mnnn 
pNn rwpny *njro» 

I will also give thee for a light to 
the Gentiles, that thou mayest be 
my salvation unto the ends of the 
earth. 

22. Hab. ii. 4. 

mr mnoND pnm 

The just shall live by his faith. 

23. Isa. lii. 5. 

w om-So mom 

fNJO 

My name continually every day 
is blasphemed. 


EgsXds sx <rr,g yyg dov, xat sx 
dvyysvstag dov, xat Ssvgo sig yrjv, yv 
av dot Sstgu. 

Get thee out of thy country, and 
from thy kindred, and come into 
the land which I shall show thee. 

Acts vii. 49, 50. 

'O ovgavog pot S^ovof, ^ 5s yy 
5irotfo<5iov *rwv tforJwv jaou* ffoiov oixcv 
oixoSofiydSTS (xot ; Xsyst Kvgtog“ r, rtg 
rotfog ryjg xararfavdsug pt-ou; Ou^i 
"ysig /xou SKoir\ds ruvru tfavTa \ 

Heaven is my throne, and earth 
is my footstool: what house will ye 
build me ? saith the Lord: or what 
is the place of my rest ? Hath not 
my hand made all these things ? 

Acts xiii. 47. 

Tsdsjxa ds stg (pug stivuv, rov stvai 
ds stg durrigtcLv sug ed^arov rr)g yrjg . 

I have set thee to be a light of 
the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be 
for salvation to the ends of the earth. 

Rom. i. 17. 

'O Ss Stxatog sx mdrsug fydsrat. 

The just shall live by faith. 

Rom. ii. 24. 

To yug ovopia tod 0sou Si’ vfxag 
fiXadyriiASirat sv <rotg sQvsdt. 

For the name of God is blas¬ 
phemed among the Gentiles through 
you. 



358 


Quotations nearly agreeing with the Hebrew, [Part I. Ch 


24. Psal. li. 6. (4. of nearly 

English version.) 

ran -pm p*ran ]jxb 

1 

That thou mightest be justified 
when thou speakest, and be clear 
when thou judgest. 

25. Gen. xv. 6. 

b roetn nm pNm 

njrm 

And he believed in the Lord, and 
he counted it to him for righteous¬ 
ness. 

26. Hos. ii. 1. (i. 10. of English 

version.) 

imnm mpM rrm , 
hdn* am orb 

orb 

And it shall come to pass, that in 
the place where it was said unto 
them, ye are not my people, there it 
shall be said unto them, ye are the 
sons of the living God. 

27. Isa. i. 9. 

•rmrt man mn* bh' 
OIDD £0r»D w )b 
wi may 1 ? wt 

Except the Lord of Hosts had 
left us a very small remnant, we 
should have been as Sodom, and 
we should have been like unto Go¬ 
morrah. 


;rees with Rom. iii. 4. 

'Orw£ av SixaiuQrjg sv <roig Xoyoig 
dov, xai vixydyg sv <rw xgivsdQai ds. 

That thou mightest be justified 
in thy sayings, and mightest over¬ 
come when thou art judged. 

Rom. iv. 3. 

Ertidrsvds Ss A€gaa[ u <rw ©sw, 
xai s\oyid6r\ aurw sig <hxaiotfuvy)v. 

And Abraham believed God, and 
it was counted to him for righteous¬ 
ness. 

Rom. ix. 26. 

Kca stfrai, sv Toffw ou sgfySs 
auroig* Ou Xao$ p.ou C/Aeig, sxsi xX?]- 
Qrjrfovra i uioi ©sou %uvrog. 

And it shall come to pass, that in 
the place where it was said unto 
them, Ye are not my people : there 
shall they be called the children of 
the living God. 

Rom. ix. 29. 

Ei p») Kugiog 2a£auQ syxarsXicrsv 
yfuv rftfs^fxa, tig 2o#opa av sysvijflij- 
psv, xai wg Topo^a av isv. 

Except the Lord of Sabaoth had 
left us a seed, we had been as So- 
doma, and been made like unto 
Gomorrha. 


28. Isa. viii. 14. 

Woo ir^i rp p«Vi 

Wr* wb 

He shall be .... for a stone of 
stumbling, and a rock of offence to 
both the houses of Israel. 

Isa. xxviii. 16. 

pa pno 

mp* raa jra 


Rom. ix. 33. 

I<5ou, <nfbjjxi sv 2»wv Xidov cr^ofl'xojo- 
fiarog, xai tfSTgav dxavS aXou* xai <irag 
6 mdrsutiv s#’ aurw ou xaraifl)(uvf)?i- 
dsrai. 

Behold I lay in Sion a stumbling 
stone, and rock of offence: and 
whosoever believeth on him shall 
not be ashamed. 

See also Rom. x. 13. and 1 Pet. ii. 6.1 


1 The quotation in Rom. ix. 33. is taken from two places in the prophecy of 
Isaiah. St. Paul, in order to prove that the Jews in general should be cast off, 
and only those among them who believed should be saved, refers to two passages 



IX. Sect. I.] Quotations nearly agreeing with the Hebrew. 359 


nS muon 7Di» *idid 

ww 

Behold I lay in Zion for a foun¬ 
dation a stone, a tried stone, a pre¬ 
cious corner-stone, a sure founda¬ 
tion: lie that believeth shall not 
make haste. (Be confounded, Bp. 
Lowth.) 


29. Isa. lii. 7 . nearly agrees with Rom. x , 15 , 


Q’pnrt - by vim- no 

DT VWO “ 120 D ’71“) 

did xoo 


'fig ugcoot o< rtoSsg tojv suuyysXi^o- 
psvuv sigy jvrjv, twv suayysX»£o|XSvwv <ra 
aya&a. 


How beautiful upon the moun¬ 
tains are the feet of him that bring- 
eth good tidings, that publisheth 
peace; that bringeth good tidings 
of good. 


How beautiful are the feet of 
them that preach the Gospel of 
Peace, and bring glad tidings of 
good things! 


30. Psal. xix. 5. (4. of English 
version.) 

Dip pND “ b3 

arrbo bn rwp3i 

Their line (more correctly, sound ) * 1 
is gone out through all the earth, 
and their words to the end of the 
world. 


Rom. x. 18. 

Ei$ ‘jrao’av ryv yy\v sgrjXQsv 0 (p6oy- 
yog aurwv, xai sig ra. tfsg ara rrjg 
oixov/xsvt] g ra ^[xara ouitwv. 

Their sound went into all the 
earth, and their words unto the 
ends of the world. 


31. 4 Deut. xxxii. 21. 

Oy-tfb ON’JpN ’IN) 

OD’JDN bl ’113 

I will move them to jealousy with 
those which are not a people; I will 
provoke them to anger by a foolish 
nation. 


Rom. x. 19. 

E yu •xagu'^rfXudu v(xag s*’’ oux 
sdvsi, sm s6vsi atfuvsrw vragogyiu iipag. 

I will provoke you to jealousy by 
them that are no people, and by a 
foolish nation will I anger you. 


32. Isa. lxv. 1, 2. 

iW xib wni 

’l£l’p3 Nb 


Rom. x. 20, 21. 

Eu££dr]V TOlg S[AS (AY) ^rjTOurffV, £[A- 

(pavyg sysvofxrjv roig sps juiv) SrtSgurCjtfi 
-'OXvjv ryv rjfiegav s^sitsrada 


in the prophet Isaiah, of which he quotes such parts as were sufficient to prove his 
point. The first citation agrees with the Hebrew. The Septuagint (as will be 
seen in a subsequent page) differs widely. The other citation agrees nearly with 
the Septuagint: it differs from the Hebrew only in reading with the Septuagint 
KaraiiTxvvSvatTcii, shall be ashamed, which is also the reading of the Arabic version. 
They seem to have read in the original instead of enrp. (Dr. Randolph on 
Quotations, p. 36.) The quotation in Rom. x. 13. agrees with the latter clause of 
Isa. xxviii. 16. with the whole of which also agrees the quotation in 1 Pet. iii. 6. 

1 This quotation agrees verbatim with the Septuagint, as will be seen in a fol¬ 
lowing page ; and it agrees with the Hebrew, excepting that instead of Dip (quw) 
a line or direction, both the Apostle and the Septuagint translators seem to have 
read obp (qur.eiu), <pSoyyos, a sound : Which last is doubtless the true reading, as 
it agrees best with the context, and is supported by the Chaldee Paraphrase, the 
Syriac, Arabic, and Vulgate Latin Versions, and by Jerome. Symmachus, in his 
Greek translation, renders the Hebrew by vx°s> sound. Dr. Randolph on Quota¬ 
tions, p. 37. Prof. N. M. Berlin, Psalmi, ex recensione textus Hebroei et Versionum 
Antiquarum, Latine Versi. p. 31. (Upsali®, 1805.) 





360 Quotations nearly agreeing 

-Sx QViT^D n» »ntna 

TllD EUV 

I am sought of them that asked 
not for me ; I am found of them that 

sought me not.-I have spread 

out my hands all the day long unto 
a rebellious people. 

33. 1 Kings xix. 14. near 

loin ynrara - na 
rra inn qwaj - mi 
rpn H3 1 ? m nniNi 
nnnpS ’trarm 

The children of Israel have. 

thrown down thine altars, and slain 
thy prophets with the sword: and 
I even 1 only am left; and they seek 
my life to take it away. 

34. 1 Kings xix. 18. 

njDtp Witra *rrwm 
tn oron-^D ozba 

ijro-N 1 ? 

I have left me seven thousand in 
Israel, all the knees which have not 
bowed unto Baal, and every mouth 
which hath not kissed him. 


with the Hebrew . [Part I. Ch. 

rag x Sl £ a $ ^ ou *£°£ ^ aov wirsi^ouvra 
xai avnXsyovra. 

I was found of them that sought 
me not; I was made manifest unto 

them that asked not after me.- 

All day long I have stretched forth 
my hands unto a disobedient and 
gainsaying people, 
agrees with Rom. xi. 3. 

K vgis, rovg rtgocpyrag tfou cwrsxrsivav, 
xa» <ra SutfiaflV^ia tfou xarfitfxa-^av* 
xayu i/tf£\st(pAYiv (xovog, xai ^rovCi Trjv 

'I'VXW M * 00 * 1 

Lord, they have killed thy pro¬ 
phets, and digged down thine altars; 
and I am left alone, and they seek 
my life. 


Rom. xi. 4. 

KcwsXiffov fjmaiirw Itfraxitf^iXioug 
avfigag, oinvsg oux sxa/x-^av yew rr) 
BaaX. 

I have reserved to myself seven 
thousand men who have not bowed 
the knee to the image of Baal. 


35. Deut. xxxii. 35. 

oSen Dpi b 

To me belongeth vengeance and 
recompense. 

36. Deut. xxxii. 42. (43. of En¬ 

glish version.) 

loy cru wn 

Rejoice, O ye nations with his 
people. 

37. Prov. xxv. 21, 22. 

mS’mn qjot? njn-ON 
inptwi am - caxi onV 


Rom. xii. 19. Heb. x. 30. 

E/aoj s xdixrjdig' syw avratfoSutfu, 
Xsysi K vgiog. 

Vengeance is mine (literally, to 
me belongeth vengeance) ; I will 
repay, saith the Lord. 

Rom. xv. 10. 

Eu(p£a v&r]T£ sdv»j fxsra rov Xaou 
au<rou. 

Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his 
people. 

Rom. xii. 20. 

Eav ouv tfsiva 6 sx^og tfou, 

/m^s aurov* sav Si-^a, rfori£s aurov* 


1 This quotation agrees in sense both with the Septuagint and the Hebrew, but 
seems to be taken from a different translation. The words of the original are 
transposed, and somewhat abridged. 







IX. Sect. I.J Quotations nearly agreeing with the Hebrew. 361 


nnx o^ra ’ 3 . : o\d 
lawSy nnn 

If thine enemy be hungry, give 
him bread to eat; and if he be 
thirsty, give him water to drink : 
For thou shalt heap coals of fire 
upon his head. 


touto yug tfwwv, aM&gaxas irvges 
dugsvtfsis sin r^v xs^paXrjv avrov. 

Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, 
feed him; if he thirst, give him 
drink: for in so doing, thou shalt 
heap coals of fire on his head. 


38. Isa. xxix. 14. nearly agrees with 1 Cor. i. 19. 


vom nEon msai 
nnnon vej rwm 

The wisdom of their wise men 
shall perish, and the understanding 
of their prudent men shall be hid. 


AtfoXw T7]V (fotptCCV TGJV (J'cKpWV, XCCI 
t^v fl'uvsc'iv tcjv tfuvsrwv aQsryrfu. 

I will destroy the wisdom of the 
wise, and will bring to nothing the 
understanding of the prudent. 


39. Isa. xl. 13. 

mrr rrrrnK prro 

Who hath directed the spirit of 
the Lord, or being his counsellor, 
hath taught him ? 

40. Psal. xciv. 11. 

jrr mrr 
Ssn narro oik 

The Lord knoweth the thoughts 
of men, that they are vanity. 


1 Cor. ii. 16. (See also Rom. 
xi. 34.) 

Tig yag sy\u vouv Kvgiov. os tfugr- 
Sibatfei aurovj 

For who hath known the mind 
of the Lord, that he may instruct 
him ? 

1 Cor. iii. 20. 

Kvgiog yivudxsi <rou SiaXoynf/xovs 
twv tfo<pwv, oti sitfi jaaraioi. 

The Lord knoweth the thoughts 
of the wise, that they are rain. 


41. Isa. xxviii. 11 , 12. 

QJ/ItSn . P3T PTO 

Njm -: nn 

yw 

For with stammering lips and 
another tongue will he speak to his 
people :—Yet they would not hear. 


1 Cor. xiv. 21. 

'0 rt sv irsgoyXutftfois, xai sv ^si- 
Xstftv irsgoig, XaXyjtfw tw Xaw tovtoj, 
xa i ou5’ outcj s sjtfaxoutfovTai jiaou, Xsyst 
Kvgios. 

With men of other tongues and 
other lips will I speak unto this 
people; and yet for all that will 
they not hear me, saith the Lord. 


42. Gen. ii. 7. 

rm traiS Dtxn *m 

Man became a living soul. 


1 Cor. xv. 45. 

Eyev&ro 6 rfgurog avAgwrog ASap 
sis 4 /U x ,/ ] v 

The first man, Adam, was made 
a living soul. 


43. Lev. xxvi. 11, 12. 2 Cor. vi. 16. 

D331P3 ’J3£TO 7WI ’Oti svoiXTjtfw sv avroig, xai Sfxiregi- 

a33in3 vo^nnm 

VOL. II. 


46 




362 Quotations nearly agreeing with the Hebrew. [Part 1. Ch 


otbuh do 1 ? wn 

: oyb ,! ?-vrtn onxi 

I will set my tabernacle among 

you:-And I will walk among 

you, and will be your God, and ye 
shall be my people. 

44. Gen. xxi. 10. 

rwn noKrr enj 

rm - nxi 
uray nm noxn-p 

pi-nroy 

Cast out this bondwoman and 
her son ; for the son of this bond- 
woman shall not be heir with my 
son, even with Isaac. 

45. Psal. Ixviii. 19. (18. of En¬ 

glish version.) 

rw ur\nb npy 
chjo nuno nnpS ot? 

Thou hast ascended up on high, 
thou hast led captivity captive: thou 
hast received gifts for men. 

46. Exod. xx. 12. 

(and see Deut. v. 16.) 

-tiki -os 

To’ rcm mb -ion 

wmi V 

Honour thy father and thy mo¬ 
ther, that thy days may be long 
upon the land. 

47. Psal. xcvii. 7. 

D’nSx-^D bvmrwn 

Worship him, all ye gods. 


<irury)<tw xai stfo [xai aurwv ©egj, xai 
avroi so’ovt ai [ioi Xa os. 1 ' 

I will dwell in them and walk in 
them; and I will be their God, and 
they shall be my people. 


T7]S tfaidi<Jxr}S (isra <rou ujou TTjg sXsu- 
Asgag. 

Cast out the bondwoman and her 
son : for the son of the bondwoman 
shall not be heir with the son of the 
free woman. 

Eph. iv. 8. 

Ava§ag sis u-^os, Yj^iwaXwrsuffev 
a^fjt.aXwo'jav, xai sSuxs dofiara rois 
avQgurfois. 

When he ascended up on high, 
he led captivity captive, and gave 
gifts unto men, 

Eph. vi. 2, 3. 

Ti/xa <rov rfars^a cfou xcu vrjv (Arj- 
•rs^a—Tva su dot yevyrai, xai sffrj 
liaxgoxgovus sift <rt)S fVS 2 

Honour thy father and thy mo¬ 
ther— that it may be well with 
thee, and that thou mayest live long 
upon the earth. 

Heb. i. 6. 

Kai tf£otfxuv»]0'avwo'av aurw tfavrss 
ayysXoi ©sou. 


And let all the angels of God 
worship him. 

1 In this and the following verses, the Apostle applies to the Christian church 
what was spoken of the Israelites, in different places, but with some little variation. 
This citation is taken from Lev. xxvi. 11, 12. only altering the persons : ’HTU 

D3D1H3 I mill set my tabernacle among you , is very properly translated tvouaiov 
tv avrois, I will dwell in them. — The clause following is left out, and the rest is 
translated according to the Septuagint only with change of the person, and the Sep- 
tuagint is an exact translation of the Hebrew. Dr. Randolph on the Quotations. 

~ This quotation may be taken either from Exod. xx. 12. above given, or from 
Deut. v. 16. which runs thus : Honour thy father and thy mother , that thy days 
may he prolonged , and that it may go well with thee in the land which the Lord 
thy God givetk thee. 


nearly agrees with Gal. iv. 30. 

Ex§aXs <njv aiditfxriv, xai <rov ulov 
avrrjs' ov yag [XT] xXygovo[xydr] o ulog 





IX. Sect. I.] Quotations nearly agreeing with the Hebrew. 363 


48. Psal. cii. 25—27. nearly 

mo* pxi oiai 
non :dw *p» i^yoi 
oSdi ioyn into row 
Dfl’Snn tnrta 'by U 33 
xii - rtntn . : isim 
ion* n , l > ynuai 

Of old hast thou laid the founda¬ 
tion of the earth ; and the heavens 
are the work of thy hands. They 
shall perish, but thou shalt endure; 
yea, all of them shall wax old like 
a garment. As a vesture shalt thou 
change them, and they shall be 
changed : but thou art the same and 
thy years shall not fail. 


agrees with Heb. i. 10—12. 

2u xar’ a^ag, Kugis, rv\v y>jv 
sSsjxsXiwtfag, xai ££/a twv ■/siguv d ou 
sidiv oi ou^avoi. Auroi airoXouvTai, 
dv 8 s 8ia[xsvsis' xai iravTSg wg Sfxowiov 
rfciXaiuSrjdovrcu, xai uds i 4rs£i§oXaiov 
£Xi£sig au<roug, xai aWayridovrou' 
2u 6s 6 aurog si, xai ra sttj do u ovx 
sxXsi^outfi. 

Thou, Lord, in the beginning 
hast laid the foundation of the earth, 
and the heavens are the works of 
thine hands. They shall perish, 
but thou remainest: and they all 
shall wax old as doth a garment; 
and as a vesture shalt thou fold 
them up, and they shall be chang¬ 
ed : but thou art the same, and thy 
years shall not fail. 


49. Psal. xcv. 7—It. 

?umi iSprDK ovi 

,13003 ormS itprrW 

TO ! *13103 IDO DVD 
lira 03**113# 11DJ 

O’iOl# : bye) 1 NTDJ 

TONI 1113 pip# rv& 


ani on 


33S 


yn ay 


- x*# : on iyi* - ab 

p#3**fl# 0#3 MJW3 

MmxrS# 

To-day, if ye will hear his voice, 
harden not your heart, as in the 
provocation, and as in the day of 
temptation in the wilderness: When 
your fathers tempted me, proved 
me, and saw my work. Forty 
years long was I grieved with this 
generation, and said, It is a people 
that do err in their heart, and they 
have not known my ways: unto 
whom I sware in my wrath, that 
they should not enter into my rest. 


Heb. iii. 7—11. 

2r]|xS£ov sav rr\s ipwvTjg aurou axou- 
tfujTS, /xrj dxXyiguvyrs rag xagSiag 
ifxuv us sv ru tfa^atfix^atf/xw, xara 
rr\v ij/ASgav rov irsigad/iov sv rrj sgriftcj* 
ou sir si gad uv [is oi irarsgss vfiuv, 
sSoxi/xadav [xs, xai si<5ov ra sgya [xou 
rsddagaxovra srrf A 10 irgodu^ida. 
rr\ ysvs a sxsivtj, xou sitfov* Asi tfXa- 
vwvrai T7) xagSia’ auroi 8s oux syvu~ 
dav ras o<$oug [Xov ‘fig u[xoda sv rr\ 
ogyy (Xou, si SidsXsudovrai s ig rr jv xa- 
rairavdiv /xou. 

To-day, if ye will hear his voice, 
harden not your hearts, as in the 
provocation, in the day of tempta¬ 
tion in the wilderness; when your 
fathers tempted me, proved me, 
and saw my works forty years. 
Wherefore I was grieved with that 
generation, and said, They do 
alway err in their heart; and they 
have not known my ways, So I 
swear in my wrath, They shall not 
enter into my rest. 


50. Exod. xxv. 40. 

0113*13 .1231 i#n 

113 *i#id nn#ip# 

And look, that thou make them 
after their pattern, which was show¬ 
ed thee in the mount. 


Heb. viii. 5. 

*0^a yag, cpr\di, iroirjd'/js Kavra 
xara tov rvrfov rov 8siytosvra do 1 sv ru 
ogsi. , 

For, See, saith he, that thou make 
all things according to the pattern 
showed to thee in the mount. 


364 Quotations nearly agreeing with the Hebrew. [Part I. Ch 
51. Jer. xxxi. 31—34. nearly agrees with Heb. vii. 8—12. 


•Dto Q’XD O’O’ 1777 

no - nx ’mm mir 
min’ no - nxi oxotn 

moo X7 : norn mo 
orrox • nx ’mo nrx 
□ran? dto ’pnnn dvo 

Hon ■ 7L*'X O’Ts'O pXO 

'ojni mo - nK non 
: run’ - do do mp 
ps’X nnon nxr o 
SxTty* no • nx max 
*0X7 Dnn D’o’n nnx 
mm * nx .mro nm* 
nonox dot^i oonpo 

O’nSxS onS ’n”m 

xSi : DirS » t rrn’ non 
mjrrnx o”X my hot 

U’7 70X7 mx-nx £J”X1 

UT’ cba ’o nin’-nx 

07177*777 D7D|707 ’.71X 

nbpx ’o hit * 0 x 7 
jv'S onxonm 07ip 

: Ttfnorx 

Behold, the days come, saith the 
Lord, that I will make a new cove¬ 
nant with the house of Israel and 
with the house of Judah; not ac¬ 
cording to the covenant that I made 
with their fathers, in the day that 
I took them by the hand to bring 
them out of the land of Egypt ; 
(which my covenant they brake 
although I was an husband to them, 
saith the Lord.) But this shall 
be the covenant that I will make 
with the house of Israel; after those 
days, saith the Lord, I will put my 
law in their inward parts, and will 
write it in their hearts; and will 
be their God, and they shall be my 
people. And they shall teach no 
more every man his neighbour, and 
every man his brother, saying, 
Know the Lord : for they shall all 
know me from the least unto the 
greatest, saith the Lord : for I will 
forgive their iniquity, and I will re¬ 
member their sin no more. 


l5ou, vftisgai s^ovraj, Xsysi Ku£jg£, 
xai tfyvrHXso'w sni tov oixov Icf^a^X 
xai Srfi rov oixov ’Iou5a SiadrjXYjv’ ou 
xara ri]v <ha Qt)xy\v r t v siroir}<fa roig tfa- 
<r£a 0 '»v aurwv, sv ij/xsga srfiXuSofxsvov 
[xov rr\g X SI £°$ nwuv, ^ayaysiv au- 
<rou£ sx yrjg Aiywrou* on avroi oux 
svs^xsivav Sv rr) SiaS^xr) [xov, xayu 
TjjUbsX^tfa auTwv, Xsyst Kvgiog’ 'O n 
avrr] tj SiaQrixr), -Jjv (ha^rjtf o[xai tw oixw 
Io^cajX [xsra <rag ypsgag sxsivag, Xsysi 
Iv vgiog' SiSovg vofxoug jaou sig TTjy Si a- 
voiav aurwv, xai Srfi xagSiag avrm 
sirlyga-^u avrovg' xai stfofxai avroig 
sig Qsov, xai avroi stfovrai [xoi sig Xaov' 
Ka» ov [xr] SiSagucfiv sxacfrog rov nXr r 
tfiov avrov, xai kxadrog rov a<5sXpov 
aurou, Xsyuv, rvwdi <rov Kustov* on 
rfavreg si5v}(fov(fi /xs, uito (xixgov aurwv 
kug \xzy aXou aurwv* on iXswg £<fo[xai 
raig a<5ixiaig aurwv, xai rwv ajxagnuv 
aurwv, xai rwv avopiwv aurwv ou jxif 
f xv7]<fSu sn . 

Behold, the days come, saith the 
Lord, when I will make a new 
covenant with the house of Israel 
and the house of Judah: not ac¬ 
cording to the covenant that I 
made with their fathers, in the day 
when I took them by the hand to 
lead them out of the land of Egypt; 
because they continued not in my 
covenant, and I regarded them not, 
saith the Lord. For this is the 
covenant that I will make with the 
house of Israel after those days, 
saith the Lord. I will put my laws 
in their mind, and write them in 
their hearts ; and I will be to them 
a God, and they shall be to me a 
people : And they shall not teach 
every man his neighbour and every 
man his brother, saying, Know the 
Lord: for all shall know me from 
the least to the greatest. For I will 
be merciful to their unrighteous¬ 
ness, and their sins and their ini¬ 
quities will I remember no more. 


IX. Sect. I.] Quotations nearly agreeing with the Hebrew. 365 

52. Exod. xxiv. 8. nearly agrees with Heb. ix. 20. 


ivx mm-D"r nrr 
DDDy nw n*o 

Behold the blood of the covenant, 
which the Lord hath made with 
you. 

53. Psal. cxviii. 6. 

•no nhn ib b pin* 

DIN v ncy’ 

The Lord is on my side, I will not 
fear; what can man do unto me ? 

54. Isa. xl. 6, 7, 8. 

-Vm Ti*n noon - So 

co' :mrn po non 

non • • • pf Soj pri 

D7i \jn Dip’ li’nSa 

All flesh is grass, and all the good¬ 
liness thereof is as the flower of the 
field. The grass withereth, the flow¬ 
er fadeth : .... But the word of our 
God shall stand fast for ever. 

55. Exod. xix. 6. 

noSoo *b*vnn onxi 
snip »ui ouno 

Ye shall be unto me a kingdom 
of priests, and an holy nation. 

56. Isa. liii. 9. 

nay oorraS 

i’3o nono 

Because he had done no violence, 
neither ivas any deceit in his mouth. 

57. Isa. liii. 5. 

uS-Kinj innonoi 

With his stripes we are healed. 

58. Psal. xxxiv. 13—17. 

(12—16. of English version.) 

Dm psnn 
: mo mnS d»d», ana 

-j’notjn jno “pir? ho 

jro HD ttvno nono 
ab& D’po did • nttyi 
ba nin* oy : ina-ni 


Touro to aifxa rrjg <5ia0*]x»]g, rfi 
svsrsiXaro tf£og ijfxag 0 ©£og. 

This is the blood of the testament, 
which God hath enjoined unto you. 

Heb. xiii. 6. 

Ku^iog e/xoi (3oy\6o g, xa« ou <po§ij- 
6r)do[xou ti noiritfei fxoi avdguirog. 

The Lord is my helper, and I will 
not fear what man can do unto me. 

1 Pet. i. 24, 25. 

Aiori T'afl'a o'wg Xogrog, xai 
•irada S oga av0£ojtfou wg avSog }p£rou. 
E2p]£a v&7] 0 )(o£Tog, xal T0 av ^°S aurou 
£%snsde. To Ss Kvgiov p.sv£i Eig 
tov aiwva. 

For all flesh is as grass, and all 
the glory of man, as the flower of 
grass. The grass withereth, and the 
flower thereof falleth away: but the 
word of the Lord endureth for ever. 

1 Pet. ii. 9. 

‘Tjixsjg <$£ . . . . /5afl'iXs»ov i££ar£u- 
jaa, s6v 05 ayiov. 

But ye are .... a royal priesthood, 
a holy nation. 

1 Pet. ii. 22. 

'Og ajua^Tiav oux Etfonio'sv, ou<5s 
sugsdr) SoXog £v rw dr oju.ari aurou. 

Who did no sin, neither was guile 
found in his mouth. 

1 Pet. ii. 24. 

Ou rw fxuXwtfj aurou joi^te. 

By whose stripes ye were healed. 

1 Pet. iii. 10—12. 

'O ya£ SeXwv ayarfav, xai 

»5siv yfASgag ayaSag, rfavdaro rv jv 
yXwfl'tfav aurou a-ro xaxou, xai p^siX>i 
aurou rou [X7j XaXrjdai 0 oXov* sxxXiva- 
rw ar'o xaxou, xai <jroir)0’arw ayaSov* 
tyrydaru sifiqvrjv, xai <5iw£arw aur»]v. 
'On ol ocp^aXjut-o* Ku^iou sn (hxaioug, 



366 Quotations agreeing in sense , but not in words. [Part 1. Ch 


: mi D’pnx 

jn *230 nvr 

What man desireth life, and loveth 
many days, that he may see good ? 
Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy 
lips from speaking guile. Depart 
from evil and do good ; seek peace 
and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord 
are upon the righteous, and his ears 
are open unto their cry. The face of 
the Lord is against them that do 
evil. 


xai ura aurou sig Ssy&iv avruv <irgo- 
tfuvov 5s Kvgtov sift toiovvrag xaxa. 

For he that will love life and see 
good days, let him refrain his 
tongue from evil, and his lips that 
they speak no guile. Let him es¬ 
chew evil and do good; Let him 
seek peace and ensue it. For the 
eyes of the Lord are over the right¬ 
eous, and his ears are open unto 
their prayers; but the face of the 
Lord is against them that do evil. 


59. Isa. viii. 12, 13. nearly agrees with 1 Pet. iii. 14, 15. 


iNTn - xb unio-nxi, 
ntm : lmyn toi 

its'Hpn inx moif 

Neither fear ye their fear: nor 
be afraid. 

Sanctify the Lord of Hosts him¬ 
self 


Tov 5s <po€ov avruv fir} (po£v\0r,rs 9 
[xyiSs ragax&rjrs. Kvgiov 5s rov ©eov 
ayiadars. 

And be not afraid of their terror 
neither be troubled. 


60. Prov. x. 12. 

nosn 0^3 

Love covereth all sins. 


bin 

ran# 


1 Pet. iv. 8. 

'0<ri vj ayarr\ xaXu^si •n'XyQog 
apagnuv. 

For charity shall cover the mul¬ 
titude of sins. 


61. Psal. ii. 9. 

hn Sra osko Djnn 

wan tvv 

Thou shalt break them with a 
rod of iron; thou shalt dash them 
in pieces, like a potter’s vessel. 


Rev. ii. 27. 

Kai tfoipavst avrovg sv £a£5 w <fi- 
5 y)(> a* ug ra dxsvy) ra xsgafxixa rfvv- 
rgt€srai. 

And he shall rule with a rod of 
iron : as a potter’s vessel, shall they 
be broken to shivers. 


HI. Quotations agreeing with the Hebrew in sense , but not in words . 


1. Isa. xl. 3. 5. agrees in sense, but 

not in words, with 


nnsD s^nip 
w’ pin* *pn ns 
: wr»o rrro nnjn 

m" *731 KEO nu-Sd 

apjn rrm .iSse* njon 
: nrps 1 ? Dtonni 'numb 
uni nm* nos nSai 


Matt. iii. 3. Mark i. 3. 
and Luke iii. 4—6. 
^uvr] fiouvrog sv rv) 'Erot- 

jaa dars ryv o5ov Kti^iou, suSsjccj 
rfoisirs rag rgi£ovg avrov . Ilaffa 
9 a £ a 7i <7r\r)gu6r]<fsrai, xai tfav ogog 
xai (3ovvog rarfsivufytfsrar xai stfrat 
ra dxoXia eig suOaav, xai al rgaysiai 



IX. Sect. I.J Quotations agreeing in sense, but not m words. 367 


run* »£> o nit 

The voice of him that crieth in 
the wilderness, Prepare ye the way 
of the Lord ; make straight in the 
desert a highway for our God. Eve¬ 
ry valley shall be exalted, and every 
mountain and hill shall be made 
low: and the crooked shall be made 
straight; and the rough places 
plain. And the glory of the Lord 
shall be revealed; and all flesh shall 
see it together. 


sig bSovg Xsiug’ Kai o^e-rai oratfa 

TO tfWTTJ^JOV T0U ©SOU. 1 

The voice of one crying in the 
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of 
the Lord, make his paths straight. 
Every valley shall be filled, and 
every mountain and hill shall be 
brought low ; and the crooked shall 
be made straight, and the rough 
ways shall be made smooth; and all 
flesh shall see the salvation of God. 


2 . 

o - non# nay n 
tidj sysj nnp nrn 

rmb astra v?y *m 

Ntt” N7I pyy vh JNW 

: wp pro 

w isS pn mp 

TO3D’ kS nro nre*£n 

: astro noN'S 

d m n immSi 

Behold my servant whom I up¬ 
hold, mine elect in whom my soul 
delighteth: I have put my spirit 
upon him, he shall bring forth judg¬ 
ment to the Gentiles. He shall not 
cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice 
to be heard in the street. A bruised 
reed shall he not break: and the 
smoking flax shall he not quench : 
he shall bring forth judgment unto 
truth. He shall not fail nor be dis¬ 
couraged, till he have set judgment 
in the earth: and the isles shall 
wait for his law. 

3. Psal. lxxviii. 2. 

nyoN ’3 bma nnrox 
onp-oo nrm 

I will open my mouth in a para¬ 
ble ; I will utter dark sayings of old. 


Matt. xii. 18—21 

l5ou, 6 itcog f^ou, ov tysrufa 6 aya- 
itrirog [lov, Sig ov svSoxrjo'sv rj 
[xov. Syrfi J to wvsujxa fiov sir* auTov, 
xai xgitfiv to ig edvetfiv a-rr 'ayysXsi. 
Ovx sgufet, ov Ss xpavyacfst, ou5s 
axoutfsi Tig sv raig tfXotrsiaig t^v 
( pwvirjv auTou. KaXaptov tfuvTST^ ifi/xs- 
vov ou xarsagsi, xai Xivov Tv(po/xsvov 
ou <t£s<fsi‘ tug av exSockr) Sig vixog ty)v 
xgnfiv. Kai sv toj ovojjwxTi aurou sQvyj 

sXrf loutfi. 

Behold my servant whom I have 
chosen, my beloved in whom my 
soul is well pleased. I will put my 
spirit upon him, and he shall show 
judgment to the Gentiles. He shall 
not strive nor cry ; neither shall any 
man hear his voice in the streets. 
A bruised reed shall he not break, 
and smoking flax shall he not 
quench, till he send forth judgment 
unto victory. And in his name shall 
the Gentiles trust. 


Matt. xiii. 35. 

Avoigu sv tfa^aooXaig to tfrojaa 
p-ou, sgsv%o[xai xsxguniASva cero xuraGo- 
Xyg xotffJLou. 

I will open my mouth in para¬ 
bles ; I will utter things which have 
been kept secret from the founda¬ 
tion of the world. 


agrees in sense, but 
Isa. xlii. 1—4. not in words, with 


1 This quotation agrees in sense, though not exactly, with the Hebrew, and also 
with the Septuagint. The whole of it occurs in Luke iii. 4—G. and the first part 
in Matt. iii. 3. and Mark i. 3. 





368 Quotations agreeing in sense , but not in words . [Part I. Ch 


agrees in sense, but 
not in words, with 


Matt. xxi. 5. 

E irfctTS tv \ Soyargi Si wv l5ou, o 
B udi'ksvg (too spyerat dot 'irpabg, xoa 


4. Zech. ix. 9. (and see 
Isa. lxii. II.) 

m - nn, nxo *S*:i 
run oxri’-ro *pnn 

JflWl, p’Ti' •p N 13 * -|D 70 

710IT7P 3371 *jp N'in 

nuntro “vp-Spi 

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of 
Zion ; shout, O daughter of Jerusa¬ 
lem ; behold, thy king cometh unto 
thee. He is just and having salva¬ 
tion, lowly, and riding upon an ass, 
even upon a colt the foal of an ass. 


svif3sGr}Xug S'ld ovov, xui tftoXov uiov 
vTo'^vyioo . 1 

Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Be¬ 
hold thy king cometh unto thee, 
meek and sitting upon an ass, and 
(more correctly , even) a colt the foal 
of an ass. 


5 Psal. viii. 3. (2. of English 
version.) 

D’pJ’l D’SSip *30 

?p mo* 

Out of the mouths of babes 
and sucklings thou hast ordained 
strength. 

6. Zech. xi. 13. 

tin tprAt ro’Wn 
on*7po *mp* X’N ip*n 
pDon txuht? nopxi 
mn* no mx yWxi 

“KTT7N 

Cast it unto the potter; a goodly 
price that I was prized at of them. 
And I took the thirty pieces of silver, 
and cast them to the potter in the 
house of the Lord. 


Matt. xxi. 16. 

Ex (trofiarog vvjrfiojv xai S»]Xa£otv- 
<rwv xarrigridu aivov. 

Out of the mouth of babes and 
sucklings, thou hast perfected 
praise. 

Matt, xxvii. 9, 10. 

Kai sXa§ov <ra Tgiaxovra agyogta,. 
<rr)v ri^v too rSTi^fisvou, ov STifxrp 
davTo airo tnwv Itf^a^X. Kai sSuxctv 
aura sig tov ay gov too xsgafxsug, xa§a 
Coverage poi Kvgiog . 2 

And they took the thirty pieces 
of silver, the price of him that was 
valued, whom they of the children of 
Israel did value: and gave them for 
the potter’s field, as the Lord ap¬ 
pointed me. 


1 This quotation seems to be taken from two prophecies, viz. Isa. lxii. 11. where we 
read, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, lehold thy salvation cometh — and from Zech. 
ix. 9. The latter part agrees more exactly with the Hebrew, than with the Septua- 
gint; only both Saint Matthew and the Septuagint seem to have read up, meek, 
instead of up, afflicted. Dr. Randolph on the Quotations, p. 29. 

2 This citation is attended with no small difficulty. The prophecy is cited from 
Jeremiah : but in that prophet no such prophecy is to be found. In Zech. xi. 13. such 
a prophecy is found, but neither do the words there perfectly agree with Saint 
Matthew’s citation. Some critics are of opinion that an error has crept into Saint 
Matthew’s copy; and that Iep. has been written by the transcribers instead of Zt%. 
or that the word has been interpolated. And it is to be observed, that the word is 
omitted in the MSS. by Griesbach numbered 33 (of the eleventh or twelfth century), 
and 157 (of the twelfth century), in the later Syriac and in the modern Greek 
versions, one or two MSS. of the old Italic version, some manuscripts cited by 
Augustine, and one Latin MS. cited by Lucas Brugensis. Griesbach’s MS. 22 (of 
the eleventh century) reads Z a^aptov, which word is also found in the margin of the 
later Syriac version, and in an Arabic exemplar cited by Bengel in his Critical 
Edition of the New Testament. Origen, and after him Eusebius, conjectured that 



IX. Sect. I.] Quotations agreeing in sense , but not in words. 369 


agrees in sense, but 


7. Exod. xiii, 2. not in 

no-3 Tim -Sd *Vt np , 

orrro 

Whatsoever openeth the womb— 
both of man and of beast, it is mine. 

8. Zech. ix. 9. 

See the passage, supra , No. 4. p. 
368. 


rds, with Luke ii. 23. 

Ilav agdev (havoiyov jx»j rgav ayiov 
re.) KvgUjj xXijfyffsrai. 

Every male that openeth the 
womb shall be called holy to the 
Lord. 

John xii. 15. (See Matt. xxi. 5. 
p. 368. supra.) 

M?) <po§ou Suyars^ 2iwv, »5ou, o 
Batf»Xsu£ tfou £fX s<ra b xadtjfJtsvo $ titi 
'TTwXov ovou. * 1 

Fear not, daughter of Sion; be¬ 
hold thy king cometh, sitting on an 
ass’s colt. 


T*- 1 * i -f i j ' -if 


tliis was the true reading. Other eminent critics have thought that the ninth, tenth, 
and eleventh chapters of what is called Zechariah’s Prophecy were really written 
by Jeremiah, and they have certainly assigned very probable reasons for such 
opinion both from the matter and style. (See Dr. Hammond on Heb. viii.9. Mede’s 
Works, pp. 786—833. Bp. Kidder’s Demonst. of Messiah, part ii. p. 196, &c. 
Lowth, Proffect. Poet. Lect. xxi., See also Vol. IV. p. 209. where reasons are as¬ 
signed to show that these chapters were actually written by Zechariah.) It is, 
however, most likely , that the original reading of Matthew xxvii. 9. was simply, 
that ichich teas spoken by the frophet, Sia rov irpocprirov, without naming any pro¬ 
phet : And this conjecture is confirmed by the fact that Saint Matthew often omits 
the name of the prophet in his quotations. (See Matt. i. 22. ii. 5. xiii. 35. and xxi. 4.) 
Bengel approves of the omission. It was, as we havp already shown (see pp. 142, 
143. of this volume), the custom of the Jews, to divide the Old Testament into 
three parts : the first, beginning with the Law, was called the Law ; the second, 
commencing with the Psalms, was called the Psalms; and the third, beginning 
with the prophet in question, was called JppEMiAif: consequently, the writings of 
Zechariah, and of the other Prophets, being included in that division which began 
with Jeremiah , all quotations from it would go under this prophet’s name. This 
solution completely removes the difficulty. Dr. Lightfoot (who cites the Baba 
Bathra and Rabbi David Kimchi’s Preface to the prophet Jeremiah as his authori¬ 
ties) insists that the word Jeremiah is perfectly correct, as standing at the head of 
that division from which the evangelist quoted, and which gave its denomination 
to all the rest. — With regard to the prophecy itself, if in St. Matthew’s Gospel, for 
eSwxav, they gave, we read eSwjca, I gave, which is the reading of the Evangelisteria, 
24 and 31 of Griesbacb’s notation (both of the eleventh century) and of both the 
Syriac versions, the evangelist’s quotation will very nearly agree with the original- 
That we should read eiwica, I gape, appears further to be probable from what follows,. 
—KttSa cvveral-E fioi K vptos, as the Lord commanded me.—K at e\aflov ra rpiaKovra apyv - 
pia, kcu iShixa avra us rov aypov rov Kepapuvs' and I took the thirty pieces of silver, and 

I gave them, for the potter's field. The translation is literal, excepting only that 
isvn is rendered aypov rov ntpaptios and mm no is omitted; and the same is also 
omitted in some antient MSS. (See Kennicott’s Dissertatio Generalis, § 49. p.21.) 
The words rrjv ti/itiv tov rcriprjficvov bv ert/iTjaavro airo vlwv lapari\ and Ka$a avvera^e pot 
Kvptos are added to supply the sense, being taken in sense, and very nearly in words, 
from the former part of the verse ; this latter clause is in the Arabic version. Dr. 
Randolph on the Quotations, p. 30. Novum Testamentum, a Griesbach, tom. i. p. 
134. Dr. Lightfoot’s Horce Hebraicse on Matt, xxvii. 9. (Works, vol. ii. 265.) 

1 This quotation differs both from the Hebrew (and Septuagint) and from the 
citation in the Gospel of Matthew; hence it is evident that the Evangelist John 
either followed some other translation, or chose to express in short the sense, but 
not the words of the prophet. 

VOL. II. 


47 



1570 


Quotations agreeing in sense , but not in words. [Part I. Ch. 


t . agrees in sens 

9. Isa. Vi. 9, 10. not in words. 

See the passage, supra , No. 6. 
p. 354. 


10. Psal. Ixix. 26. (25. of English 

version.) 

(And see Psal. cix. 8.) 

wj on*m - »nn 

nty* *rr»« Drrrrso 

Let their habitation be desolate, 
and let none dwell in their tents. 

11. Deut. xviii. 15. 19. 

, fnxo *|npo uoi 

yrfat nvr -jS o*p* 'm 

■ -proton vVk 

JWK? “It^N C”N.7 rwn 

•SW 727’ Ttw ’72T7N 4 

loro ^77N 

The Lord thy God will raise up 
unto thee a prophet from the midst 
of thee, of thy brethren, like unto 

me: unto him shall ye hearken.- 

And it shall come to pass, that who¬ 
soever will not hearken unto my 
words, which ye shall speak in my 
name, I will require it of him. 


, but John xii. 40. (See Matt. xiii. 
with 14, 15. p. 354. supra.) 

TsrupXwxsv aurwv rovg ocpSaXpovg, 
xa» itsirwguxsv avruv rrjv xa£&av* Iva 
ltvj i$u<fi roig oq&aXfAois, xai vorjsfwffi 
try] xagSux, xai ein<frga(pu(ft } xai laa'an 
pai avrovg. 1 * * 

He hath blinded their eyes and 
hardened their heart; that they 
should not see with their eyes, nor 
understand with their heart, and be 
converted, and I should heal them. 


Acts i. 20. 

rsv*)d»jrw yj siravXtg auvou sgypo j, 
xai pyj sifru o xaroixwv sv auryj. 

Let his habitation be desolate, and 
let no man dwell therein. 


Acts iii. 22, 23. 

Il£o<p»]TT]v vpiv aveufryjrf&i Ku^jos 
o &sog Cpuv sx ruv aSsXcpuv Cpuv, 
wg Bps' ccutou axouffetfSs xava cravra 
6(fa av \a\y)<fy] irgog vpag. Etfrai 5s, 
tfatfa ^vx*], fas av M ctxoutf>] tou 
irgotpyjTou sxsivou, sgoXo^su^tfsvai sx 
vou Xaou. 

A prophet shall the Lord your 
God raise up unto you, of your 
brethren, like unto me: him shall 
ye hear in all things whatsoever he 
shall say unto you. And it shall 
come to pass, that every soul which 
will not hear that prophet, shall be 
destroyed from among the people. 


1 Here again the Evangelist has given us the sense of the Prophet in short: If 
we suppose that Xaoj olros (as it is in the Hebrew run oyn) is to be understood as 
the nominative case before Ttrv<p\u>Ktv , (it being not unusual for words that signify a 

multitude to be joined with plural pronouns or adjectives) and read alruv with an 

aspirate, the citation will be a good translation of the original, only somewhat 

abridged. Dr. Randolph on Quotations, p. 31. 


I 




IX. Sect. I.] Quotations agreeing in sense , but not in words. 371 

agrees in sense, but 

12. See Josh. xxiv. 32. not in words, with Acts vii. 16. 

'O uvrjo'ato A^aajx Tipwic agyvgtov 


13. Psal. xiv. 1—3. 

mrv : nitmi w pt 
-'nr>y fiyptrrr dot 
S otra am, m ttrb din 
S an : D*n*»rrw am 

-now rat mfoo hit “id 

nnx-oj j’N did 

There is none that doeth good. 
The Lord looked down from hea¬ 
ven upon the children of men; to 
see if there were any that did un¬ 
derstand and seek God. They are 
all gone aside ; they are all together 
become filthy: there is none that 
doeth good, no not one. 

14. Isa. lix. 7, 8. 

in’ jrb oirSn 

—’pj Dn *pc ,L > linai 

jDniSooa , nan t? 
ijrr to dw “|nn 

Their feet run to evil, and they 
make haste to shed innocent blood 
— Wasting and destruction are in 
their paths. The way of peace they 
know not. 

15. Gen. xviii. 10. 

nya ybx nia*x ait? 
qntrat mt?7 p-runi rrn 

I will certainly return to thee ac¬ 
cording to the time of life ; and lo, 
Sarah thy wife shall have a son. 


ira^a <rwv uiwv Eppog r ou Sv^six. 

That Abraham bought for a sum 
of money, of the sons of Emmor, 
the father of Sychem. 

Rom. iii. 10—12. 

Oux stfcj Sixaiog, ovSs s ig* Oux srf tiv 

6 tfuviwv, OUX StfflV 6 fx£>]<rWV TOV 0£OV. 

ITavreg sgsxXivav, ajaa i^siwfbjtfav 

OUX £<f<Tl tfOIOJV ^TjtfTOTYJTa, OUX StfTJV 

£wg hog. 

There is not one righteous; no, not 
one : there is none that understand- 
eth, there is none that seeketh after 
God. They are all gone out of the 
way; they are altogether become 
unprofitable; there is none that 
doeth good ; no, not one. 


Rom. iii. 15—17. 

O %Sig ol tfobsg aurwv sx^sou ai/jux. 
Suvr^ip-pa xai vaXcM-Tw^a sv raig 
oSoig auvwv* Kai oSov sigijvvjg oux syvw- 
tfav. 

Their feet are swift to shed blood. 
Destruction and misery are in their 
ways ; and the way of peace they 
have not known. 


Rom. ix. 9. 

Kara tov xai^ov toutov eXsutfojxai, 
xai stfrai rrj 2a^a uio£. 1 2 

At this time will I come, and Sara 
shall have a son. 


1 In this quotation there is a very considerable error in the copies of the New 
Testament; and some commentators have supposed that Abraham’s purchase of a 
piece of land of the children of Heth, for a sepulchre, was alluded to. But this is 
clearly a mistake. It is most probable, as Bishop Pearce and Dr. Randolph have 
remarked, that A fipaafi is an interpolation, which has crept into the text from the 
margin. If therefore we omit this name, the sense will run very clearly thus. So 
Jacob went down into Egypt and died , he and our fathers. And they (our fathers) 
were carried over into Sychem , andlaid in the sepulchre, which he (Jacob) bought 
for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem. 

2 The apostle seems here to have made use of some other translation different 




372 


Quotations agreeing in sense , but not in words . [Part I. Ch. 

agrees in sense, but 

Hos. ii. 23. not * n words, with Rom. ix. 25. 


nom ^-ntf ’norm 
*’oy 'ay-irh ’mow 

nr in 

I will have mercy upon her that 
had not obtained mercy, and I will 
say to them which were not my peo¬ 
ple, Thou art my people. 


KaXstfu <rov on Xaov p-ou, Xaov 
pou* xai rrj v oux r)yairr}fASvr]M, 7]ya‘7r>)- 

jXSV'/JV. 

I will call them my people, which 
were not my people ; and her belov¬ 
ed which was not beloved. 


17. Isa. x. 22, 23. 

Sn'X” -py n\TDK *3 

13 nitr D’n Tiro 

np-w tpw. pin p?3 

tin nvirai rra ’3 
3ip3 ntty max nin* 

pN,T?3 

For though thy people Israel be 
as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant 
of them shall return : the consump¬ 
tion decreed shall overflow with 
righteousness. For the Lord God 
of Hosts shall make a consumption, 
even determined in the midst of the 
land. 

18. Psal. lxix. 23, 24. (22, 23. of 

English version.) 

o rvxb oinbp - *n* 

: trpio * 1 ? D’awVi na7 
mno DfTjy rnsBtrn 
nron Tan onanoi 

Let their table become a snare 
before them : and that which should 
have been for their welfare, let it be¬ 
come a trap. Let their eyes be 
darkened that they see not; and 
make their loins continually to 
shake. 


Rom. ix. 27, 28. 

Eav t] 6 agiS/xog tojm vicjv I^arjX 
<bg y aH-fAog Trig SaXarfdrig, to xa<ra- 
Xsijuofxa tfw SyrfSTar Aoyov yag cfuv- 

tsXwv xai tfuvrspwv sv Six aiotfuv'ij* on 
Xoyov tfuvTSrpwj/xSvov iroirjdsi Kugiog Siri 
yr\g. 1 

Though the number of the chil¬ 
dren of Israel be as the sand of the 
sea, a remnant shall be saved: for 
he will finish the work, and cut it 
short in righteousness; because a 
short work will the Lord make upon 
the earth. 


Rom. xi. 9, 10. 

rsvrjSipw 7) rguirsfa aurwv iru- 
ytSa, xai sig Srjgav, xai sig tfxav&xXov, 
xai sig avrairoSo^a awoi£. SxoTitfS'/p 
‘rwtfav o» ofpSaXpoi auroov <rou juv) (3\s- 
irsiv, xai tom vwtov auTwv Sia irai/Tog 
c'uyxap^ov. 

Let their table be made a snare 
and a trap, and a stumbling block, 
and a recompense unto them. Let 
their eyes be darkened that they 
may not see, and bow down their 
back alway. 


from any we now have : it agrees in sense both with the Septuagint and the He¬ 
brew. The most remarkable difference from the Hebrew is that rrn nj?3 is rendered 
xara rov Kaipov tovtov They seem to have read it mn as the same thing is expressed 
Gen. xvii. 21. The Samaritan reads as the Hebrew. The Vulgate, Syriac, and 
Arabic versions agree with the Septuagint. However the sense the prophecy 
both ways is much the same, that Sarah should have a son at the time of life, or at 
the return of time next year. Dr. Randolph on the Quotations, p. 32. 

1 This quotation agrees nearly with the Septuagint, and still more nearly with 
the Arabic. They differ in several particulars from the Hebrew but the genera] 
sense is the same. The prophet foretels a great destruction of the children oflsrael, 
but not a total one ; a remnant should return and be saved: the apostle very aptly 



IX. Sect. I.] Quotations agreeing in sense , but not in words. 373 


agrees in sense, but 

19. Isa. xlv. 23. not in words, with Rom. xiv. 11. 


’30 tW ♦njDE'3 ’3 

*’3 me” nVi -on np-ra 
jwn tq-Sd jron h 

\rcr>r >2 

I have sworn by myself; the 
word is gone out of my mouth in 
righteousness, and shall not return, 
that unto me every knee shall bow 
every tongue shall swear. 

*20. Isa. xi. 10. 

env nut ova rrm 
□’ey oh toy new w 
ltm’ D’u 

And in that day there shall be a 
root of Jesse, which shall be for an 
ensign of the people ; to it shall the 
Gentiles seek. 

21. Isa. lii. 11, 12. 

IN'a VY© HD 

Ttti N'DD 

0D3DMD1-nmno 

StoE» 

Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out 
from thence, touch no unclean 
things, go ye out of the midst of her. 
And the God of Israel will gather 
you up. (See the marginal render¬ 
ing.) 

22. Gen. xii. 3. 

(And see xviii. 18.) 

nnstj® Sd -p mail 

nomn 

In thee shall all families of the 
earth be blessed. 

23. Dent, xxvii. 26. 

D’p* - vh nm 
mm - rrnm nan - m 
omx rwyh 

Cursed be he that confirmeth not 
all the words of this law to do them. 


Zca eyw, Xsysi Kugiog, on Sfxoi xocp- 
*4^si <7rav yovv, xai tfaa'a yXwtfcra 
sgofAoXoyrjcfsrat ru Qsu. 

As I live saith the Lord, every 
knee shall bow to me, and every 
tongue shall confess to God. 


Rom. xv. 12. 

EoVcu 7) |i£a tou \sd<Sa\, xai o 
avufrafXEvog agxsiv eSvwv, ev' avroj 
sQvr) eXirlouthv. 

There shall be a root of Jesse, 
and he that shall rise to reign over 
the Gentiles ; in him shall the Gen¬ 
tiles trust. 

2 Cor. vi. 17. 

Aio ggsXSrSTS sx pstfou auTWv, xai 
a<pogid&STS, Xsysi Kugiog* xai axa- 
Qagrov p.7j uwrsG&s' xay w £icr<$sgopaj 
up ag. 

Wherefore, come out from among 
them, and be ye separate, saith the 
Lord: and touch not the unclean 
thing, and I will receive you. 


Gal. iii. 8. 

'On £\/S'j'Koyr]&r](fo\J7ai sv doi irav-ra 
ra s&vrj. 

In thee shall all nations be blessed. 


Gal. iii. 10. 

Etfixa ragarog <xag og ovx gppsvsi sv 
<iradi roig yeygamisvoig sv tw /3i§Xiw 
tou vopou, tou ffoirjrfai aura. 

Cursed is every one, that contin u- 
eth not in all things, which are writ¬ 
ten in the book of the law,to do them. 


applies this to the times of the Gospel, when some few of the Jews believed, and 
were saved, and a signal destruction came upon the rest. It is worthy of observa¬ 
tion, that the expressions here in Isaiah are the same as we find Dan. ix. where the 
destruction of Jerusalem is foretold. See this prophecy and the application of it 
well explained by Bishop Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, vol. ii. p. 56. 
Dr. Randolph on the Quotations, p. 3G. 





374 


Quotations that give the general sense. 


[Part I. Cb, 


24. Hagg. ii. 6. 

N’n toys nnK my 

own-rut t ^jno >ki 

pNirmi 

Yet once, it is a little while, and I 
will shake the heavens and the earth. 


Heb. xii. 26. 

E<r» syu (fstu ov fxovov <r»jv 

yyv, aXXa xai tcv wgct vov. 

Yet once more I shake, not the 
earth only, but also heaven. 


agrees in sense, but 
not in words, with 


IV. Quotations that give the general sense, hut which abridge or 

add to it. 


1. 


(Psal. xxii. 6. lxix. 9,10. Isa. 
lii. liii. Zech. xi. 12, 13.) 


compared with Matt. ii. 23. 

'Ocrwg <n'X7)£w& , >] to Sia twv 

^otprjTwv, bn Na^w^aiog xhrt&Y}<is<rair 
That it might be fulfilled which 
was spoken by the prophets, He 
shall be called a Nazarene. 


2. Zech. ix. 9. 

See the passage, No. 4. p. 368. supra. 

3 Isa. vi. 9, 10. 

See the passage No. 6. p. 354. supra. 

4. Gen. xv. 13, 14. 

pan *]jnr nw nrs 

uyi oroyi art 1 ? vb 
: rw nwa yrm onx 
•nay’ “kpn wnt* on 


John xii. 15. 

See the passage, No. 8. p. 369. supra. 

John xii. 40. (And see Matt. xiii. 
14, 15. Mark iv. 12. Luke viii. 
10. Acts xxviii. 26.) 

Acts vii. 6, 7. 

'On sdnxi to drfsgixa avrov <xu- 
goixov sv yvj aXkorgiu, xou (SouXwtfoufl'iv 
auTo, xai xaxwtfouo'iv s-ttj rSTguxocna. 
Kai to sAvog, w sav SovXsva’uCt, xgivu 
syoj , eitfsv o 0sog• xai ftSTa vauTa 


1 As the evangelist cites the Prophets in the plural number, it is highly probable 
that this passage is not a quotation from any particular prophet, but a citation de¬ 
noting the humble and despised condition of the Messiah, as described by the 
prophets in general, and especially by the prophet Isaiah. See Dr. Hunt’s sermon 
on Matt. ii. 23. at the end of his “ Observations on several Passages in the Book of 
Proverbs.” pp. 170—193. Though the words, he shall be called a Nazarene, are 
not to be found in the writings of the prophets, yet, as the thing intended by them is 
of frequent occurrence, the application is made with sufficient propriety. The 
Israelites despised the Galileans in general, but especially the Nazarenes; who 
were so contemptible as to be subjects of ridicule even to the Galileans themselves. 
Hence, Nazarene was a term of reproach poverbially given to any despicable worth¬ 
less person whatever. Wherefore, since the prophets (particularly those above 
referred to) have, in many parts of their writings, foretold that the Messiah should be 
rejected, despised, and traduced, they have in reality predicted that he should be 
called a Nazarene. And the evangelist justly reckons Christ’s dwelling in Nazareth, 
among other things, a completion of these predictions; because in the course of his 
public life, the circumstance of his having been educated in that town was frequently 
objected to him as a matter of scorn, and was one principal reason why his country¬ 
men would not receive him. (John i. 46. and vii. 41. 52.) Dr.Macknight’s Harmony, 
vol. i. p. 53. 8vo. edit. See also Rosenmilller, Kuinoel, and other Commentators on 
this text. 





f a. Sect. I.] Quotations that give the general setise. 


375 


p-nroo p 
Sru eo"iD 

That thy seed shall be a stranger 
:n a land that is not theirs, and shall 
serve them, and they shall afflict them 
four hundred years. And also that 
nation whom they shall serve will I 
judge: and afterwards shall they come 
out with great substance. 


tfytevG-ovTcct, X.CCI XctTQivtrovrt p&ot if 
T(W T07TCO TOVT6J. 1 

That his seed should sojourn in a 
strange land, and that they should 
bring them into bondage, and entreat 
them evil four hundred years. And 
the nation, to whom they shall be in 
bondage, will judge, says God: and 
after that shall they come forth, and 
serve me in this place. 


Gen. xlvi. 27. compared with Acts vii. 14. 


spy* • noS a'fljnSs 

nonxo ruon 

All the souls of the house of Jacob, 
which came into Egypt, were three¬ 
score and ten souls. 


A'vrocreiXxg h lacrnp pergxxXecrX' 
to tov rrccre^ct xvrov \xku%, kxi icx- 
erxv tjj » Wyyevsioiv xvrov £y ^v^xi? 
iZ^ofArjKCfTX'X e vre . 2 3 

Then sent Joseph and called his 
father Jacob to him, and all his 
kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. 


6. Amos ix. 11, 12. 

□:px Kirin dv 3 
nSajn *vn j-ddyik 
in’-nn' riK wmi 
rrnum O’pK vnmni 
ip’i” idtiv ’Do 

"Sm di~ik nnKtr'nK 
’OS' KIpTl' IB'K D’un 

ncry rnrvoKJ on’Sp 

riNt 

In that day will I raise up the 
abernacle of David, that is fallen; 
and I will close up the breaches 
thereof, and I will raise up his ruins, 
and 1 will build it as in the days of 
old: That they may possess the 
remnant of Edom and of all the 
heathen, which are called by my 
name, saith the Lord, that doeth 
this. 


Acts xv. 16, 17. 

Merac rxvrx xvxcrrg£\p6>, kxi xvot‘ 
XC^tWJCPAI T)JV CTKYlfliV A X^t^ T»JJ> STgW- 

TUKviccy, xxi rx K.XTi<rxx l x i uevx xvt^ 
xvoiKo^og.Yi<ra y xxi xyo^6a<ru xvrtjv. 

O7VU<i xv ixKr t TViTu7tV 01 KXrxXol7rCl 
ruf x&QUTrav tov Kvgiov, xxi Txvrx 
rx e6vn e#’ ov$ tTriKiKXnrxt ro ovopx 
fxov E7T xvrovg, Xsysi o rroiav 

rxvrx 7 txvtx» 

After this I will return and build 
again the tabernacle of David, which 
is fallen down; and I will build up 
again the ruins thereof, and I will set 
it up: that the residue of men might 
seek after the Lord, and all the Gen¬ 
tiles upon whom my name is called, 
saith the Lord, who doeth all these 
things. 


1 It seems to have been Stephen’s design to give a short account of God’s dealing 

with the children of Israel. In this he does not confine himself to the words of 
Moses, but abridges his history, and sometimes adds a clause by way of explication. 
The present citation agrees very nearly with the Hebrew. It only adds, tlTTiV 0 ©£ 0 f J 
and again, *** \xT e iv<rov<ri ^o* tv t» to;™ toutu. ; which seems to refer to v. 16. where 
it is said, they shall come hither again. Dr. Randolph on the Quotations, p. 33. 

3 On the difference in number in this quotation, between the statement of the 
jifotomartyr Stephen, see Vol. I. pp. 541, 542. 


2 




376 Quotations from several passages of Scripture . [Part I. Ch. 


7. Isa. xxix. 10. (and see Isa. 
vi. 9. Ezek. xii. 2.) 

mn» DD'Sy -pro 
-m oyn no*nn nn 

The Lord hath poured out upon 
you the spirit of deep sleep, and 
hath closed your eyes. 

8. (Gen. vi. 3. 5. 1) 


compared with Rom. xi. 8. 

E<$wxsv avrois 6 ©sog irvsviM xa- 
Tavugswg, o<p2raX|aou£ tou /3XstfSiv, 
xai wra tou axoueiv. 1 

God hath given them the spirit of 
slumber, eyes that they should not 
see, and ears that they should not 
hear. 

James iv. 5. 

Il£0S (pSrOVOg StfltfoSsi TO tfVSUjUUX 0 

xaruxrjG'sv sv fyuv. 2 

The spirit, that dwelleth in us, 
lusteth to envy. 


V. Quotations that are taken from several passages of Scripture. 

Sometimes there is such a change made in the quotation, that it is 
not easy to ascertain from what particular passage of the Old Testa¬ 
ment it is taken. The instances of this description, however, in 
which the citation is made from several passages of Scripture, are 
very few. Dr. Randolph has mentioned only three, to which we 
have added two others. 


1. (See Psal. Ixxxix. 20. and ) . 

1 Sam. xiii. 14.) / compared with Acts xiii. 22. 


2. Isa. xxviii. 16. and viii. 14. 
See the passage, No. 28. p. 358. su¬ 
pra . 

3. Isa. xxix. 10. (and see Isa. vi. 

9. and Ezek. xii. 2.) 

See No. 7. at the top of this page. 


Eu^ov Aa§i<$ tov tou Ifffl'tfou, avdga. 
Kara rr\v xagdiav pou, og tfoiriGSi navra 
ra §s\y]para p-ou. 

I have found David the son of 
Jesse, a man after my own heart, 
which shall fulfil all my will. 

Rom. ix. 33. (and see Rom. x. 
11. and 1 Pet. ii. 6.) 

V 

Rom. xi. 8. 


1 The first part of this quotation agrees with the Hebrew, only altering the per¬ 
son, them for you. The latter part seems to refer to some other Scripture, either 
Isa. vi. 9. or Ezek. xii. 2., where the same thing is said. Dr. Randolph on the Quo¬ 
tations, p. 37. 

2 This, Dr. Randolph has observed, is a difficult passage. The apostle is gene¬ 
rally thought to refer to Gen. vi. 3. 5., where we have the like in sense; but, in 
expression, the apostle differs widely both from the Hebrew and the Septuagint. 
Dr. Randolph and Mr. Scott, after some expositors, think it a general reference to 
the doctrine of Scripture, and not a direct quotation ; as much as to say, it is the 
constant doctrine of Scripture, that the spirit which dwelleth in us lusteth to envy , 
and is prone to all evil. It ought however to be observed that many eminent 
critics, as Whitby, Griesbach, Macknight, &c. divide this verse into two members, 
which they read and point interrogatively, thus, Do ye think that the Scripture 
speaketh in vain ? Doth the spirit, which dwelleth in us, hist unto envy ? Which 
mode of pointing removes the difficulty at once. 




377 


iX. Sect. I.] Quotations differing from the Hebrew. 

4. Isa. Ixii. 11. Zech. ix. 9. compared with Matt. xxi. 5. 
See the passage, No. 4. p. 368. supra. 


5. Psal. lxix. 26. and cix. 8. Acts i. 20. 

See the passage, No. 10. p. 370. su, 
pra. 

To this head also we may perhaps refer the Quotation IV. No. 1. 
p. 374., relative to the Messiah being called a Nazarene. 


VI. Quotations differ big from the Hebrew , but agreeing with the 

Septuagint. 

1. Isa. xxix. 13. compared with Matt. xv. 8, 9. 


vm njn ojm urn o 

pm i3Pi un33 vnssoi 
\nK onxT ♦nm uoo 
'mD 70 D’B'jx nv»o 

This people draw near me with 
dieir mouth, and with their lips do 
honour me, but have removed their 
heart far from me: and their fear 
towards me is taught by the precept 
of men. 


E yyi^et fiot o Xxo$ ourog <rroyx- 
t; ccvTcev , xxt r oig tie ntxx' 

»j Kx^tcc xvtcdv iro^a xtste^U xz 
e/xov‘ fix T>}> tre&ovrxi y-iy g3xt~ 

tcavreS liilixrKxXixs, errxhjxxrx XJ$gu- 
rrav. 

This people draweth nigh unto me 
with their mouth, aud honoureth me 
with their lips: but their heart is far 
from me. But in vain do they worship 
me, teaching for doctrines the com¬ 
mandments of men. 


2. Psal. xiv. 8—11. 

7’on njjS rvirt' ♦mt? 
pS : DioN'Sa ’j’O’o »d 
m r\a ’-n3D. ’3h not? 

*3 17037 J3C" '73*3 

SlNtP.*? 3?vn-N'S 

niN7 l 7 7’7’on fnn‘N‘7 
D"n m« ’}y» 7 in : fins* 
2 1’J3"7k mnatr jntr 

I have set the Lord always before 
me: because he is at my right hand 
I shall not be moved. Therefore my 
heart is glad, and my glory rejoic- 
eth; my flesh also shall rest in 
hope. For thou wilt not leave my 
soul in hell, nor suffer thy Holy One 
to see corruption. Thou wilt show 


Acts ii. 25—28*. 

TO? K. V£iOt tVCC7TI6V fXOU 
hx ttxvtos, ori etc iuv you irrtv, 
ivx yv exXiv&U' Aix rovro tv&gxv- 
yj Kxfiix yov, xxt yyxXXtXO-XTo V 
yXurcrx yov' in be xxt h rxg% jxov 
KXTX< 7K1)'960<ni irt fA *Orf OVK 

lyxxrxXzi-^/ng rtjv yov eig 

ct'ciov, ov^is Kurils rov onov <rov to'etv 
o'txfiBogxv. EyvcugirxS yoi oriovg 
rr>^^areig ye iv$(>orvvr,$ ytrx rov 
zr^otroiTTov cron. 

I foresaw the Lord always before 
my face; for he is on my right hand 
that I should not be moved.—There¬ 
fore did my heart rejoice and my 
tongue was glad; moreover also 
my flesh shall rest in hope, because 


The Septuagint version of this passage is given in/ra, Sect. II. § ii. No. 5. 

The Septuagint version of this passage is given infra , Sect. II. § i. No. 16. See 
the note on that passage. 

VOX,. II. 


48 




378 Quotations in which there is reason to suspect [Part I. Ch. 


me the path of life ; in thy presence thou wilt not leave my soul in hell 
is fulness of joy. nor leave thy Holy One to see cor¬ 

ruption. Thou hast shown to me 
the ways of life; thou shall make 
me full of joy with thy countenance. 

3. Amos v. 25—27. compared with Acts vii. 42, 43. 


-ontwn nmoi Dtorrr , 

inm h 
ormm .: ra 

DKl D33/S .“TOD rut 

3313 D3’07if |V3 

orvey x’K 
oorw ’mini : 03 S 

pmr? nt6no 

Have ye offered unto me sacrifices 
and offerings, in the wilderness, 
forty years, O house of Israel ? But 
ye have borne the tabernacle of 
your Moloch and Chiun, your ima¬ 
ges, the star of your god which ye 
made to yourselves. Therefore I 
will cause you to go into captivity 
beyond Damascus. 


M t] dcpayiu xca butfiag <?r^oflVr 
vsyxars pio» err] cstfo'a^axovra sv <rrj 
eg'WU, oixo g IdgarjX $ Kai avsXaSscs 
tt]v (Tx7]vr]v coii MoXox, xai <ro aflV^ov 
co’j Ssou C/xojv 'Ps/npav, roug cutfoug 
oug STroi^tfacs ‘rrgoo'xvvsiv aucojg* xcu 
[isromoj Cfxas srfsxs iva Ba§uXwvog. 

O ye house of Israel, have ye 
offered to me slain beasts and sacri¬ 
fices, forty years in the wilderness ? 
Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of 
Moloch, and the star of your god 
Remphan, figures which ye made 
to worship them, and I will carry 
you away beyond Babylon. 


4. Isa. Iv. 3. 

m3 os'? nrms’i 
D’iONjn rn non oSiy 

I will make an everlasting cove¬ 
nant with you, even the sure mercies 
of David. 


Acts xiii. 34. 

A udu Cpiv <ra otfia Aa§i<5 <ra 
ca. 

I will give you the sure mercies 
of David. 


Rom. x. 18. 


James iv. 6. 

c 0 ©sog Cirs^qiavoig avricacfffscco, 
ca^eivoig 6s 6i6udt x a f ,v * 

God resisteth the proud, but giv- 
eth grace unto the humble. 


VII. Quotations in which there is reason to suspect a different read¬ 
ing in the Hebrew, or that the apostles understood the words in a 
sense different from that expressed in our Lexicons. 

1* Micah v. 2. compared with Matt. ii. 6. 

nmax DnS-no nnxi Kai rfu Bs^Xssfji, yr\ Iouda, eu<5a|UK*ig 

mii-p nvrn sXa x^v « & coig « iou<$o 


5. Psal. xix. 5. 

See the passage, No. 30. p. 359. 
supra. 

6. Prov. iii. 34. 

P'S’ N'in D’i’SS - DK 

;rr;rv D”iy7i 

Surely he scorneth the scorners, 
but giveth grace unto the lowly. 



379 


A different Reading in the Hebrew , &fc. 


FX. Sect. I.] 

Wio nvnS njt b qoa 

INIC”!! 

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, 
though thou be little among the 
thousands of Judah, yet out of thee 
shall he come forth unto me, that is 
to be ruler in Israel. 


ex rfou yag ggsXsurfsrai yycvfAevog, 
odrtg <ffo»p,avs» <rov Xaov jutou <rov 
Irf^ayjX. 1 

And thou, Bethlem in the land of 
Juda, art not the least among the 
princes of Judah: for out of thee 
shall come a governor that shall 
rule my people Israel. 


Mai. iii. 1. comparod with Matt. xi. 10. Mark i. 2. 


-rosi onSo rhv *nn 

*j£n i*n 

Behold I will send my messenger, 
and he shall prepare the way be¬ 
fore me. 


Luke vii. 27. 

Itiou, eyu> an 'orfrsXXw <rov ayye \ov 
(lov ft go ft god w'Tou rfou, os xarudxev- 
adei rr\v b5ov d ou e^ftgod^SM rfou. 2 

Behold I send my messenger be¬ 
fore thy face, which shall prepare 
thy way before thee. 


3. Isa. lxi. 1, 2. 

’Sr mrr uin mi 
•jin mrr nra jr’ 

’jnStr , D’lir. “icop 

NipS . aS-nxoS corn 

D’TIDN 1 ?! 1111 D’lDrS 

Pi’rnx' NipS .* mp-npp 

mn*S 

The Spirit of the Lord God is 
upon me, because the Lord hath 
anointed me to preach good tidings 
unto the meek, he hath sent me to 
bind up the broken hearted, to pro¬ 
claim liberty to the captives, and 
the opening of the prison to them 
that are bound: to proclaim the ac¬ 
ceptable year of the Lord. 


Luke iv. 18, 19. 

Ilvsup-a Ku^iou en:' eye, ou svexev 
s^gjrfs fx£ evayyeX^edSat ftToryoig* 
aftsdruhxe ps larfarfSou <roug rfuv<re- 
rgiixfievovg ttjv xagStav , xr)gvf;co ai^- 
pa Xuroig aqosdiv, xai TupXoig ava- 
^XsvJ^iv, aftodrsiXat reSgaud/Aevoug ev 
aepeder Kr\gv%ai evictvrov Ku^jou Ssxrov. 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon 
me, because he hath anointed me 
to preach the Gospel to the poor, he 
hath sent me to heal the broken 
hearted, to preach deliverance to 
the captives, and recovering of sight 
to the blind, to set at liberty them 
that are bruised, to preach the ac¬ 
ceptable year of the Lord. 


1 This quotation agrees exactly neither with the Hebrew nor with the Septuagint. 
The only material difference is that the evangelist adds the negative ovba^i, which 
is in neither of them. But the Syriac translation reads it with an interrogation, 
jVim parva es ? Art thou little ? And so Archbishop Newcome has rendered it: 

And thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, 

Art thou too little to be among the leaders of Judah ? 

Out of thee shall come forth unto me 
One who is to be a ruler in Israel. 

The question, he observes, implies the negative, which is inserted in Matt. ii. 6 . 
and also in the Arabic version. Both the Hebrew and the Greek, as they now stand, 
are capable of being pointed interrogatively. And it is worthy of remark, that the 
Codex Cantabrigiensis reads /z» 7 , not, interrogatively, instead of ovSapws, in which it 
is followed by the Old Italic version, and by Tertullian, Cyprian, and other Latin 
fathers. 

2 This quotation differs from the Hebrew and all the old versions in these two 
particulars : the words irpo irpoounov a ov are added, and what is in Hebrew jdS, before 
me, is rendered cunpooSev oov, before thee , For the reason of this difference it is not 



380 Quotations in which there is reason to suspect [Part I. Ch. 
4. Isa. liii. 7, 8. compared with Acts viii. 32, 33. 


Sav roD 1 ? rwp 

noTta mu usS 7mai 

■no» :vs nn3’ X7i 
nrrnxi npS DStruoi 
pxo “iuj *a nmr’ *o 

Dm 

He is brought as a lamb to the 
slaughter; and as a sheep before 
her shearers is dumb, so he openeth 
not his mouth. He was taken from 
prison and from judgment ; and 
who shall declare his generation; 
for he was cut off out of the land of 
the living. 

5. Hab. i. 5. 

loom o'vo im 
7ys-»a man manm 

13'DK/T N7 DD’DO 7^3 

73D*-»3 

Behold ye, among the heathen, 
and regard, and wonder marvel¬ 
lously ; for I will work a work in 
your days, which ye will not believe, 
though it be told you. 

6. Amos ix. 11, 12. 

See the passage at length in No. 

6. p. 375. supra. 

7. Psal. x. 7. 

010701 tibo m»£> ilStf 

His mouth is full of cursing and 

deceit. 

8. Psal. xix. 5. 

See the passage at length, No. 
30. p. 359. supra. 


9. Isa. lix. 20, 21. 

(And see Isa. xxvii. 9.) 

oboi Vxu wtS ten 
:nm’ dno apy*a yra 
onix *ma nxr oxi 

And the Redeemer shall come to 
Sion, and unto them that turn from 


ttTov sifi (Syayrp 

xai ag-vog svavnov <rou xsigovrog 
avrov acpuvog, ovrug ovx avoiysi ro 
tfro/xa avrov. Ev rrj rairstvwa'si av¬ 
rov r) xgiifig avrov r)g§W rrjv 6s ysvsav 
avrov rig 6iv\yr\tfsra \; on aigsrai ano 
rr\g yrjg'/) avrov. 

He was led as a sheep to the 
slaughter, and like a lamb dumb 
before his shearer, so opened he 
not his mouth. In his humiliation 
his judgment was taken away, and 
who shall declare his generation? 
for his life is taken from the earth. 

Acts xiii. 41. 

ISsrs o» xaracpgovyrai, xax Saujaa- 
tiars, xai a(pa vitfS»]TS* bn sgyov syu> 
sgyagofiai sv rats y^sgaig C/xwv sgyov 
d) ov pr) ‘B'ltfTSuo'rjrs, sav ng sxSirjyYjrai 
CfXIV. 

Behold ye despisers, and wonder 
and perish; for I work a work in 
your days, a work which you shall 
in no wise believe, though a man 
declare it unto you. 

Acts xv. 16, 17. 


Rom. iii. 14. 

*flv ro cVojaa agag xai mxgiag 
ysfisx. 

Whose mouth is full of cursing 
and bitterness. 

Rom. x. 18. 


Rom. xi. 26, 27. 

'H|si sx 2iwv 6 |uof isvog, xai cwro- 
(frgs^si atfe§si ag cwro Iaxw§. Kai 
avrr] avroig rj trag' Sfiov SiaSrjxy, orav 
a<psXwp.ai rag afxagnag avruv. 

There shall come out of Sion the 
deliverer, and shall turn away un¬ 


easy to account, but by supposing some corruptions crept into the antient copies; 
the sense is much the same. Dr, Randolph on the Quotations, p. 28. 



381 


IX. Sect. I.] A different Reading in the Hebrew, fyc. 


transgression, saith the Lord. As godliness from Jacob. For this is 
for me, this is my covenant with my covenant unto them, when I 
them, saith the Lord. shall take away their sins. 


10. Deut. xxxii. 35. compared with 
See the passage at length in No. 

35. p. 360. supra. 

11. Deut. xxxii. 42. 

See the passage at length in No. 

36. p. 360. supra. 

12. Isa. lxiv. 3. (4. of English 

version.) 

sh yotp-N 1 ? oSyai 
nnxTN'S jy wan 
pray* ym own 

VTonh 

For, since the beginning of the 
world, men have not heard nor per¬ 
ceived by the ear, neither hath the- 
eye seen, O God, besides thee, what 
lie hath prepared for him that wait- 
eth for him. 


Rom. xii. 19. (and see Heb. x. 30.) 

Rom. xv. 10. 

1 Cor. ii. 9. 

A otp^aXfjLos ovx si8s, xai ovg ovx 
yxoutfs, xai Srfi xagSiav otM^gutfov oox 
avs§yj, a fyroi/xatfsv 6 0sog rots a^a^rw-. 
rfiv aurov. 1 

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
nor have entered into the heart of 
man, the things which God hath 
prepared for them that love him. 


13. Hab. ii. 3, 4. 

: “irw sh jo* jo-y 

m&r-N*? rtay run 
insiojo pnm id 

PIT 

For the vision is yet for an ap¬ 
pointed time ; but at the end, it 
shall speak and not lie: though it 
tarry, wait for it, because it will 
surely come, it will not tarry. Be¬ 
hold, his soul which is lifted up, is 
not upright in him: but the just 
shall live by his faith. 


Heb. x. 37, 38. (and see Rom. i. 
17. Gal. iii. 11.) 

‘O e^oiis\ios 7]gsi, xca ov X§ 0VlSl ‘ 
*0 8s Sixuiog sx rfidrsug £n<fsrar xai 
sav vnodrstXrirai, ovx svSoxei rj 4/u^rj 
pov sv a vtoj. 

He that shall come will come, 
and will not tarry. Now the just 
shall live by faith: but if any man 
draw back, my soul shall have no 
pleasure in him. 


14. Isa. xxviii. 16. 

pN p’5D ID’ ’JJH 

noio mp’ njs to pN 

c"n’ N’S poNon "TD10 


1 Pet. ii. 6. (and see Rom. ix. 33.) 

Idou, n^rjpi sv Siuv XiSov axgo- 
yuviaiov, sxXsxrov, svnpov xou 6 tuf- 
<rsuwv sir’ a urw on pr\ xaraid-/yv^r[. 


l This is a most difficult passage; it does not agree either with the Hebrew or 
the Septuagint, or any other translation now extant; nor is it possible either to make 
sense of the Hebrew, or to reconcile the old versions, either with the Hebrew or 
with one another : All that can be said is, that in the apostle’s citation the.sense is 
easy, and consistent, and agreeable to the context in the prophet. No sense can be 
made of the Hebrew, but by a very forced construction : Some have imagined the 
citation to have been taken from some Apocryphal book : But it is so near to the 
Hebrew here, both in sense and words, that we cannot suppose it to be taken from 
any other source : Nor in this case would the apostle have introduced it with the 
formula of quotation — as it is written: — It is more reasonable to suppose that the 
Hebrew text has been here greatly corrupted, and that the Apostle took his citation 
from some more correct copy. See Bishop Lowth’s Note on Isa. lxiv. 4. — Dr. 
Kennicott’s Dissertatio Generalis, § 84. 87. — Dr. Randolph on the Quotations, p. 39, 



382 Passages in which the Hebrew seem to be corrupted . [Parti. Ch. 


Behold I lay in Zion for a 
foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a 
precious corner stone, a sure foun¬ 
dation ; he that believeth shall not 
make haste. 


Behold, I lay in Sion a chief cor¬ 
ner stone, elect, precious; and he 
that believeth on him shall not be 
confounded. 


VIII. Passages in which the Hebrew seems to be corrupted . 


1. Mai. iii. 1. cited in 

2. Micah v. 2. 

3. Psal. xvi. 8—11. 

4. Amos ix. 11, 12. 

5. Psal. cx. 4. 

-by fnrrnm 

pnsrwo ’jvm 

Thou art a priest for ever, after 
the order of Melchizedec. 

6. Psal. xl. 7—9. (6—8. of Eng¬ 

lish version.) 

rwon nrooi rar 
nViy ,b rno o'1?n 

m : rbm kS nxcom 

♦n»o - nn ’npox 

: by mro TfiD-rnro 

*nSs>t -pm - nwyb 

yo -pro *]mim ’man 

Burnt offering and sin offering hast 
thou not required. Then said I, Lo 
I come: in the volume of the Book 
it is written of me : I delight to do 
thy will, O my God, yea thy law is 
within my heart. 


Matt. xi. 10. Mark i. 2. Luke vii. 27. 
See No. 2. p. 379. supra. 

Matt. ii. 6. 

See No. 1. p. 378. supra. 

Acts ii. 25—28. 

See No. 2. p. 377. supra. 

Acts xv. 16, 17. 

See No. 6. p. 375. supra. 

Heb. v. 6. 

2u I sgsvg sig tov aiwva xara ttjv 
<ra|iv M sk)(i(ts5sx. 

Thou art a priest for ever, after 
the order of Melchisedec. 

Heb. x. 5-—7. 

Gudiav xai vgodcpogav oux tjSsXt)- 
tfas, tfwfxa 5s xarYigntfu fxor 'OXo- 
xuvrufAarci xai oux su5o- 

xrjtfag. Tots sjtov* I5ou, *jxw (sv 
xs(paXi<5j /3»§Xiou ysygatf7ai s/xov) 
rov <ffoiv\<icu , 6 0s os, 70 SsX'qf/.a tfou. 1 

Sacrifice and offering thou would- 
est not, but a body hast thou pre¬ 
pared me. In burnt offerings and 
sacrifices for sin thou hast had no 
pleasure. Then said I, Lo I come 
(in the volume of the book it is 
written of me) to do thy will, O God. 


l This quotation is taken from the Septuagint with a little variation ; but although 
the general meaning is the same, they are widely different in verbal expression in 
the Hebrew. David’s words are, 'h nnD outn aznayim carita li, which we translate, 
my ears hast thou opened; but they might be more properly rendered, my ears hast 
thou bored ; that is, Thou hast made Me thy servant for ever, to dwell in thine own 
house: for the allusion is evidently to the custom mentioned Exod. xxi. 2, &c. 
“ If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve, and in the seventh he shall 
go out free : but if the servant shall positively say, I love my master, &c. I will 
not go out free, then his master shall bring him to the door-post, and shall bore his 
ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever.” 

But how is it possible that the Septuagint and the apostle should take a meaning 
so totally different from the sense of the flebrew ? Dr. Kennicott has a very ingenious 
conjecture here : he supposes that the Septuagint and apostle express the meaning 




383 


IX. Sect. I.] Passages which are mere allusions. 

IX. Passages which are not properly citations, but mere references 

or allusions. 

1. Isa. xii. 3. alluded to in John vii. 38. 

'O ‘7nc'<r£uwv sig sjuls, xa§ug sj'ttsv r\ 
‘iroray.ot sx tyjs xoiXiag aurou 
uffoutfiv o(5aTog ^uvrog. * 1 

He that believeth on me, as the 
Scripture hath said, out of his belly 
shall flow rivers of living water. 

Rom. x. G—8. 

Mr] ^ s\tfr\g sv rr\ xagoia. tfou. Tig 
ava§r)rfsTa» sig rov ou^avov j (tout’ 
ecfri, X^itfrov xuruyaysiv.) H, ng 


of the words as they stood in the copy from which the Greek translation was made ; 
and that the present Hebrew text is corrupted in the word d>J1N aznayim, ears, 
which has been written through carelessness fornu in az gcvah, then, a body. The 
first syllable in az, then, is the same in both ; and the latter o nim, which, joined 
to tn az, makes d'Jtn aznayim, might have been easily mistaken for nu gcvah, body : 
j nun, being very like j gimel; > yod like i vau ; and n he, like final d mem ; espe¬ 
cially if the line on which the letters were written in the MS. happened to be blacker 
than ordinary (which has often been a cause of mistake), it might have been easily 
taken for the under stroke of the mem, and thus give rise to a corrupt reading : add 
to this the root m: carak, signifies as well to prepare as to open, bore, fyc. On this 
supposition the antient copy translated by the Septuagint, and followed by the 
apostle, must have read the text thus, tS nnj rru in az geva carita li ; cu/ta Se Karvpn- 
<tu) fxoi, then a body thou hast prepared me : thus the Hebrew text, the Version of the 
Septuagint, and the apostle, will agree in what is known to be an indisputable fact 
in Christianity ; namely, that Christ was incarnated for the sin of the world. 

The JEthiopic has nearly the same reading : the Arabic has both, A body hast 
thou prepared for me, and mine ears thou hast opened. But the Syriac, the Chal¬ 
dee, and the Vulgate, agree with the present Hebrew text; and none of the MSS. 
collated by Kcnnicott and Dc Rossi have any various reading on the disputed words. 
Dr. A. Clarke’s Commentary on the New Testament, note on Hcb. x. 5. 

1 There are no words answering to these either in the Septuagint, or in the He¬ 
brew. It is indeed no citation, but only a reference or allusion. The Jewish writers 
inform us that on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, it was usual to pour 
water on the altar, to denote their praying then for the blessing of rain, the latter 
rain, which was then wanted against tneir approaching seed-time : This water they 
drew out of Siloah, and brought it with great pomp and ceremony to the temple, 
playing with their instruments, and singing, and repeating the words of the prophet: 
With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. (Isa. xii. 3.) Our 
Lord, according to his usual custom, takes occasion from hence to instruct the 
people; and applies this ceremony and this scripture to himself: He signifies to 
them that the water here spoken of was to be had from him alone— If any man 
thirst, let him come unto me, and drink : He that believeth in me, as the Scripture 
hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. — The word KotXta, here 
translated belly, signifies an hollow receptacle, and may properly be used for such 
cisterns, or reservoirs, as were usually built to receive the waters issuing from their 
fountains: The meaning then is, that every true believer shall, according to this 
scripture, repeated by the people on this occasion, abound with living water, have 
within him such a cistern, as will supply living water, both for his own and others’ 
use : What is signified by water we are informed in the next verse, viz. the gifts 
of the Spirit: The like metaphor our Lord makes use of, John iv. 10. And in the 
prophetic writings (see Isa. xliv. 3. Iv. 1. Ezek. xxxvi. 25—27. Zech. xiv. 8.) it is 
often peculiarly used to signify the gifts and graces of the Spirit to be conferred 
under the gospel dispensation. 


1. , Deut. xxx. 1*2—14. 4 
ION 1 ? NYT MW N 1 ? 

nown xb - 

nnN ■nyocn xh nnpn 



384 


Passages which are 

oh inyoTfo) :nw 
xhnay* kvt 

w nrijn da *ojr»t 
: nwyn nro* u;w) 
-tkd "ott -pa nrip-b 

intsy? •pra'i ysa 

It is not in heaven, that thou 
shouldest say, Who shall go up for 
us to heaven, and bring it unto us, 
that we may hear it and do it ? 
Neither is it beyond the sea, that 
thou shouldest say, Who slftill go 
over the sea for us, that we may 
hear it and do it ? But the word is 
very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth 
and in thy heart. 

3. Deut. xxxii. 17. alluded 

rbk xb ontth irar 

They sacrificed to devils, not to 
God. 


mere allusions . [Part I. Ch. 

mro&v\<isroLi si$ ty\v a/3utfffov ; (tout’ 
stfrij Xgirfrov sx vexguv avayayeiv) 

- Eyyvg tfou to fylfot stfT <v, sv 

tu (Troian (fov, xai sv tyj xagSia ffov. 1 

Say not in thine heart, Who shall 
ascend into heaven ? (that is, to 
bring down Christ from above.) Or, 
who shall descend into the deep ? 
(that is, to bring up Christ again 
from the dead.).... The word is 
nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in 
thy heart. 


t0 in 1 Cor. x. 20. 

AXX’ Stj a $tis» tol sSvtj, Saifxovioig 
Susi, xai ov ©sw . 2 

But the things which the Gentiles 
sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils 
and not to God. 


4. Hos. xiii. 14. 

VTK JTO TTm fttt 

7W "ptDp 

O death, I will be thy plagues ; O 
grave, I will be thy destruction. 


5. Deut. xix. 15.. 

any w stny 

Dip’ d njma'TB’ 


'tshy 

nan 


1 Cor. xv. 55. 

IIou rfou, S avars , to xsvt^ov 5 IIou 
tfou, advjj to vixog j 3 

O death, where is thy sting ? 

O grave, where is thy victory ? 

2 Cor. xiii. 1. 

'Em (fTOfAUTos <5uo p-a£-ru£wv xai 
Tgiuv tfTa$sYi<fSTai <7r av fafAa. 4 


1 The apostle here, with some little alteration, accommodates what Moses says 
in the book of Deuteronomy to his present purpose : Moses there, speaking of the 
covenant made with the children of Israel, expresses the easiness of that covenant 
by proverbial phrases taken from the transactions of God with the children of Israel. 
Who (says he) shall go uy for us into Heaven, fyc. alluding to the delivery of the 
law from Heaven— Who shall go over the sea for us, fyc. alluding to the passage 
of the Israelites over the Red Sea : St. Paul makes use of the like phrases, only 
altering the latter so as to allude to the descent of Christ into the grave : This is a 
most beautiful allusion ; and the latter part, in which the main stress of the argu¬ 
ment lies, agrees both with the Septuagint and with the Hebrew, omitting only a 
word or two. Dr. Randolph on the Quotations, p. 37. 

2 This does not appear to be any quotation at all, though it nearly agrees both 
with the Hebrew and with the Septuagint of Deut. xxxii. 17. Ibid. p. 40. 

3 Dr. Randolph is of opinion that the apostle either had a different reading of this 
passage of Hosea, or that he understood the words in a different sense from that 
expressed in the Hebrew Lexicons. But Bishop Horsley has shown that St. Paul 
only cited the prophet indirectly. Translation of Hosea, Notes, pp. 1G3—167. 

4 This is only an allusion : it is taken, with a trifling abridgment, from the 
Alexandrine copy of the Septuagint, which is an exact translation of the Hebrew. 





Passages which are mere allusions. 


385 


IX. Sect. I.] 


At the mouth of two witnesses, or In the mouth of two or three 

at the mouth of three witnesses, witnesses shall every word be es~ 
shall the matter be established. tablished. 


6. Hos. xiv. 3. (2. of ) 
English version.) ) 


alluded to in Heb. xiii. 15. 


lynstp ono nabem 


_ _ _ __ AC aurou ouv ava(ps^u[isv Svrfiav 

So will we render the calves of aivstfswg Si a <jram s tw 0sw tout’ stfri, 
our lips. xagtfov %s iAswv, ofjLoXoyovvruv tw ovo- 

p-an aurou . 1 


By him therefore let us offer the 
sacrifice of praise to God continu¬ 
ally, that is, the fruit of our lips, 
confessing (marginal rendering) to 
his name. 


To these passages may be added 2 Cor. vi. 18. which seems to 
be a general statement of the substance of several Scriptures, and not 
a quotation. Dr. Randolph thinks that it is most probably a refe¬ 
rence to 2 Sam. vii. 14. where the very words are spoken of Solo¬ 
mon, I will he his father , and he shall he my son : and this promise 
to David is introduced in verse 8. with Thus saith the Lord of Hosts , 
and is by the apostle applied to Christians in general. But Mr. 
Scott is of opinion that the apostle seems rather to apply to Chris¬ 
tians the general declarations made by Jehovah concerning Israel. 
(Exod. iv. 22, 23. Jer. xxxi. 1. 9, and Hosea i. 9, 10.) 2 


1 This is not properly a citation, but only an allusion to an expression in Hos. 

xiv. 3. The phrase Kapnov fruit of the lips, is taken from the Septuagint. 

In the Hebrew, it is u>noe> one, which our English translation and the Vulgate 
version render the calves of our lips. This expression may refer primarily to the 
sacrifices, heifers, calves, &c. which the Israelites had vowed to Jehovah ; so that 
the calves of their lips were the sacrifices which they had promised. From the 
apostle and Septuagint rendering this word fruit (in which they are followed by the 
Syriac and Arabic versions) it is evident that their copies read no (pary) the d being 
omitted; and thus the word would be literally fruit, and not calves. This reading 
however is not found in any of the MSS. hitherto collated. 

2 Dr. Randolph on the Prophecies, p. 41. Mr. Scott’s Collation of the Septuagint 
with the New Testament, in the Christian Observer, vol. x. p. 235. 

vol. ii. 49 



( 386 ) 


[Part I. Ch 


SECTION II. 

ON THE QUOTATIONS FROM THE SEPTUAGINT VERSION IN THE 

GREEK TESTAMENT. 

I. Quotations agreeing verbatim with the Septuagint , or only chang¬ 
ing the person , number . fyc. — II. Quotations taken from the Sep¬ 
tuagint , but with some variation. —III. Quotations agreeing with 
the Septuagint in sense , but not in words. — IV. Quotations , dif¬ 
fering from the Septuagint , but agreeing exactly or nearly with 
the Hebrew. — V. Quotations that differ from both the Septuagint 
and the Hebrew. — VI. Considerations on the probable causes of 
the seeming discrepancies in the quotations from the Old Testa¬ 
ment in the JVew. 

Although the sacred authors of the New Testament have in 
many instances quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures, as the pre¬ 
ceding tables have shown ; yet it is equally certain that they have 
very frequently made their citations from the Greek version usually 
denominated the Septuagint, even where this translation from the 
Hebrew is inaccurate, but where the errors are of such a nature 
as not to weaken the proofs for which they were alleged. In fact, 
as the apostles wrote for the use of communities who were ignorant 
of Hebrew, it was necessary that they should refer to the Greek 
version, which was generally known and read. Had they given a 
new and more accurate translation according to the Hebrew, citing 
as they often did from memory, the reader would not have known 
what passage they intended to quote : and if, on the odier hand, 
while they retained the words of the Septuagint, they had taken 
notice of each inaccuracy, they would have diverted the reader’s 
attention from the main object to the consideration of trifles. 1 It 
must however be remarked, that the writers of the New Testament 
appear to have been so careful to give the true sense of the Old 
Testament, that they forsook the Septuagint version, whenever it did 
not give that sense, so far as they had occasion to cite it, and these 
citations often correspond with the present Hebrew text. The quo¬ 
tations from the Septuagint in the New Testament may be classed 
under the five following heads:—1. Such as agree verbatim with 
the Septuagint, or only change the person ; — 2. Quotations taken 
from the Septuagint, but with some variation; — 3. Quotations 
agreeing with the Septuagint in sense, but not in words; — 4. Quota¬ 
tions differing from the Septuagint, but agreeing exactly or nearly 
with the Hebrew; and,— 5. Quotations which differ both from the 
Septuagint and from the Hebrew, and are probably taken from some 
other translation or paraphrase. The text of the Septuagint here re- 

l Marsh’s Michaelis, vol. i. pp. 215—218. Owen on the Modes of Quotation, 
pp. 4 —12. 




387 


IX. Sect. II.] Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint. 

ferred to is that termed the Vatican : and where there are any ma¬ 
terial variations in the Alexandrine text, they are briefly noticed. 


I. Quotations agreeing verbatim with the Septuagint , or only 

changing the person , number , fyc. 

1. Deut. viii. 3. agrees with Matt. iv. 4. Luke iv 4. 


Oux sir’ a£TW /xovw ^r\(fsrai 6 av- 
Sgwrog, aXX’ siri <7ravr» fy/iurt toj 
sxtfoesvo[Aevu Sia fl'Top.aTog ©sou. 

Man shall not live by bread only, 
but by every word that proceedeth 
out of the mouth of God. 1 


Oux Stf’ agru jxovw tfsrai av&£w- 
< 7r'og, aXX’ Sfti rfavn ^[xun sxtfo^suofJtcvw 
Sict tfvojxaTos ©sou. 

Man shall not live by bread alone, 
but by every word that proceedeth 
out of the mouth of God. 


2. Deut. vi. 16. 

Oux sx'ireiPatfsig Kustov to» ©sov 

Con. 

Thou shalt not tempt the Lord 
thy God. 


Matt. iv. 7. 

Oux sxirsigatfsig Ku^ov tov ©sov 
tfou. 

Thou shalt not tempt the Lord 
thy God. 


3. Hos. vi. 6. 

EXsog SsXw r\ Sutfiav. 

I desire mercy rather than sacri¬ 
fice. 

4. Exod. xx. 12—16. 

TljUUX TOV <K0LTSgCL tf0U, xa » T?)V 

/xrjTS^a tfou—Ou jiioi^S urfsig' Ou 
xXsvj ;S\g' Ou (poveutfsig* Ou -v^su^o- 
(xot^rv^Csig' 

Honour thy father and thy mother. 

— Thou shalt not commit adultery. 

— Thou shalt not steal. — Thou 
shalt not commit murder. — Thou 
shalt not bear false witness. 


Matt. ix. 13. xii. 7. 

EXsov SsXw, xa» ou Sutfiav. 

I will have mercy, and not sacri¬ 
fice. 

Matt. xix. 18, 19. 

Ou povsutfsis* Ou [xoi^suCsis’ Ou 
xXs-^sig* Ou 4'Su<5o/xa^Tu^fl'Sig* Tip-a 
tov Trars^a (Tou xai T7]v /xrjTSPa. 

Thou shalt do no murder: thou 
shalt not commit adultery: thou 
shalt not steal: thou shall not bear 
false witness: honour thy father 
and thy mother. 


5. Lev. xix. 18. 

Kai a.ya.n<r\(Ssig tov tfX'/jtftov tfou wg 
tfsauTov. 

And thou shalt love thy neigh¬ 
bour, as thyself. 


Matt. xix. 19. xxii. 39. 

tov t'X-J'JCJ'iov tfou &s 

tfsauTov. 

i 

Thou shalt love thy neighbour, 
as thyself. 


1 The English version of the Septuagint is given from Mr. Thomson’s Anglo- 
American translation (with the exception of two or three passages that have been 
altered to make them more literal), entitled “ The Holy Bible, containing the Old 
and New Covenant, commonly called the Old and New Testament, translated from 
the Greek. Philadelphia, 1808.” In four volumes, 8vo. 




388 


Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint. [Part I. Ch* 

6. Psal. viii. 2. agrees with Matt. xxi. 16. 

Ex Cro[xarog vypriwv xai SrjXa^ovrwv Ex Cro/xarog vrjffiwv xai SryjXa^ov- 
xarygriCoj aivov. <rwv xar^ritfw aivov. 

Out of the mouth of babes and Out of the mouth of babes and 
sucklings thou hast perfected praise, sucklings thou hast perfected praise. 


7. Psal. cxviii. 22, 23. 

Ai0ov ov atfs^oxijuatfav o! oixoSo- 
fiovvrsg, ovrog syswridy sig xstpoCkriv 
yuviuc,' rta^a Ku^iou sysvsro avry, 
xa i sdn Sav/xaCrr) sv o(pSaXfxoig vjjawv. 

The stone, which the builders re¬ 
jected, the same is become the 
head of the corner. This was from 
the Lord (or, the Lord’s doing); and 
it is wonderful in our eyes. 

8. Exod. iii. 6. 

E yu sifxi o Qsog rov tfargog rov, 
0so£ A/3^aa(x, xai Qsog Itfaax, xai 
Gsog Iaxw/3. 

I am the God of thy father, the 
God of Abraham, and the God of 
Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 

9. Psal. cx. 1. 

Eitsv 6 Ku^jog ru Kvgtu fxov, 
Ka6ov sx Ssg iwv fxov, sojg av Sw roug 
sxfy°vg Cov vrfonoSiov ruv rroSuv Cov. 

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit 
at my right hand, until I make thine 
enemies thy footstool. 

10. Zech. xiii. 7. 

riaragov <rov oroijasva, xai <$ia- 
CxognCdr) Covrai ra ttgofiaru rr\g 

<7T0lfXV»]g. 1 

Smite the shepherd, and the sheep 
of the flock shall be scattered 
abroad. 


Matt. xxi. 42. Mark xii. 10. 
Luke xx. 17. Acts iv. 11. 

AiSov ov artsdoxi^aCav oi 01x060- 
fxovvrsg, ovrog ysvvrj^y] Sig xs<paXr}V 
yuviag' ora^a Ku£»ou sysvsr0 avrrj, 
xai sari Sav^aCry) sv op^aXpois "/j/xojv. 

The stone which the builders re¬ 
jected, the same is become the head 
of the corner: this is the Lord’s 
doing, and it is marvellous in our 
eyes. 

Matt. xxii. 32. Mark xii. 26. 
Luke xx. 37. 

E yoi Si[M 0 Osog AGgaa/x, xai 0 
Osog iCaax, xai 0 Os og Iaxw§. 

I am the God of Abraham, and 
the God of Isaac, and the God of 
Jacob. 

Matt. xxii. 44. Mark xii. 36. 
Luke xx. 42. 

Eiorsv 6 Ku£io£ r w Ku£iw p.ou* 
Kadou sx Ssgiuv fxov, sojg av touj 
sxfyovg Cov v rfovoSiov ruv rfoSuv Cov. 

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit 
thou on my right hand, until I make 
thine enemies thy footstool. 

Matt. xxvi. 31. 

IIa<ra|w tov croipisva, xai SiaCxog- 
mC^Csrai ra irgofiara rqg rfoi[xvrjg. 

I will smite the shej)herd, and the 
sheep of the flock shall be scattered 
abroad. 


I This is the reading of the Alexandrine MS. of the Septuagint, excepting that the 
evangelist reads 7rara£w, I roill smite , instead of naragov. The Arabic version agrees 
with Saint Matthew ; and Drs. Randolph and Owen both think it probable that the 
Hebrew ought to be read "|N instead of "p for it follows in the first person, I will turn 
mine hand , &c. See Houbigant in loc. Kennicott’s DisSertatio Generalis, § 44 
Randolph on the Quotations, p. 30. Owen on the Modes of Quotation, p. 54. 



389 


IX. Sect. II.] Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint, 

11. Psal. xxi. 18. (xxii. 18. ) a „ r :.u f Matt, xxvii. 35. 
of English Bible.) ] ^w.th ’ J(j|m xix 24 


AiSfXSgidavro Ta Sjxaria (xou lauToig, 
xai sin tov SjAaTitf/xov fxou s§aXov 
xXtj^ov. 

They have parted my garments 
among them, and for my vesture 
have cast lots. 

12. Psal. lxviii. 9. (lxix. 9. of 

English Bible.) 

l O ^yjXog tou oixou ti ou mrscpays (ls. 

Zeal for thine house hath con¬ 
sumed me. 

13. Psal. lxxxii. 6. 

E you sura, Ssoi stirs. 

I said, Ye are gods. 

14. Isa. liii. 1. 

Ku^is, rig siridrsuds irrj axoq yjfxwv ; 
Ka» 6 §£a)(iuv Ku£»ou tivi airsxa- 

; 

Lord, who hath believed our re¬ 
port ? 

And to whom hath the arm of the 
Lord been revealed (or, made mani¬ 
fest) 

15. Psal. cix. 8. 

Kai rv\v siritixoiryv a utou Xa/3o i 
sregog. < * 

And let another take his office. 

16. Psal. xvi. 8—11. 

n^OW^WjUM'JV TOV Ku£I 0V SVOJTMOV fAOU 

Sia cravTog, on sx Ssgiuv [xov stir iv, 
iva firj tfaXsuSw. Aia touto suygavDi] 
rj xagSia fxov, xai ojyaXXiatfaTO 

yXwfl'fl’a jaou* Sri Ss xai tfa^f [xov 

xaradxyvojdsi sir' sXiriSi. 'Oti oux 

s^xaraXsi^Sig t»]V jaou sig 

a<5rjv, ouSs Soitisig tov ofl'iov tfou iSsiv 
SioKpOogav Eyvugidag pot oSovg ^w^g* 


AiSfxs^tiavro ra Ifxana fxou lauToig, 
xai stti tov SjjLarKJ'f/.ov /jlov e€aXov 
xXygov. 

They parted my garments among 
them, and upon my vesture did they 
cast lots. 

John ii. 17. 

'O ^Xog tou oixou tfou xarstpays fxs. 

The zeal of thine house hath 
eaten me up. 


John. x. 34. 

Eyu sura, Ssoi stirs. 

I said, Ye are gods. 

John xii. 38. (and see Rom. x. 16.) 

Ku£is, Tig siridrsuds ttj axo v\ fyjiwv • 
Kai 6 figayiuv Ku£iou tivi airsxa- 
Xucpd>j; 

Lord, Who hath believed our re¬ 
port ? 

And to whom hath the arm of 
the Lord been revealed ? 


Acts i. 20. 

T^v siridx4irv\v avrov XaGoi srsgg 

His bishoprick let another take 

/ 

Acts ii. 25—27. 

n^OWgtop^V TOV Ku£lOV SVtotflOV /ULOO 

dia iravrog , oti sx <$?|iwv jxou stir iv, 
Iva /x»j daXsvQw. Aia touto sutppavdrj 
rj xagSia /xou, xai yyaXXiadaro ij 
yXutiti a jaou* sri Ss xai dag% juoou 
xa-Tao'x7]vojtf5i sir' sXiriSi. 'Oti oux 
syxaraXsi^sig rrjv ^u^rjv juoou £ig 
a<$ou, ou5s Sutisig tov ofl'iov tfou l<5clV 
Sioupdogctv. Eyvugiffag aoi oSovs £wr)g* 


390 


Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint. [Part I. Ch. 


irXijfwffs is fA8 su^otfuvrjg psra rov 
Kgoffu tfou tfou. 

I saw the Lord continually before 
me, because he is at my right hand 
that I may not be moved. There¬ 
fore my heart was gladdened, and 
my tongue exulted with joy ; more¬ 
over iny tiesh also will dwell in 
hope. For thou wilt not leave my 
soul in Hades, (or, the mansion of 
the dead,) nor suffer thine Holy One 
to see corruption. Thou hast made 
known to me the ways of life. Thou 
with thy presence wilt fill me with 

joy. 

17. Psal. ii. 1,2. a S ree 

'Ivan scpg ua^av sdvrj, xai Xaoi 
spsXsTyjtfav xsva ; IIa£c<fT»]<rav oi (3a- 
diksig <rris yrjg, xai oi agX 0VTS $ 

6r\dco/ sort to auro xaTa too Ku^rou, xai 
xaTa tou X^itfTou auTou. 

Why did the nations rage, and 
the people imagine (or meditate) 
vain things ? The kings of the earth 
stood up (or combined), and the 
rulers assembled together against 
the Lord and his Anointed. 


18. Gen. xlvi. 27. 

Ilatfai \v/ai otxou IaxwS cci sttfsX- 
doutfai [xsra IaxuS sig Aiyvirrov, -^u^at 
l^op/^xovTaorsvTS. 

All the souls of Jacob’s house, 
that went with him into Egypt, were 
seventy-five souls. 


•K\y\^ds\g ps sv(p^vvr\g [xsra too 

T'^’OCJ'WT'OO tfou. 1 

I foresaw the Lord always before 
my face, for he is on my right hand, 
that I should not be moved : there¬ 
fore did my heart rejoice, and my 
tongue was glad; moreover also 
my flesh shall rest in hope: because 
thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, 
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy 
One to see corruption. 


with Acts iv. 25,26. 

TvaTi S(pg uagav sAvyj, xai Xaoi 
SfxsXsrrjrf av xsva ; 

IlagetfT^tfav ot §atfiXs»g rrjg yv\g y 
xai oi agyovrsg tfuvyi^drjtfav sort to auTo 
xaTa tou Ivu^iou, xai xaTa tou X^itfToo 
auTou. 

Why did the heathen rage, and 
the people imagine vain things ? 

Tlue kings of the earth stood up. 
and the rulers were gathered to¬ 
gether, against the Lord and against 
his Christ (i. e. Messiah, or Ax oust¬ 
ed one). 

Acts vii. 14. 

ArfotfrsiXag 3s Iwrf'iyp ixsrsxaXsffaro 
tov rars^a auTou Iaxw§ xai oratfav rr)v 
(fvyysvsiav auTou sv ^u ^aig ££So[xy]- 

XOVTaTSVTS. 

Then sent Joseph, and called his 
father Jacob to him, and all his 
kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. 


1 This quotation is taken from the Septuagint, but differs in several respects from 
the Hebrew. For VPIP is put ffpowpwpijv. The Vulgate here agrees w ith the Sep¬ 
tuagint ; the Syriac and Chaldee versions wfith the Hebrew. The Arabic differs 
from them all: for this difference it is not easy to account. Again, for niaa, my 
glory , is put ^ yAw<r<ra pov, my tongue. The Vulgate and Arabic, as well as the 
Septuagint, agree with the apostle ; the Chaldee and Syriac with the Hebrew. For 
yit? is put 7rX>7pwff£tj fie. Here again the Vulgate, Arabic, and Septuagint agree. The 
Syriac reads satiahor: the true reading, Dr. Randolph conjectures, might perhaps 
be yOtW, which the Septuagint might translate according to the sense ye. 

These are hut trifling differences; the most important is that *p*uDn, Holy Ones , in 
the plural number, is translated by the Septuagint and cited by the apostle, and 
applied to our Saviour in the singular, rov 5<nov aov, thine Holy One. This reading 
is confirmed by the Keri, or marginal reading, by all the antient versions, and by 
one hundred and eighty of the best Hebrew MSS., and it is required by the sense. 
The Masorites have marked their own reading as doubtful. See Kennicott’s Dissert. 
1. p, 41)6., and also his Dissertatio Generalis, § 17. Randolph, p. 32. Owen, p. 71 



IX. Sect. II.] Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint. 391 

19. Psal. ii. 7. agrees with Acts xiii. 33. 


Tiog jm.ou si tfu, sy u dyfisgov 
ysysvvyx a ds. 

Thou art my Son, this day have 
T begotten thee. 

20. Isa. xlix. 6. 

Ts#sixa ds Sts (pus s&vuv } rov 
sivai ds sis durvjgtav Iw s sdxnrov 
rye yvs> 

I have appointed thee for the light 
of the nations, that thou mayest be 
for salvation to the furthest parts 
of the earth, 

21. Exod. xxii. 28. 

A^ovra <rou Xaou dov ou xaxw$ 
S- 

Thou shalt not speak evil of the 
ruler of thy people. 

22. Psal. li. 4. 

'Otfwg av 5ixaiwdr]S sv rots Xoyoig 
dou, xai vtxyjdrjs sv ru xgtvidOca ds. 

So that thou mayest be justified 
in thy sayings, and overcome when 
thou art judged. 

23. Psal. v. 9. 

Tcopos avsuypsvos 6 Xa£uy| aurwv 
rats yXuddcus otvruv sSohtovdav. 

Their throat is an open sepul¬ 
chre ; with their tongue they prac¬ 
tised deceit. 

24. Psal. cxxxix. 3. (cxl. 3. of 

English Bible.) 

los adtftduv two ra xsiXy avruv. 

The poison of asps is under their 
lips. 


Ti os pov st dv, syoj dypsgov 
ysysvvi)x<x ds. 

Thou art my Son, this day have 
I begotten thee. 

Acts xiii. 47. 

TsSsixa ds sis (pus s&vuv, <rou 
sivai ds Sts durygiccv tug sdyax ou 

ws y*is- 1 2 

I have set thee to be a light of 
the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be 
for salvation unto the ends of the 
earth. 

Acts xxiii. 5. 

A^ovra rov Xaau dov ovx sgsis 
xaxus. 

Thou shalt not speak evil of the 
ruler of thy people. 

Rom. iii. 4. 

*0av StxaiuQris sv rots Xoyotg 
dov , xai vixydris sv ru xgivsd&cct ds? 

That thou mightest be justified 
in thy sayings, and mightest over¬ 
come when thou art judged. 

Rom. iii. 13. 

Tatpos avsuypsvos 6 Xa£uy| aurwv* 
rats yXuddats avruv sSoXtovdav. 

Their throat is an open sepul¬ 
chre ; with their tongues they have 
used deceit. 

Rom. iii. 13. 

Io£ a dtftSuv vrfo ra x £l ^ avruv. 

The poison of asps (a venomous 
species of serpent) is under their lips. 


1 This quotation is the reading of the Alexandrine copy of the Septuagint, and is 
a literal rendering of the Hebrew, merely omitting the pronoun my ; salvation , in¬ 
stead of my salvation. The Vatican MS. differs very much. 

2 This is taken from the Septuagint, which agrees with the Hebrew. The Greek 
translators render njTn (tizkch) thou mayest be clear or pure , by viktiws, thou mayest 
overcome ; for, “ to be clear in judgment,” or to be acquitted, is “ to overcome.* 
Randolph, Scott. 


i 



392 


Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint. [Part I. Ch 

25. Psal. x. 7. agrees with Rom. iii. 14. 

Ou agag to tfropa aurou ysjxst xat 'Qv to 4to[A a agag xat Ttxgta^ 
irixgtag' yenst. 1 

His mouth is full of cursing and Whose mouth is full of cursing 
bitterness. and bitterness. 


26. Psal. xxxv. 1. (xxxvi. 1. of 

English Bible.) 

Oux stfr* 90605 ©£ou atfsvavri rwv 
o9$aXp-wv aurou. 

There is no fear of God before 
his eyes. 

27. Gen. xv. 6. 

Ka» eirnfTSvtfsv AGgap rw ©sw, xat 
eXoyia'drj aurw £15 ^xaiortuv^v. 

And Abram believed God, and 
it was counted to him for righteous¬ 
ness. 


Rom. iii. 18. 

OuX S4TI 90605 ©£0U OLrtSWVTl TWV 
09$aXpwv aurwv. 

There is no fear of God before 
their eyes. 

Rom. iv. 3. 

Ett4TSv4s 5s AGgaap rw ©sw, xat 
s\oyt46r\ a urw S15 Six aiotfuvyjv. 

And Abraham believed God, and 
it was counted to him for righteous¬ 
ness. 


28. Psal. xxxii. 1, 2. 

Maxagio* wv oupsQrjrfav a\ avopia*, 
xat wv stsxoCKvy&ridav at afiagTiat. 
Maxa gtog a vrjg w ou fx-yj \oyi4r)rctt 
Kvgtog aixagTiav. 

Happy are they, whose iniquities 
are forgiven, and whose sins are 
covered. Happy is the man, to 
whom (to whose account) the Lord 
will not impute (or charge) sin. 

29. Gen. xvii. 5. 

HaTSga tfoXXwv s$vwv TsSstxa 4s. 

I have made thee the father of 
many nations. 


Rom. iv. 7, 8. 

Maxa^io* wv aysbr\4av a\ avofuaq 
xat wv £ff£xaXu9^tfav a* afiagTtar 
Maxa^ios a\ir\g w ou p-rj Xoy«<fyra» 
Kvgtog apagTiav. 

Blessed are they, whose sins are 
forgiven, and whose iniquities are 
covered. 

Blessed is the man to whom the 
Lord will not impute sin. 

Rom. iv. 17. 

HaTSga tfoXXwv sflvwv TsSstxa 4s. 

A father of many nations have I 
made thee. 


30. Gen. xv. 5. 

Outws s4Tat to 4irsgna 4ov. 
So shall thy seed be. 


Rom. iv. 18. 

Outws s4t at to 4<irsgiia 4ov. 
So shall thy seed be. 


31. Psal. xliv. 22. 

'Or* svsxa tfou SavaroupsAa oXtjv 
rrjv Tjpsgav* sXoyitf^fjLsv ug ngoGara 
4(pa-yr)S‘ 


Rom. viii. 36. 

'Or* ivsxa tfou Savaroups^a oXrjv 
Trjv TjjASguv sXoyic’dyjpsv W5 r^o^ara 
4cpayr\g. 


1 This quotation agrees with the Septuagint, which also agrees with the Hebrew, 
excepting that the Greek translators have rendered mcno (mirmuth), deceit, by 
Mcpia{, bitterness. Dr. Randolph and Mr. Scott conjecture that they read niV»c 

(MeRflROTH). 




/ 


IX. Sect. II.] Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint. 393 

For, for thy sake we are killed For thy sake we are killed all the 
all the day long, and accounted as day long ; 

sheep for the slaughter. We are accounted as sheep for 

the slaughter. 

32. Gen. xxi. 12. agrees with R 0 m. i x> 7 . 

*0« sv Itfaax x\r)&r)<fsrat Coi AXX’ sv Itfaax xXrjdrjtfsrai (foi 
(fire^a. (firsg jua. 

For in Isaac shall thy seed be But, in Isaac shall thy seed be 
called. called. 


33. Gen. xxv. 23. 

Kai 6 [j.si£uv (JouXsutfsi •toj sXatf- 
tfovi. 

The elder shall serve the younger. 

34. Mai. i. 2, 3. 

Ivai rjyatfrjo'a vov Iaxw§, <rov xai 
Hcfau sjaitfyo'a. 

Yet I loved Jacob, and hated 
Esau. 

35. Exod. xxxiii. 19. 

Kai sXsrjfl’o j ov av sXsw, xai oix- 
‘rsi^rjtfu ov av OIXTSl£OJ. 

I will have mercy on whom I 
please to have mercy; and I will 
have compassion on whomsoever I 
compassionate. 

36. Hos. i. 10. 

Kai stfrai, sv <rw Totfw, ov Gg^r] 
auroij, Ou Xaog [xov v/isig, xXrj^tfovrai 
xai auroi uioi ©sou £ 0 ovrog. 

But it shall come to pass that, in 
the place where it was said, “Ye 
are not my people,” they shall be 
called children of the living God. 

37. Isa. i. 9. 

Kai si fju >7 Kvgiog 2a§aw0 sy- 
xaTsXirfsv rjjaiv oVs^/aa, wg 2o 3o[xa 
av sysvrjdrjjasv, xai To^o^a av 

CUfAOlW^jUtSV. 

Had not the Lord of Hosts left 
us a seed, we should have been as 
Sodom, and made like Gomorrah. 


Rom. ix. 12. 

'O fisi ^ojv (JouXsuo'si ru s'katftiovi. 

The elder shall serve the younger 

Rom. ix. 13. 

Tov Iaxoj§ yywirytfa. <rov 3s Htfau 
SfJWtflftfa. 

Jacob have I loved, but Esau 
have I hated. 

Rom. ix. 15. 

EXsrjtfw ov av sXsw, xai oixrstgY\(fu 
ov av 0 ixrsi^w. 

I will have mercy on whom I 
will have mercy, and I will have 
compassion on whom I will have 
compassion. 

Rom. ix. 26. 

1 . 

Kai stir ai, sv <rw totoj ou 
avroig, Ou Xaog jaou ujasi£, sxsi xXrjdrj- 
tfovrai uioi ©Sou %uv<rog. 

And it shall come to pass, that in 
the place where it was said unto 
them, Ye are not my people : there 
shall they be called the children of 
the living God. 

Rom. ix. 29. 

Ei jar] Kvgiog 2a€aw0 syxars- 
Xitfsv yjjuoiv tftfs^jxa, w g SoSo/xa av 
sysvr^rjjmsv, xai ug rojao^a av w/aoiw- 
6r)[xsv. 

Except the Lord of Sabaoth had 
left us a seed, we had been as 
Sodoma, and been made like unto 
Gomorrha. 






VOL. II. 


394 


Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint. [Part I. Ch. 

38. Lev. xviii. 5. agrees with Rom. x. 5. 


'A tfonifl'as aura avBguirog, ai 
Sv auTo»£. 

Which, if a man do, he shall live 
thereby. 

39. Psal. xix. 4. 

Ei£ cratfav ttjv yyjv e^X^sv 6 
cp&oyyos auTWV, xai sis ra nsgaru <ryjs 
oixov^svrjg <ra £r)[xara avruv. 

To every land their sound is gone 
forth, and their doctrines to the 
limits of the world. 

40. Deut. xxxii. 21. 

Kdyu ‘ra^a^Xwfl'w auToug Stf’ oux 
sQvsi, s<ni sBvsi atfuvSTw vagogyiu au- 

T0U£. 

I will provoke them by what is 
not a nation. 

By a foolish nation will I vex 
them. 

i 

41. Isa. lxv. 1, 2. 

EfMpavrjg sysvrjdvjv tois £j as fxvj 
sitsgururfiv, sugs6r\v roig s jxs [xrj fyrov- 
<Uv — E^s-rSTatfa rag X st £ a $ f xou 
oXtjv tt]v yjfisgav rtgog Xaov aTr'si^ouvTa 
xai avriksyovra. 

I became manifest to them who 
inquired not for me ; I was found 

by them who sought me not.-1 

stretched out my hands all the day 
long to a disobedient and gainsay¬ 
ing people. 

42. Prov. xxv. 21,22. 

Eav tfswa o sxfyog tfou, 4'W/xi^s 
auvov sav &^a, <iro n£e auvov Touto 
ya£ ‘7r'o*wv avB^axag irvgog tfw gsvdsig siti 
rrjv xstpaXrjv avTou. 

If thine enemy hunger, feed him; 
if he be thirsty, give him drink; for 
by doing thus, thou wilt heap coals 
of fire upon his head. 

43. Psal. lxix. 9. 

Ol TOOV OV£l<$l£oVTUV <fs 

BtfS<JtS(fOV £ff’ SfXS. 


'O rfoiritfag avra avBgutfog ^ridsrai 
sv auvoig. 

The man which doeth those 
things shall live by them. 

Rom. x. 18. 

Ei£ rtadav <niv yrjv s^rfKBsv h 
(pBoyyog auvoov, mi sig va tfsgava <rn)S 
oixovpsvrig va |»]fxa<ra auTWV. 

Their sound went into all the 
earth, and their words unto the 
ends of the world. 

Rom. x. 19. 

Eyu va^a^Xooc'w v[xag sir' oux 
sBvsi, siti sQvsi atfu v£vw iragogyx*) 
C/x ag. 

I will provoke you to jealousy by 
them that are no people, and by a 
foolish nation will I anger you. 

Rom. x. 20, 21. 

Ei>gs6r\v voig S[XS jxrj ^voufl'iv, 
8[xcpavr}g sysvo[X7}V v oig S[xs [xr; sirsg w- 

Tootfi-'OX^v 7Y\v rjfxsgav sgsirsrada 

rag p^si^ag M* 00 ^ aov a<7r£ ^wv<ra 
xai avnXsyovra. 

I was found of them that sought 
me not; I was made manifest unto 

them that asked not after me.- 

All day long I have stretched forth 
my hands unto a disobedient and 
gainsaying people. 

Rom. xii. 20. 

Eav ouv its iva 6 sxfyog dov, •I'Odjxi^ 
auvov* sav (h^a, •jtoti^s auvov* touto yag 
toiwv avBguxoug irvgog dugsvdsig siti ttjv 
xsrpahr\v auTou. 

Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, 
feed him; if he thirst, give him 
drink: for in so doing, thou shalt 
heap coals of fire on his head. 

Rom. xv. 3. 

*Ol OVSlSldfXOl TOJV OVSIOI^OVTWV tffi 
sirsirsdov sir Sfxs. 




395 


i 


IX. Sect, n.] 


Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint. 


t • 

On me have fallen the reproaches The reproaches of them that re 
of them that reproached thee. proached thee, fell on me. 


44. Psal. xviii. 49. agrees with Rom. xv. 9. 


Aia rouro s^o/xoXoyiirfojULaj <foi sv 
sdvso'i, Ku£»s, xai red ovo/xan tfou 

For this cause I will praise thee, 
O Lord, among the nations ; and 
sing melodiously unto thy name. 



Aia rouro sgo^oXey'qtfop-ai <f oi sv 
edvso'i, xai red ovopian tfou ^aXw. 

For this cause will I confess to 
thee among the Gentiles, and sing 
unto thy name. 


45. Deut. xxxii. 43. 

Eup^avflrjrs sdvrj fxsr a rou Xaou 
aurou. 

Rejoice, O nations, with his peo¬ 
ple. 


Rom. xv. 10. 

Eti<p£av0?)TS S0V7) jxsra rou Xaou 
aurou. 1 

Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his 
people. 


46. Psal. cxvii. 1. 

Aivsirs rov Kvgiov rravra ra sQvrj, 
zitaivzdarc avrov ravrsg oi Xaoi. 

Praise the Lord, all ye nations; 
Praise him, all ye peoples. 


Rom. xv. 11. 

Aivsjts rov Kvgiov <xavra r a s6vr}, 
xai Stfaivzrfars avrov rtavrzg oi Xaoi. 

Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles ; 
and laud him, all ye people. 


47. Isa. lii. 15. 

'On oig oux avr\yyz\y\ #££1 aurou, 
o-^ovrai, xai oi oux axTjxoatfi, (fvvrj- 
tfoutfi. 

Because they, to whom no pub¬ 
lication was made concerning him, 
shall see ; and they, who had not 
heard, will understand. 


Rom. xv. 21. 

Oig oux avyyysXr) rsgi aurou, 
o-^ovrai, xai oi oux axYjxoaa'i, tfu vy\- 
tfoutfi. 

To whom he was not spoken of 
they shall see ; and they that have 
not heard shall understand. 


48. Deut. xxv. 4. 

Ou (pijLiwtfsig (3ovv aXouvra. 

Thou shalt not muzzle an ox 
treading out corn. 


1 Cor. ix. 9. 

Ou (pifJLWtfsig (3ovv aXowvra. 

Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth 
of the ox that treadeth out the corn. 


1 This is an exact quotation from the Septuagint. The clause which we have 
given, occurs in the middle of the verse ; which some writers not having observed, 
they have supposed that the Septuagint is not quoted. The preceding words of 
this verse in the Septuagint 

l£.v<ppav$r)TC ovpavoi aya avro), 

Kat npo<rKvvt]oaTU)oav avro) iravrcs ayyt\oi Oeov. 

Rejoice, O heavens, with him, 

And let all the angels of God worship him — 

are not in the Hebrew ; and the clause, quoted from the Septuagint, evidently gives 
the genuine meaning of the Hebrew, though, in the abrupt language of poetry, the 
preposition signifying with is omitted. — (Scott.) 


I » 



I 


396 Quotations agreeing with the Septmgint. [Part I. Ch. 

49. Exod. xxxii. 6. agrees with 1 Cor. X. 7. 


Kat sxaQufev 6 Xao g cpaysiv xai 
tfisiv, xou avstfryjtfav nai^siv. 

And the people sat down to eat 
and drink, and rose up to play. 

50. Psal. xxiv. 1. 

Tou Ku^iou 7] yvj, xai ro nhvjgu jaa 
auryj£. 

The earth is the Lord’s, and the 
fulness thereof. 

51. Psal. viii. 6. 

Ilavra uffsrag ag Crfoxaru rwv tfoSuv 

avrov. 

Thou hast put all things under 
his feet. 

52. Isa. xxii. 13. 

4>aywjasv xat nicvfisv au|iov yag 
cm0v»]tfxo/A£v. 

Let us eat and drink, for to-mor¬ 
row we die. 

53. Psal. cxvi. 10. 

Etfitfrsutfa, <5io sXaX^tfa. 

I believed; therefore I spake. 

54. Isa. xlix. 8. 

Kai gu tisxru Sffrjxoufl’a tfou, xai sv 
vj^sga rfurvjgiag £§07]<b]tfa tfoi. 

In an acceptable time I have 
hearkened to thee; and in a day 
of salvation helped thee. 

* 

55. Psal. cxii. 9. 

Etfxo^iritfev, s5wxs roig tfsvyjtfiv* yj 
<$ixaiotfuvyj avrov fisvei sig rov amva rou 
aiuvog. 

He hath dispersed ; he hath given 
to the needy ; his righteousness 
shall endure for ever. 

56. Isa. liv. 1. 

Eu<p£av0yjn (trsiga yj on nxroutfa* 
Jyj^ov xai /3oy)tfov yj oux w<hvoutfa. 


Exaditfsv o Xao£ <pays»v xai <ris»v, 
xai avstfryjtfav nai^siv. 

The people sat down to eat and 
drink, and rose up to play. 

1 Cor. x. 26. 

Ton yag Kv^iou '/] yvj, xai to 
nXyguixa avryg. 

For the earth is the Lord’s, and 
the fulness thereof. 

1 Cor. xv. 27. 

Ilavra yag vnsra^sv viro rovg no Sag 
avrov . 

For he hath put all things under 
his feet. 

j 

1 Cor. xv. 32. 

4>ayw/xsv xai tfiwjxsv au^iov yag 
acrodvyjtfxop-sv. 

Let us eat and drink, for to-mor¬ 
row we die. 

» 

2 Cor. iv. 13. 

Effitfreutfa, Sio sXaXyjtfa. 

I have believed, therefore have I 
spoken. 

2 Cor. vi. 2. 

Kai^co Ssxru ftfyjxoutfa tfou, xai sv 
t^egu (furygiag s§oyj^tfa tfoi. 

I have heard thee in a time ac¬ 
cepted, and in the day of salvation 
have I succoured thee. 

2 Cor. ix. 9. 

Etfxo^r'itfsv, sSojxs roig nsv rjtfiv* y; 
^ixaiotfuvyj aurou /xsvsi sig rov aiwva. 

He hath dispersed abroad, he hath 
given to the poor ; his righteousness 
endureth for ever. 


Gal. iv. 27. 

Eu<p£av0y)ri tfrei^a t] ou nxroutfa; 
|yj|ov xai /3oyjtfov, oux ivoutfa 


397 


IX. Sect. II.] Quotations agreeing tvith the Septuagint. 


on voXXa ra rsxva rrjg sgryxov 
fiaXXov 7] rris s%outr]g rov avSga. 

Rejoice thou barren, who bearest 
not: break forth with shouts of joy, 
thou who sufferest not the pangs of 
child-birth : for many more are the 
children of the desolate than of her 
who hath an husband. 


on voXXa rex rsxva rrjg sgvjfxov 
fAaXXov 7) T7]s s^outrjs rov avSga. 

Rejoice, thou barren that bearest 
not: break forth and cry, thou that 
travailest not: for the desolate hath 
many more children than she which 
hath an husband. 


o7. 2 Sam. vii. 14. agrees with Heb. i 5 


Eyw sto/xai aurou £<g vursga, xai 
aurog street /xot £ig uiov. 

I will be to him a father, and he 
shall be to me a son. 


Eyo) sto^ai auro) £»g rtarsgu., xai 
aurog strut fiot stg uiov. 

I will be to him a father, and he 
shall be to me a son. 


58. Deut. xxxii. 43. 

Kai vgotxuvrjtarutav avroj vuvrtg 
ayysXot ©£ov. 

And let all the angels of God 
worship him. 

59. Psal. civ. 4. 

'O ‘ff’ojwv rous ayysXoug aurou 
rrvsv/juxra, xai roug Xsirougyoug aurou 
vug tpXsyov. 

Who maketh winds his messen¬ 
gers, and flaming fire his ministers. 

60. Psal. xlv. 6, 7. 

'O Sgovog tou, o ©£og, stg aiwva 
aiwvog* £a§dog su6urr}rog tj £a§<5og rys 
fiatiXstag tou’ Hyavrytag Sixatotuvyv, 
xai s/xitrjtag avojjwav Sia rovro ^Xgits 
ts o @£og, o ©£og tou, sXcxiov ayaX- 
Xiatsug vaga rous fisroy^ous tou. 

Thy throne, O God, is for ever 
and ever ; the sceptre of thy king¬ 
dom is a sceptre of rectitude. Thou 
didst love righteousness and hate 
iniquity; therefore God, thy God, 
hath anointed thee with the oil of 
joy above thy associates. 


Heb. i. 6. 

Kai vgotxuvr]tarutav auru vuvrsg 
a yysXot ©sou. 1 * * 

And let all the angels of God 
worship him. 

Heb. i. 7. 

'O voiuv Toug ayysXoug aurou 
wsu/xara, xai rous Xsirougyous aurou 
tfugog (pXoya. 

Who maketh his angels spirits, 
and his ministers a flame of fire. 

Heb. i. 8, 9. 

'O Sgovog tou , 6 ©£og, stg rov atuva 
rou atuvo g* £a€dog su&urr\rog tj guides 
rrjs fiatiXsius tou’ 'Hyuvrjtag Stxato- 
tuvr\v, xat Sfxitrjtas avo/Mtav• Sta rouro 
?Xg ,( t 5 ds o ©£og, 6 @£og tou, sXaiov 
ayaXXiatsojg vaga rous p-£ro^oug tou. 

Thy throne, O God, is for ever 
and ever; a sceptre of righteousness 
is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou 
hast loved righteousness and hated 
iniquity; therefore God, thy God, 
hath anointed thee with the oil of 
gladness above thy fellows. 


1 It will be seen that these words are quoted exactly from the Septuagint of 

Deut. xxxii. 43. But there is nothing answering to them in the Hebrew. Some 

other additions are made to the same verse which are not in the Hebrew.—(Scott) 




398 


Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint. [Part I. Ch. 

61. Psal. cii. 25—27. agrees with Heb. i. 10—12. 

Kar’ «£X a S <rr ) v 7*l v ^vgie, 2u xar’ agxag, Kv^iS Try yry 


sSsfxsXiudag, xai sgy a tuv ^si^gov 
tfou £<cf»v oi ou^avoi. Auroi affoXcuvrai, 
cu 5s 5iap,svsig* xca tfavrsg wg S/xanov 
* 7 raXaiwd 7 ]<Tovrai, xai wtfsi tfS£i§oXaiov 
£Xi£?ig auroug, xai aXXay'qa'ovrai* 2u 
6s o aurog si, xai ra sttj tfou oux 
sxXsi-v^outfiv. 

Thou, Lord, in the beginning, 
didst lay the foundations of the 
earth ; and the heavens are the 
work of thy hands. They shall 
perish, but thou wilt endure : they 
shall all wax old like a garment; 
and like a mantle thou wilt fold them 
up, and they shall be changed. But 
thou art the same, and thy years 
shall have no end. 

62. Psal. viii. 4—7. 

Ti stfnv av^w-rog, on ixi[xvYj(fxri 
aurou 5 7} uiog avd£w< 7 rou on eki^xekty] 
aurov • HXarrwtfag aurov figoc/y n 
Kaf ayysXoug, 5o£rj xai ripi stfrspa- 
vwtfag aurov, xai xo.rs<frr\<3ag aurov 
ski ra sgya tuv X s, f wv tfou * * ,rav<ra 
vKSra^ag vKoxaTU rwv <rro6uv aurou. 

What is man that thou shouldest 
be mindful of him ? or the son of 
man that thou shouldest visit him ? 
Thou madest him a little lower 
than angels ; with glory and honour 
hast thou crowned him, and set him 
over the works of thy hands. Thou 
hast put all things under his feet. 

63. Gen. ii. 3. 

lvai EvXoyrjdsv o ©Sog Try '/jfxsguv 
tv}v e€5ofJW]v, xai yyiadsv au Try on 
sv avry xarSKavdsv uko KavTUv tuv 


sAsfxeXiu jtfag, xai sgya tuv x s, g uv ffov 
siCiv oi ovgavoi. Avtoi atroXouvrai, tfu 
6s 5ia/xevsig* xai tfavreg wg i/xanov 
< 7 raXaiwtb]tfovrai, xai wffsi keq »§oXaiov 
IXigsig auroug, xai aXXayyjfl'ovTai* 2y 
5s o aurog si, xai ra stt] tfou oux sxXsi- 
•^oucn. 1 

Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast 
laid the foundation of the earth, and 
the heavens are the works of thine 
hands. They shall perish, but thou 
remainest : and they all shall wax 
old as doth a garment; and as a 
vesture shalt thou fold them up, and 
they shall be changed : but thou art 
the same, and thy years shall not 
fail. 

Heb. ii. 6—8. 

Tl StfTIV aV^WtfOg, OTI fAlpTjtfXt] 
aurou ; t) uiog av^w-irou, oti ekiTxskt^ 
aurov • HXarrwtfag aurov /S^a^u ti 
•rap’ ayysXoug* 5ogr) xai Tifxrj scfrsyu- 
vwtfag aurov, xai xarstfryj^ag aurov ski 
ra sgya tuv X £, f wv ^vra u ks- 
ra|ag utfoxarw rwv < 7 ro 5 wv aurou* 

What is man, that thou art mind¬ 
ful of him ? or the son of man, that 
thou visitest him ? Thou madest 
him a little lower than the angels ; 
thou crownedst him with glory and 
honour, and didst set him over the 
works of thy hands : thou hast put 
all things in subjection under his 
feet. 

Heb. iv. 4. 

Kai xarsr'aufl'sv o ©sog sv Tr\ Tjpis^a 
ty\ ££6o[ jlt) a<ro cravrwv tuv sgyuv au¬ 
rou. 2 


1 This quotation is taken from the Septuagint, which agrees exactly with 
the Hebrew, only for DtnSnn (thou shalt change ), is put i\il-cis (thou shalt fold 
up). Some manuscripts of this epistle have aAAa£aj (thou shalt change ), which is 
also the reading of the Vulgate version. Dr. Randolph therefore thinks it probable 
that the original reading, both in the psalm and this epistle was aWai-eis. It is so in 
the Alexandrine edition of the Septuagint, and in the clause immediately following, 
all copies read aWayrinovrai. On the Quotations, p. 42. 

2 This is an abridgment both of the Septuagint and the Hebrew. 



399 


IX. Sect. II.] Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint, 


egyuv auTou, wv y]g% aro o ©s og too]- And God did rest the seventh day 
o'ai. from all his works. 

And God blessed the seventh day, 
and hallowed it; because on it he 
rested from all these works of his, 
which God had taken occasion to 
make. 

64. Psal. cx. 4. agrees with Heb. v. 6. 


2u isgevg sis tov aiwva xara rr\v 
Tagiv MsX^itfSfJsx. 

Thou art a ])riest for ever, after 
the order of Melchisedek. 

65. Gen. xxii. 16, 17. 

Asyuv, Kar’ apauTou wpocfa, \sysi 
KuPiog* — 'H suXoywv suXoy^tfoj 
Cc, xai tXi^uvwv tXt]0uvw to dneg pa 
Cov. 

Saying, By myself have I sworn, 
saith the Lord,—with blessings, I 
will indeed bless thee ; and 1 will 
multiply thy seed abundantly. 

66. Deut. xxxii. 36. 

'On xgivsi Kugios tov Xaov auTou. 

Because the Lord will judge his 
people. 

67. Iiab. ii. 3, 4. 

'On ££)(opsvo£ '/j|£i, xai ou p>] 
p^ovirfrj. Eav uto dreiXrjrai, oux svSoxsi 
y) '4^ u X y l sv auTW * o Sixouog w 
mtTrscjjg pou grjderou. 

For he will assuredly come, and 
will not fail. If any one draw back, 
my soul hath no pleasure in him. 
But the just shall live by faith in 

me. 


68. Gen. xlvii. 31. 

Kai irgorfexu vnjtrev IdgarjX £Ti to 
ax^ov tou £a§<5ou auTou. 

And Israel bowed down on the 
head of his staff. 


2u legs vs sig tov aiwva xara rv\v 
Ta^iv Ms’k/idedex. 

Thou art a priest for ever after 
the order of Melchisedec. 

Heb. vi. 13, 14. 

0£og .wpo tie xa& ’ lauTOu, 

Xsywv* 'H prjv suXoywv guXoyiqo'w ffs, 
xai tXii/Iuvwv TX-yjOuvw ffs, 

God .... sware by himself, say¬ 
ing, Surely, blessing, I will bless 
thee ; and multiplying, I will multi¬ 
ply thee. 

Heb. x. 30. 

Ku^iog xgivsi tov Xaov auTou. 

The Lord shall judge his people. 

Heb. x. 37, 38. (and see Rom. i. 
17. Gal. iii. 11.) 

'O sg^o/xevog figsi, xai ou XS 0V,e,m 
'O Ss Sixaiog ex rfidrsug gyderar xai 
eav uflrotfTSiXirjTai, oux svSoxsi tj 4/u^rj 
pou sv avru. 1 

For yet a little while, and he that 
shall come, will come, and will not 
tarry. Now the just shall live by 
faith: but if any man draw back, 
my soul shall have no pleasure in 
him. 

Heb. xi. 21. 

Kai i irgo<fsxvvr\(fsv eni ro axgov r^g 
gaGSov auTou. 2 

And worshipped, leaning upon 
the top of his staff. 


1 This quotation is nearly from the Septuagint: both the Apostle’s citation and 
that version differ considerably from the Hebrew text; yet the general meaning is 
the same. — (Scott.) 

2 See the note in p. 352. supra. 



400 


Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint. [Part I. Ch. 

69. Prov. iii. 11. agrees with Heb. xii. 5. 

'Y is , fj it] oXiyugsi tfouSsiag Ku^jou, tr £is p.ou, /xrj oXiyugsi tfaiSsiag 
HySs sxXuou utf’ aurou sXsy^o/xsvog. Ku^iou, fxi}Ss sxXvov utf’ aurou sXsy^o- 


My son, slight not the correction 
of the Lord; nor faint when re¬ 
proved by him. 

70. Deut. xxxi. 8. 

Oux avvj&si 0‘s, ou Ss firi <Js syxara- 
Xiirrj. 

(The Lord).... will not leave 
thee, nor forsake thee. 

71. Psal. cxviii. 6. 

Kvgios spot fiorjQog, xai ou (poSrjdrj- 
tfo/uLott r» ironjo’si (xoi avQgurfog. 

The Lord is my helper, and I will 
not fear what man can do unto me. 

72. Hos. xiv. 2. 

Kai avrairoSudoi usv xagnov p^siXswv 

f/fXOJV. 

And we will render to thee the 
fruit of our lips. 


73. Exod. xix. 6. 

'Yftsig Ss sdsdte pot fladiXsiov 
Ss^arsujxa, xai sSvog ayiov. 

And ye shall be to me a royal 
priesthood, and an holy nation. 

74. Isa. liii. 5. 

t 

Tw jxwXwffi aurou yfisis «a^(xsv. 

By his bruises we are healed. 

75. Psal. xxxiv. 12—16. 

Tig stfriv avfyutfog o SsXwv £wt)v, 
ayatfwv yfASgas iSsiv aya^ag; Ilau- 
tfov rvjv yXuddav tfou aero xaxou, 
*ai xsiXt] rfou rou (Ay XaXydai <5o- 
Xov* sxxXivav aero xaxou, xai rfoirj- 


(JLSVOg. 

My son, despise not thou the 
chastening of the Lord, nor faint 
when thou art rebuked of him. 

Heb. xiii. 5. 

Ou fiv] ds avw, ou<5’ ou fiy ds syxa- 
raXierw. 

I will never leave thee, nor for¬ 
sake thee. 

Heb. xiii. 6. 

Ku^iog spot fioYjSog, xou ou (poGySr,- 
do/xai n ffoivjdsi /aoi av^weroj. 

The Lord is my helper, and I will 
not fear what man can do unto me. 

Heb. xiii. 15. 

Af aurou ouv ava<ps£wp.sv Sutfiav 
aivsdsug Si a eravrog rw ©sw, rourstfn, 
xa^erov ^siXswv ofXoXo^ouvrwv rw ovo- 
[accti aurou. 1 

By him therefore let us offer the 
sacrifice of praise to God continu¬ 
ally, that is, the fruit of our lips, 
confessing (marginal rendering) to 
his name. 

1 Pet. ii. 9. 

f Tfisig Ss . . .. fiadiXsi ov isgarsupa, 
sQvog ayiov. 

But ye are .... a royal priesthood, 
a holy nation. 

1 Pet. ii. 24. 

Ou rw fxwXwtfi aurou la dyrs. 

By whose stripes ye were healed. 

1 Pet. iii. 10—12. 

*0 yag SsXwv <£w r\\i ayarfav, xou 
iSsiv yfASgag ayaQag, tfautfarw rrjv 
yX wa'a'av aurou atfo xaxou, xou 
^siX-y) aurou rou fxrj XaXr}dai <5oXov* 
sxxXivarw a-ro xaxou, xai tfoirjtfa- 


t See the note in p. 385. supra. 




401 


IX. Sect. II.] Quotations taken from the Septuagint. 


tfov aya&o v* <?7]<r>]<J'ov Sigrjvrjv, xai 
ov aurr ( v 0(p$aX/ jlo* Ku£iou Stfi 
tfixaioug, xai wra aurou £»£ foijfl'iv 
OfUTWV ITgOtfUir OV <5s 
<ra^ xaxa. 

What man soever desireth life, 
and loveth to see good days ? Keep 
thy tongue from evil, and thy lips 
from speaking guile. Depart from 
evil and do good ; seek peace and 
pursue it. The eyes of the Lord 
are upon the righteous; and his 
ears are open to their prayer. But 
the face of the Lord is against them 
that do evil. 


Ku£«ou sir i irotovv- 


ru ayabov' QyrrjGaru si^rjvrjv, xai 
Stugaroj avrrjv. 'On 01 opdaXpoi 
Ku^iou sirt Stxatovg, xai wra aorou sig 
§sr\<Ji\j aurwv* irgo&ojirov Ss Kvgtov sirt 
notovvrag xaxa. 

For he that will love life and see 
good days, let him refrain his 
tongue from evil, and his lips that 
they speak no guile. Let him es¬ 
chew evil and do good; Let him 
seek peace and ensue it. For the 
eyes of the Lord are over the right¬ 
eous, and his ears are open unto 
their prayers: hut the face of the 
Lord is against them that do evil. 


II. Quotations taken from the Septuagint , but with some variation . 

These variations, however, are immaterial, consisting occasionally, 
— 1. Of additions of words, to render the sense more explicit to 
the Gentiles ; — 2. Of omissions of words, where the insertion of 
them was not necessary to prove the point for which they were ad¬ 
duced ; — 3. Of synonymous changes, substituting other words of 
the same import for the exact words of the Septuagint,—which 
might easily be done, citing, as the Apostles sometimes did, from 
memory; — 4. Of transpositions of words ; — 5. Of changes of 
proper names into appellatives; — and, 6. Of occasional alterations 


in the divisions of sentences. But 
invariably given. 

1. Isa. vii. 14. 

l5ou r] ira^svog sv yatirgt Xi^s- 
<rai, xai rs^srat uiov, xat xaXstfs tg <ro 
ovowa avrov E[M[iavovriX. 

Behold the virgin shall conceive 
and bear a son, and thou shalt call 
his name Emmanuel. 

2. Psal. xci. II, 12. 

'On roig ayysXotg avrov svrsXst - 
rat irsgt tfov, rov StatpvXa^at (Ss sv 
irarSatg ratg oSotg <Sov • E irt X S, S UV 
agovtft (Ss, fivj irors irgo<Sxo\v\g irgog 
Xi^ov tov iroSa <Sov. 

For he will give his angels a 
charge concerning thee, to keep 
thee in all thy ways. With their 
hands they shall bear thee up, lest 
thou shouldest at any time strike 
thy foot against a stone. 

VOL. II. 


in all these sentences the sense is 
Matt. i. 23. 

Idou if] iragdsvog sv yarSrgt igsi, xai 
rsgsrai ulov, xat xaXstSovtSt ro ovofxa 
avrov Ejut-fAavouiiX. 

Behold, a virgin shall be with 
child, and shall bring forth a son; 
and they shall call his name Em¬ 
manuel. 

Matt. iv. 6. 

'On. rotg ayysXoi g avrov 

svrsXstrat irsp (Sov , xai sirt 
agovtft (Ss, (XYjirors irgotixo-^vig irgog Xi0ov 
rov iroda (Sov. 

For .... he shall give his angels 
charge concerning thee ; and in their 
hands they shall bear thee up, least 
at any time thou dash thy foot 
against a stone. 


51 




402 


Quotations taken from the Septuagint. 


3. Deut. vi. 13. 

Kvgiov rov ©sov tfou <po§»)0'0»]0'i7, 
xai aurw julovw Xa rgsv&sig. 

Thou shalt fear the Lord thy 
God, and serve him alone. 

4. Isa. vi. 9—11. 

Axov] axou dsrs, xai ou fjwj favors, 
xai (BXstfovrsg §Xs-^srs, xai ou pij 
iSrjrs. Ena^vv&y} yag y xagSia tou 
X aou to.utou, xai roig cufliv auToov 
/3ageojg Tjxoutfav, xai tou$ ocpAuXpoug 
sxafxp.ufl'av, floors iSurfi roig ocpSaX- 
poig, xai toi$ wfliv axouflWi, xai t»] 
xagSia tfuvwtfi, xai esrifl'T^s-^wfi'i, xai 
tadopai auTouff. 

By hearing, ye shall hear, though 
ye may not understand ; and seeing, 
ye shall see, though ye may not per¬ 
ceive. For the heart of this people 
rs stupified, and their ears are dull 
of hearing; and they have shut 
their eyes, that for a while they 
may not see with their eyes, and 
hear with their ears, and under¬ 
stand with their hearts, and return 
that I may heal them. 

5. Isa. xxix. 13. 

Eyyi^si jut-ot 6 Xooog ourog sv tcu 
<Tto| aari- aurou, xai sv <roig ^SiXstfiv 
aurwv rifxutfL fxs, h\ Ss xa gSiu auTwv 
<ogfa ansysi a it' Sjxou* fxar»)v ds 
<fs§ovrai jxs, 5i(5arfxovTSg svruXpoLra 
avdgunuv xai SiSarfxaXiag. 

This people draw near to me 
with their mouth; and with their 
lips they honour me, but their heart 
is far from me: And in vain do they 
worship me, teaching the com¬ 
mands and doctrines of men. 

€L Gen. ii. 24. 

'Evsxsv toutou xaraXsi-^st av- 
Sgatfog rov narsga aurou xai ttjv 


[Part I. Ch 

Matt. iv. 10. 

Ku^iov rov ©sov tfou ngotfxvvytsigj 
xai aurw jaovw Xa rgsvdsig. 

Thou shalt worship the Lord thy 
God, and him only shalt thou serve. 

Matt. xiii. 14, 15. Acts xxviii. 26, 
27. Mark iv. 12. Luke viii. 10. 

A xor) axoutfsrs, xai ou fx>] (fuvrjrs* 
xai fiXstfovreg jQXs-^srs, xai ou juwj 
kJtjts. Etfa^uv^ yag vj xagSta rov 
Xaou rourou, xai roig udi fiugsug 
‘j’jxoufl'av, xai roug oepQaXpovg avruv 
sxappvtfav, prjnors iSudi roig o(p6 aX- 
(xois f xai roig waiv axoutfwfli, xai r>j 
xagSia tfuvcufli, xai sr'KJ’r^s-^wtfi, xai 
ladupai aurouj. 

By hearing ye shall hear, and 
shall not understand: and seeing 
ye shall see, and shall not perceive : 
for this people’s heart is waxed 
gross, and ears are dull of 

hearing, and their eyes they have 
closed ; lest at any time they should 
see with their eyes, and hear with 
their ears, and should understand 
with their heart, and should be con¬ 
verted, and I should heal them. 

Matt. xv. 8, 9. 

EyytQei pot o Xaog ovrog rw (fro- 
pan aurwv, xai roig ysiXsdi ps npa* 
y Ss xagSia aurwv rfog£u ansysi an' 
spov’ parrjv Ss rfsGovrai ps f SiSaff- 
xovrsg SiSadxaXiag, svraXpara avGgu- 
crwv. 1 

This people draweth nigh unto 
me with their mouth and honoureth 
me with their lips : but their heart 
is far from me. But in vain do they 
worship me, teaching for doctrines 
the commandments of men. 

Matt. xix. 5. 

*Evsxsv toutou xaTaXsi-^si av0£a>- 
1 zog rov narsga xai t^v pyrega, 


1 The quotation in this passsage of St. Matthew’s Gospel approaches nearer to 
the Septuagint than to the Hebrew text, especially in the clause pari ;v Sc ocPevrat fit 
— ?n rain do they worship me ; which is found in the Septuagint, but not in the 
Hebrew, and is retained by the Evangelist. The verbal differences, however, show 
that an exact quotation was not intended.— (Scott.) 



But with some Variation. 


403 


IX. Sect. II.] 

(xiirsgct, xai rrgorfxoW7)dri(fiTca tfPog 
<rr]v yuvaixa aurou* xai stfovrai oi duo 
sig dagxa (xiav. 

Therefore a man shall leave his 
father and mother, and shall cleave 
to his wife; and they two shall be 
one flesh. 

7. Zech. xi. 13. 

Kg&s£ uurovg sig ro x wva, ‘ n 1f , o v » 
xai (fxs-^ofxai si Soxi/xov stfriv, ov T^otfov 
edoxijxatfdrjv vifsg au-rwv* xai sXa§ov 
Toug <r£iaxovra agyugovg xai Svs§aXov 
auroug sig tov oixov Ku^iou, sig to 
%ojvsurvigiov. 

Put them into the smelting fur¬ 
nace, and I will see whether it is 
proof, in like manner as I have been 
proved by them. So I took the 
thirty pieces of silver, and threw 
them down in the house of the 
Lord, for the smelting furnace. 

8. Isa. lxi. 1, 2. 

Ilvsyjxa Kugiou si r’ sps, ou s'ivsxsv 
Elio's /xs* EuayyeXi^stfSai ^-ru^oig 
afl'sa'raXxs p.e, iatfatft)ai rovg tfuvrs- 
cgi[A[isvovg rrjv xa^diav, xrj^ugai ai)£fxa- 
Xwroij aqjstfiv, xai rutpXoig ava§Xs^iv* 
KaXstfai sviaurov Kugiou dsxrov. 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 
for the business for which he hath 
anointed me. He hath sent me to 


xai tf£o<J'xoXXr)07]tfsrai rr\ yuvaixi 
aurou* xai stfovrai oi Suo sig tfa^xa 
fxiav. 

For this cause shall a man leave 
father and mother, and shall cleave 
to his wife; and they twain shall 
be one flesh. 

Matt, xxvii. 9, 10. 

Kai sXa§ov ra r^iaxovra a£yu£«x, 
tyjv r ijxijv rou rsr»|xr)|Xsvou, ov sri(ir r 
tfavro arfo viuv Itf^aijX. Kai sSux av 
aura sig rov ay^ov rou xs^a/xswj, xada 
tfuvsrajjs /xoi Ku^io^. 1 

And they took the thirty pieces 
of silver, the price of him that was 
valued, whom they of the children 
of Israel did value : and gave them 
for the potter’s field, as the Lord ap¬ 
pointed me. 


Luke iv. 18, 19. 

IIvsup.a Ku£»ou £tf’ Sfis, ou §vsxsv 
syg itfs jxs suayysXi^stfdai <jrrwp(oij* 
airstfraXxs /xs latfatfdai rovg tfuvrsr^ifx- 
fxsvouj rijv xagSiav, xrjg ugai ai^fxaXw- 
Toig a(pstfiv, xai ruqfkoig ava§Xs^iv, 
atfotfrsiXai rs^autf/xsvouj sv a(pstfsr 
Kij^u^ai sviaurov Ku£iou dsxrov . 2 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 
because he hath anointed me to 


1 See note 2 in p. 368. supra. 

2 This quotation is made exactly from the Septuagint, as far as the words <n^a- 
Awrou aQeaiv, deliverance to the captives : and it accords with the Hebrew (see p. 
379. supra , No. 3.), except that the word Jehovah twice occurs there, which is 
omitted in the Septuagint and by the Evangelist. But, instead of the Hebrew clause, 
translated the opening of the prison to them that are hound , we read rv<f\ois ava- 
fiXc^iv, recovering of sight to the blind ; which words are adopted by St. Luke, who 
adds, anoaruXai TeSpavoficvovs tv a<(>c<n, setting at liberty them that are bruised, which 
words do not appear in the Septuagint. The difference between this quotation as 
it appears in Luke iv. 18. and the original Hebrew is thus accounted for — Jesus 
Christ doubtless read the prophet Isaiah in Hebrew, which was the language con¬ 
stantly used in the Synagogue; but the Evangelist, writing for the use of the Hel¬ 
lenists (or Greek Jews) who understood and used only the Septuagint version, 
quotes that version, which on the whole gives the same sense as the Hebrew. Le 
Clerc, Dr. Owen, and Michaelis, are of opinion that they are either a different ver¬ 
sion of the Hebrew, and inserted from the margin of the evangelical text, or else 
that they are a gloss upon it, taken from Isa. lviii. 6. where the very words occur in 
the Greek, though the Hebrew text is very different. The Arabic version agrees 
nearly with the Evangelist. The Hebrew appears formerly to have contained more 
than we now find in the manuscripts and printed editions. (Scott, Randolph.) 



404 


Quotations taken from the Septuagint , 


preach the Gospel to the poor, to 
heal the broken-hearted, to preach 
deliverance to the captives, and re¬ 
covering of sight to the blind, to 
proclaim the acceptable year of the 
Lord. 


9. Psal. Ixxviii. 24. 

Kai agrov ovgavov sSojxsv uvrotg. 

And he gave them the bread of 
heaven. 


10. Exod. xii. 46. 

Kai oflVouv ou tfi ivrgt-^srs cm r’ aurou. 

And ye shall not break a bone 
thereof. 

11. Joel ii. 28—32. 

Ka» sdrat pera <rau<ra, xai sx^soj 
ano <rou nvsvparog fxov snt nadav dag- 
xa, xai ngojtpyrsvdojdtv oi uioi upwv, xat 
ai hvyarsgsg upojv, xat oi ngsdSvrsgot 
ujawv svuttvi a swnvtadSrjdovrai, xai oi 
vsavtdxot upwv ogadstg o-^ovrai. Kai 
s<n rovg SovXovg pou xat snt rag dovXag 
sv ratg ypsgatg sxstvatg ex%su ano rov 
nvsvparog jaou. Kai dudu rsgara sv 
ou^avw, xai SM rv\g yr\g aipa xat nvg 
xat arptSa xanvov. 'O fyXtog [xsrad- 
rgatpydsrai stg dxorog, xat 7) dsXr\vr\ etg 
aipa, <r£iv sXtis iv rr\v ypsgav Kvgtov rr\v 
[xsyaXriv, xat snupavr]. Kai sdrat , 
nag eg av snitpavr). Kai sdr ai, nag 
og av sntxuXsdrjrat ro ovopa Ku^iou 
duSrjdsrat. 

And it shall come to pass after 
those things, that I will pour out a 
portion of my spirit upon all flesh ; 
and your sons and your daughters 
shall prophesy; and your old men 
shall dream dreams, and your young 
men shall see visions. And on 
my servants and on my handmaids 


[Part I. Ch. 

preach the Gospel to the poor, he 
hath sent me to heal the broken¬ 
hearted, to preach deliverance to 
the captives, and recovering of sight 
to the blind, to set at liberty them 
that are bruised, to preach the ac¬ 
ceptable year of the Lord. 

John vi. 31. 

Agrov sx rov ovgavov sSuxsv avrotg 
(paystv. 

He gave them bread from heaven 
to eat. 

John xix. 36. 

Odrovv ou duvrgt€v}dsrai aurou. 1 

A bone of him shall not be bro¬ 
ken. 

Acts ii. 17—21. (See Rom. x. 13.) 

Kai sdrat sv ratg etyaratg ^sgatg 
(Xsysi 6 ©sog), sx^sw ano rov nvsv/xa- 
rog pou snt nadav dagxa‘ xat ngo<pr t rsv- 
dovdtv oi uioi upwv xai ai Svyarsgsg 
upwv, xai oi vsavitfxoi upwv bgadstg 
o^ovrai, xai oi ngsdSvrsgot upwv tvvn- 
via svvnviad^Tjdovrat. Kai ys snt rovg 
SovXovg pou xat sm rag SovXag pou, sv 
ratg r t psgatg sxstvatg sxysu ano rov nvsv- 
parog pou, xai ngocprjrsvdovdt. Kai Sudu 
rsgara sv rw ougavw avw, xai driest a 
snt rrjg yr\g xarw, aipa xai nvg xat 
arptSa xanvov, 'O yXiog [xsradrgatpv]- 
dsrat stg dxorog, xat 'h dsXyvv) stg aipa, 
ngtv t] sX&stv rv\v Tjpsgav Kugiou rn jv 
psyaXvjv xai snKpavrj. Kai sdra t, 
nag og av sntxaXsdrirai ro ovopa Ku- 
giou, dudvjdsrat. 

And it shall come to pass in the 
last days (saith God), I will pour 
out of my spirit upon all flesh : and 
your sons and your daughters shall 
prophesy, and your young men 
shall see visions, and your old 
men shall dream dreams: And on 


1 This gives the sense both of the Septuagint and the Hebrew, except that it ex¬ 
presses in the passive voice what is there spoken in the active. Or it may be taken 
trom Psal. xxxiv. 20. where it is expressed passively, thus : Ta octra avruv’ iv eg avruv 
ov uwrpii3riaerai. He keepeth all their bones ; not one of them shall be broken. —- 
Randolph, p. 32. 


I 




405 


\ 

But with some Variation. 


IX. Sect. II.] 

in those days I will pour out a por¬ 
tion of my spirit. And I will exhibit 
wonders in the heavens and on the 
earth, blood and fire, and smoky 
vapour. The sun shall be turned 
into darkness and the moon into 
blood, before the coming of the 
great and illustrious day of the 
Lord. And it shall come to pass, 
that whosoever shall call on the 
name of the Lord shall be saved. 


12. Gen. xxii. 18. 

Kai svsuXoy^rjtfovTai sv too direg- 
fxan tfou tfavTa ra s$vr] Trjg yrjg. 

And in thy seed shall all the na¬ 
tions of the earth be blessed. 


13. Gen. xii. 1. 

E|sXSe sx rvjg yr\g tfou xai sx <ry)g 
Cuyysvstag <fou, xa» sx tou oixou tou 
•targog tfou* xai dsvgo stg rrjv, yrjv, tjv 
av dot Ssi%u. 

Depart from thy land, and from 
thy kindred, and from the house of 
thy father, and come to the land 
which I will show thee. 

14. Amos v. 25, 26. 

Mrj tfqjayia xai Coding •ngod , r\\syx<xrs 
juioi, oi xog ldga.r\\ rsddctgOLXovra Srr\ sv 
tt) eg rjjtxw J Kai avsXa§STS Trjv tfxrjvrjv 
<rou MoXop(, xai to ad-rgov tou Ssou 
ipojv 'Paipav, rovg ruvovg auTwv ovg 
e<iroiri<fare lauToig* xai (xsroixiw i/pag 
STrsxsiva Aajutatfxou. 

Did you, O house of Israel, offer 
to me burnt offerings and sacrifices 


my servants and on my handmaid¬ 
ens, I will pour out in those days 
of my spirit: and they shall prophe¬ 
sy. And I will show wonders in 
heaven above, and signs in the 
earth beneath, blood and fire, and 
vapour of smoke. The sun shall 
be turned into darkness, and the 
moon into blood, before that great 
and notable day of the Lord come. 
And it shall come to pass that who¬ 
soever shall call on the name of 
the Lord shall be saved. 

Acts iii. 25. 

Kai tw drfsgpciTt dov £vSuXoyrj^r r 
tfovTai iratfai ai rfargtat rrjg yrjg. 

And in thy seed shall all the kin¬ 
dreds (i. e. nations, as being derived 
from one common ancestor) of the 
earth be blessed. 

Acts vii. 3. 

EgsX5s sx t rig yr\g dov, xai sx rvjg 
dvyysvsiag dov, xai Ssvgo sig yrjv, rjv av 
tfoi <5sigw. 

Get thee out of thy country, and 
from thy kindred, and come into 
the land which I shall show thee. 


Acts vii. 42, 43. 

Mr) dcpuyta xai §vdtag ^godrjvsyxars 
pot sty) <redda.gtt.xovT a sv Trj egrjpoj, 
otxog IdgayX ; Kai avsXa§STS t?)v 
( fxrjvrjv tou MoXop(, xai to ttdrgov tou 
Ssou vpuv 'P?fA(pav, rovg rvrtovg ovg 
SrfoirjtfaTS ngodxvvetv auToig* xai /xstoixcu 
vpag entexetva Ba^uXwvo^. 1 

O ye house of Israel, have ye offer¬ 
ed to me slain beasts and sacrifices, 


1 This seems to be taken from the Septuagint, though with some variation. The 
onlv considerable difference is that we here read Ba/JuAwvo? Babylon , instead of 
Aafiaoicov Damascus, in the Septuagint. The Hebrew, and all the antient versions 
read Damascus, as also do one or two manuscripts ; and this seems to be the true 
reading. The Septuagint agrees in sense, though not literally, with the Hebrew. 
'PaKpav, or f P tfityav, was the name of the same idol in Egypt, which was called jvo 
(chiun) in Syria, and represented the planet Saturn. See Hammond, Lud. de Dieu, 
Annot. Lowth on Amos, v. 25. Spencer de Leg. Heb. 1. iii c. 3. Michaelis Sup- 
plem. ad. Lex. Heb. p. 1225. (Randolph p. 34.) The apparent variance between 
the prophet and Stephen is of no moment; as the prophecy was fulfilled by Salma- 
neser, king of Assyria, carrying the people of Israel, both beyond Damascus and 
Babylon, into the cities of the Medes. See 2 Kings xvii. 6. 



406 


Quotations taken from the Septuagint , 


forty years in the wilderness? You 
have, indeed, taken up the tent of 
Moloch, and the star of your god 
Raiphan— those types of them 
which you have made for your¬ 
selves. Therefore I will remove 
you beyond Damascus. 

15. Isa. liii. 7. 

*f2g ir£o€a<rov s<m dtpayrjv VX^) xai 
wg apvog svavriov rov xsigovros atpuvos, 
ovrus oux avoiysi <ro rfropa. Ev rrj 
ratsivudst v) xgio'is avrov rr\v 

ysvsav avrov ns 6iriyr}dsra * j on ai£S- 
<rai atfo rrjs yrjs rj £w>j avrov. 

He was led as a sheep to the 
slaughter, and as a lamb before its 
shearer is dumb, so he openeth not 
his mouth. In his humiliation his 
legal trial was taken away. Who 
will declare his manner of life ? Be¬ 
cause his life was taken from the 
earth. 

16. Isa. lv. 3. 

Kcu Siadrjdo/Jiai up.iv Siadrjxrjv aiuvtov 
ra odia Aavi6 ra rcidra. 

And I will make with you an 
everlasting covenant, — the graci¬ 
ous promises to David, which are 
faithful. 

\ 

17. Hab. ii. 4. 

‘O S$ <5»xaiog ex mdrsus pou £r\dsrat. 

But the just shall live by faith in 

me. 

18. Isa. lii. 5. 

Af upa s 6ia tfavvog ro ovopa pou 
/3\ad<pri[ASirai sv roig sOvsdi. 

On your account my name is con¬ 
tinually reviled among the nations. 

19. Psal. xiv. 1—3. 

Oux sdn noiuv xgrjdrorrira, oux 
sdr iv Iwg svog. Ku^iog sx rov ou- 


[Part I. Ch. 

forty years in the wilderness ? Yea, 
ye took up the tabernacle of Mo¬ 
loch, and the star of your god Rem- 
phan, figures which ye made to 
worship them, and I will carry you 
away beyond Babylon. 

Acts viii. 32, 33. 

*fig irgo^arov sw dq>ayr\v 
xai w s apvog svavnov rov xsigovros au- 
*rov atpuvos, oikwg oux avoiysi ro GVopa 
avrov . Ev ry rairsivudsi avrov -/j x£i- 
dis avrov rjgfly rv\v 6s ysvsav avrov 
ng 6ir)yr\dsrai ; on aigsrai a tfo rr\s 
yrjs i) avrov. 1 

He was led as a sheep to the slaugh¬ 
ter, and like a lamb dumb before 
his shearer, so opened he not his 
mouth. In his humiliation his 
judgment was taken away, and who 
shall declare his generation ? for his 
life is taken from the earth. 

Acts xiii. 34. 

Audu upiv ra odia Aa§i$ ra tfidra. 

I will give you the sure meTcies 
of David. 


Rom. i. 17. 

'O 6s dixaios sx mdrsus Qydsrat. 

The just shall live by faith. 

Rom. ii. 24. 

To yag ovopa tou ©sou <$»’ upag 
/ 3\adcpri[ASirai sv rots stivsdi. 2 

For the name of God is blasphem¬ 
ed among the Gentiles through you. 

Rom. iii. 10—12. 

Oux ,sdn Sixaios, ou6s sig* Oux 
sdr iv 6 dvviojv oux sdnv 6 sxfyruv 


1 The quotation is here made from the Septuagint with no material variation; the 
pronouns avrov and avrov (him and his) are added by the sacred historian ; the latter 
twice. The variation from the present Hebrew text (see p. 380. No. 4.) is greater, 
but not so great as to affect the general import of the passage. (Scott, Randolph.) 

2 In this quotation from the Septuagint, row Qtov (of God,) is substituted for fiov 
(my)} and the words tv rois e^vtct (among the nations ) are added to the Hebrew in 
the Septuagint. (Scott, Randolph.) 



But with some Variation. 


407 


IX. Sect. II.] 

favou ijisxu^fv EOT royg uloug twv 
a vAgutfuVj <rou iSsiv si stf ri tfuviwv, t) 
sx^y\tuv <rrov ©sov. IlavTfg s^sxXivav, 
a/xa i^siudyitfav* oux Stfn ifoiwv 
^rja'Torrjra, oux stfriv Iwg Ivog. 

There is none who doeth good: 
no, not one. The Lord looked 
down from heaven on the children 
of men, to see if any had under¬ 
standing, or were seeking God. 
They had all gone aside, they were 
altogether become vile. There is 
none who doth good, no, not one. 

20. Exod. ix. 16. 

Kai kvsxsv toutou 8ierygyQys j iva 
svSsi^ufxai ev tfoi ryv itf^uv jaou, xai 
offwg SiayysXy <ro ovofxa fiov sv tfatfy 
<ry yy. 

But thou hast been preserved for 
this purpose, that by thee I might 
display my power, and that my 
name may be celebrated throughout 
all the earth. 

21. Isa. viii. 14. 

Kai oup( wg Xidou Tr^offxojjLjUiaTi 
tfvvavrstfstfAe, ou<5e us vsrPas ftru^un. 

And ye shall not run against a 
stumbling stone, nor as under a 
falling rock. 

Isa. xxviii. 16. 

Idou, syu s^aXXu sig <ra &SjasXia 
£iwv XiSov <iroX\jrsXy, sxXsxrov, ax£o- 
vwviaiov, svrijaov, sig r a ^s/xsXia 
auT7)g, xai o rridrevuv ou fxy xaraitf- 


twv ©sov. IlavrSg s|sxXivav, a/uia 
YlXgeiu6r](Uxv' oux SflVi ttoiwv xgytfro- 
Trjra, oux scfnv swg ivog. 1 

There is not one righteous; no, 
not one: there is none that under- 
standetli, there is none that seeketh 
after God. They are all gone out 
of the way ; they are altogether be¬ 
come unprofitable ; there is none 
that doeth good ; no, not one. 


Rom. ix. 17. 

Eig auTo touto sgyyeiga tfs, o rrug 
svSsigu[xai ev tfoi ryv duva/xiv pou, xai 
oitus fiiayyeXy <ro ovojaa pou sv <k atfy 
<ry yy‘ 

For this same purpose have I 
raised thee up, that I might show 
my power in thee, and that my 
name might be declared through¬ 
out all the earth. 

Rom. ix. 33. 

I<5ou, nfly/M sv Siuv XiQov ngotfxo jul- 
p-arog, xai irsrgav tfxa v5aXou* xai crag 
6 tfitfrevuv sit' aurw ou xaro.itf'xyvbr r 
tfer ai. 2 

Behold I lay in Sion a stumbling 
stone, and rock of offence: and 
whosoever believeth on him shall 
not be ashamed. 

See also Rom. x. 11. and 1 Pet. 
ii. 6, 7. 


yyvfiy. 


1 The former part of this quotation is an abridgment of the Septuagint, but agree¬ 
ing in meaning with the Hebrew. It is rather an abridgment. The latter part is 
exactly from the Septuagint. The Hebrew word rendered in our version, they are 
become filthy (see p. 371. No. 13. supra), and which signifies to be loathsome 
or putrid, in the Septuagint rendered rixpetwSrjmv, they are become unprojitab/r. 
This the apostle retains. It is not so forcible as the Hebrew, but is sufficient for his 
argument; and it cannot be supposed that many of the Christians at Rome had any 
other scriptures except the Septuagint. (Scott.) 

2 This is taken from the two passages of the prophet Isaiah above given; to 
which the apostle refers, in order to prove that the Jews in general should be cast 
off, and only those among them who believed should be saved. Of these passages 
he quotes such parts as were sufficient to prove his point. The first citation agrees 
with the Hebrew (See No. 28. p. 358. supra), from which the Septuagint differs 
widely. The other citation agrees nearly with the Septuagint. It differs from the 
Hebrew only in reading with the Septuagint KaTaitrxvv$r)<jeTai , shall be ashamed, 
which is also the reading of the Arabic version. They seem to have read in the 
original (yabish) instead of (YacmsH.) Dr. Randolph, p. 36. 



408 


[Part I. Ch. 


Quotations taken from the Septuagint , 


Behold, I lay for the foundation 
of Sion a stone of inestimable 
worth — a chosen precious corner* 
stone for the foundations of it: and 
he who believeth shall not be 
ashamed. 

22. Psal. Ixix. 22, 23. 

rsvrj^TjTw 7] rgairsgu avruv evuiriov 
avruv sig irayiS a, xai sig avrairododiv, 
xai Big dxavSaXov. 2xoTKT$'»]rwo'av oi 
o(p$aX/xoi avruv rov /xrj j3Xsirsiv, xai 
rov vurov aurwv 8ia iravrog dvyx afA-^ov. 

Let their table before them be¬ 
come a snare, and a recompense, 
and a stumbling block. Let their 
eyes be darkened, that they may 
not see, and bow down their neck 
continually. 


23. Isa. lix. 20, 21. (and see 
Isa. xxvii. 9.) 

Hgsi kvsxsv 2iwv 6 ^vo/xsvog, xai 
aitodrgs-^si adsSsiag aifo Iaxw§. Kai 
avrr\ avroig vj nag s/xov Siafyxr]. 

For the sake of Sion, the De¬ 
liverer will come, and turn away 
ungodliness from Jacob. And this 
shall be my covenant with them. 


Rom. xi. 9,10. 

rsvyjSrjrw tj rgairsga avruv si$ 
irayida, xai sig Sygav, xai sig dxavSa- 
Xov, xai sig avrairoSo/xa avroig. 2xo- 
ndSyrudav ol ocpdccX/xo* avruv rov /xq 
fiXsirsiv, xat rov vwtov aurwv <5ia 
iravrog dvyxa/x-^ov. 

Let their table be made a snare 
and a trap, and a stumbling block, 
and a recompense unto them. Let 
their eyes be darkened that they 
may not see, and bow down their 
back alway. 

Rom. xi. 26, 27. 

'Hgsi sx 2iwv o ^vo/xsvog, xai aitod- 
t^s-^si adsSsiag airo Iaxw§. Kai 
avrr\ avroig crag’ s/xov Sia§r/xv/j orav 
a(psXu/xai rag a/xagrtag avruv. 1 

And the Redeemer shall come to 
Sion, and unto them that turn from 
transgression, saith the Lord. As 
for me, this is my covenant with 
them, saith the Lord. 


24. Isa. xi. 10. 

Etfrai Sv ry\ '/j/xsga sxsivrj tj £i£a rov 
Isddai, xai 6 avidra/xsvog ag%siv sSvwv, 
si r’ aurw s&vrj sXiriovdi. 

There shall be in that day the 
root of Jesse, even he who riseth 
up to rule nations; in him nations 
will put their trust. 


Rom. xv. 12. 

Etfrai 7j £i£a tou Istftfa, xai 6 
avidra/xsvog ag%siv sSvwv, sir 1 avru 
sSv 7 ) sXiriovdiv. 

There shall be a root of Jesse, 
and he that shall rise to reign over 
the Gentiles ; in him shall the Gen¬ 
tiles trust. 


25. Isa. xxix. 14. 1 Cor. i. 19. 

Kai airoXu ryv dotpiav ruv tfotpwv, AtfoXw rr/v dotpiav ruv docpuv, xai 
xai rrjv dvvsdiv twv dvvsruv xgu-^w. rr\v dvvsdiv ruv dvvsruv a^srr/du. 

1 This quotation is taken from the Septuagint, except only that the apostle reads 

tK instead ofm/cEy. Perhaps the copy of the Septuagint which he used had it so, or 
possibly the text of the apostle may have been altered by transcribers : the word 
sveicev (jor the sake of) } comes nearer to the Hebrew, and answers better the apos¬ 
tle s purpose. And again, at the end the apostle adds brav a<pe\u>iHu rag a/uapnas avruv 
— when I shall take away their sins. This may possibly be taken from Isa. xxvii. 

. w lere we read in the Septuagint Kat tovto e<mv b evkoyia avrov, brav a<pt\ufiai tt)v 
dfiapnav avrov and this is to him a subject of thanksgiving , when I take away his 
sm. It is not easy to discover how the Septuagint translators read the Hebrew. 



IX. Sect. II.] 


But with some Variation . 


409 


And I will destroy the wisdom of 
the wise, and will hide the under¬ 
standing of the prudent. 


26. 


Isa. xl. 13. 


Tig syvw vou Kupiou; xa» rig avrov 
dv^ovXog sysvsro, lg dv^i^a avrov • 

Who hath known the mind of 
the Lord ? and who hath been of 
his counsel to teach him ? 

27. Psal. xciv. 11. 

Ku£jo£ yivudxsi <roug SiaXoyidfiovg 
twv av&guxuv, on sitfi [xaraioi. 

The Lord knoweth the thoughts 
of men, that they are vain. 

28. Deut. xxxii. 17. 

E&vdav Saipovioig, xai ou 0sw. 

They sacrificed to demons, and 
not to God. 


29. 


Gen. ii. 7. 


Kai sysvsro 6 av$£wiros sig -^u^v 
^wCav. 

And man became a living soul. 


30. Hos. xiii. 14. 

IIou v Sixyj tfou, SavaTS j <tou to 

XeVT^OV ffou, a<L] J 

O death, where is thy punish¬ 
ment ? 

Where thy sting, O grave ? 

31. Lev. xxvi. 11, 12. 

Kai Srjtfw tv)v dxrjvrjv fjoou sv ujuiv 
— Kai Sfi'jrst’i'rarvjrfu sv ujuuv* xai 
stfojaai upiuv @so£, xai vfxsig sdsd&s [xoi 
Xaog. 


I will destroy the wisdom of the 
wise, and will bring to nothing the 
understanding of the prudent. 

1 Cor. ii. 16. (See also Rom. 
xi. 34.) 

Tig yag syv w vouv Ku^iou, og ffvfi- 
SiSatfei avrov ; 

For who hath known the mind 
of the Lord, that he may instruct 
him ? 

1 Cor. iii. 20. 

Ku^iog yimdxsi rovg SiaXoyidpovg 
twv Co9wv, bn sitfi /xaTaioi. 1 

The Lord knoweth the thoughts 
of the wise, that they are vain. 

1 Cor. x. 20. 

AXX’ bn a Susi ra s&vy j, <$aijxovioig 
Susi, xa i ou 0sw. 2 

But the things which the Gen- 
tiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils 
and not to God. 

1 Cor. xv. 45. 

E ysvsro b rfgurog av&gwitog ASap 
sig 4^u^r]v £wtfav. 3 

The first man, Adam, was made 
a living soul. 

1 Cor. xv. 55. 

IIou tfou, SavaTS, to xsvTgov ; IIou 
tfou, aSy, to vixog ; 4 

O death, where is thy sting ? 

O grave, where is thy victory ? 


2 Cor. vi. 16. 

'On svoiXTjtfw sv auToig, xai Sjiiwrsgi- 
<irary)du‘ xai edopai auTwv ©so$, xai 
auToi sdovrai (xo i \aog‘ 


1 This quotation agrees both with the Septuagint and with the Hebrew ; except 
that it substitutes ao<p(ov, of the icisc, for avdpuirwv, of men, which however does not 
alter the sense. (Dr. Randolph.) 

2 This does not appear to be any citation at all, though it agrees nearly both with 
the Septuagint and Hebrew of Deut. xxxii. 17. (Ibid.) 

3 This is taken from the Septuagint, which translates the Hebrew literally ; but 
the Apostle, by way of explanation, adds irpuros — first, and A Sap — Adam. (Scott.) 

4 See note 3. p. 384. supra. 

VOL. II. 


52 



410 


Quotations taken from 

And 1 will fix my tabernacle 
among you. — And I will walk 
about among you, and be your 
God, and ye shall be my people. 

32. (See 2 Sam. vii. 14.) 


33. Exod. xvi. 18. 

Oux Sfl’Xsovatfsv, o to toXu* xai b to 
sXoittov, oux '^XaTTovi'jfl'sv. 

He who gathered much had 
nothing over ; and he who gathered 
little did not fall short. 

34. Deut. xix. 15. 

Etfi oVop-aTog ($uo p-a£Tu£wv, xaieni 
GVopaTog T£»wv p-a£TU£wv, fl'Tyjfl'STai 
crav ^p-a. 

By the mouth of two witnesses, 
or by the mouth of three winesses, 
every thing shall be established. 

35. Gen. xii. 3. (and see Gen. 

xviii. 18.) 

Ivai £vsuXoy?]07]tfovTa» £v tfoi rrudai 
ai tpuXai Tr]g yy )g. 

And in thee shall all the tribes of 
the earth be blessed. 

36. Gen. xxi. 10. 

E xficTks tt)v ^aiSntxyjv tocut^v, xai 
tov uiov a vty)S' ou yag y.y] xX^ovop-Tjtfsi 
o uiog rrjs ‘iradi tfxrjg TauTTjg p-£Ta tou 
uiou p-ou Itfaax. 


the Septuagint , [Part 1. Ch. 

I will dwell in them and walk in 
them; and I will be their God, and 
they shall be my people. 

2 Cor. vi. 18. 

Kcu £tfop-ai up-iv sis trctrsga, xai 
up.£ig £tf£tf0s p-oi sis uioug xai Su^aT££ag, 
Xs^£i Ku£iog wavTox^aTw^. 1 

And I will be a father unto you, 
and ye shall be my sons and daugh¬ 
ters, saith the Lord Almighty. 

2 Cor. viii. 15. 

'O to toXu, oux SftXsovaffs' xai o 
to oXiyov, oux rjXaTrovrjffs. 

He that had gathered much, had 
nothing over ; and he that had ga¬ 
thered little, had no lack. 

2 Cor. xiii. 1. 

Etfl tfTOp-aTOg <5uO p.a£TU£OJV xou 
T£iwv CTa^tfSTai crav ^p-a. 2 

In the mouth of two or three wit¬ 
nesses shall every word be esta¬ 
blished. 

Gal. iii. 8. 

'Oti £vsuXoy?]$i’j(J'GVTai sv tfoi iravrcn 
Ta sQvr}. 

In thee shall all nations be bless 
ed. 

Gal. iv. 30. 

Ex§aX£ TTjv T'cu&fl'XTjv, xai tov uiov 
auTrjg* ou yug /xy) xXo^ovopi'jtfi') 6 uiog 
TTjg ‘TtaiSidxris p-£-ra tou uiou t yis £X£u- 
$££ag . 3 


1 We cannot say, certainly, whence this quotation is taken; we have the sub¬ 
stance of it in several parts of Scripture, where God promises to be a father to 
Israel, and calls Israel his son : But it seems most probably to refer to 2 Sam. vii. 
14. where the very words are spoken of Solomon — I will be his father , and he 
shall be my son ; and this promise to David is introduced v. 8 . Thus saith the Lord 
of Hosts (in the Septuagint, Kvpcog rravro/cparop, the Lord Almighty). The apostle 
applies this to Christians in general. (Dr. Randolph on the Quotations, p. 41.) 

2 This is a somewhat abridged quotation from the Alexandrian copy of the Sep¬ 
tuagint, which agrees with the Hebrew. 

3 This agrees with the Septuagint, except that the pronouns tcl\>tt)v and ravr^f 
(this) are omitted in the quotation; and that 7-775 eAtuSrpaj (of the free icoman) is 
substituted for yov Itraan (my son Isaac.) In both these respects the quotation varies 
from the Hebrew ; though the sense is in no respect affected or altered by it. These 
alterations or accommodations were necessary to the apostle’s argument. (Ran¬ 
dolph, Scott.) 



But with some Variation. 


411 


IX, Sect. II.] 

Send away this girl and her son, 
for the son of this girl shall not in¬ 
herit (or, be the heir) with my son 
Isaac. 

37. Exod. xx. 12. (and see Deut. 

v. 16.) 

Tipa tov rfarsga dov, xai rr\v (ay\- 
rsgcL do u, iva sv doi ysvYjrai, xai iva 
M' ax f°X£ 0V,0 S ysvv] Srfi ttjs yr\g. 

Honour thy father and thy mother, 
that it may be well with thee, and 
that thou mayest live long in the 
land. 

38 . Psal. xxii. 22. 

Ajrjy^o'opaj to ovopa dov roig a <5sX- 
(poig pou sv [xsdu exxXydtag upvTjffw ds. 

I will declare thy name to thy 
brethren : in the midst of the con¬ 
gregation I will sing praise to thee. 

39. visa. viii. 17, 18. 

Kai its#oi&ug stfopai stf’ auTw. IJou 
syui xai ra iraidia a poi sSuxsv o ©sog. 

And I will trust in him. Here am 
I, and the children whom God hath 
given me. 

40. Psal. xcv. 7—11. 

Srjfxsgov sav ryv (puvvjg avrov axou- 
drjrs, [ay] dxXYjgvvYjrs rag xagSiag upwv, 
w£ sv tw tfa^a-m^aa'pw, xoltcl rr\v 
yfASgocv rov rfSigad/Aov sv rr\ sgr \jaw Ou 
sirsigadav /as oi tfarsgsg up,wv, sSoxifAa- 
d av, xcn siSov ra sgy a / aov . Tsddaga- 
xovra srv] tfgoduyQida ty] ysvsa sxsivyj, 
xai sina- A si rfXavuvrai ttj xag&a, xai 
auvoi ovx syvuduv rag oSovg ( aou . e Qg 
cjfioda sv ty] ogyr\ pou, si sidsXsvdovra i 
sig rY\v xaraxavdiv pou. 

To-day, since ye have heard his 
voice, harden not your hearts as at 
the great provocation, — as in the 
day of the temptation in the desert, 
where your fathers tried me ; they 
proved me, though they had seen 
my works. Forty years I was in¬ 
censed with that generation, and 
said, They do always err in their 
heart, and have not known my 
ways. So I sware in my wrath, 
They shall not enter into my rest. 


Cast out the bondwoman and her 
son : for the son of the bondwoman 
shall not be heir with the son of the 
free woman. 

Eph. vi. 2, 3. 

Tipa tov irarsga dov xai rr\v pyjTS- 
fa— 'Iva sv dot ysvvjrai , xai sd y] 
P' a *f°Xf 0V, °S Zfti rY)g yr\g. 

Honour thy father and thy mo¬ 
ther— that it may be well with 
thee, and that thou mayest live long 
upon the earth. 


Heb. ii. 12. 

AtfayysXw to ovopa do u roig aSsX- 
(poig pou, sv (ASdu sxxXridtag upv/ju'w ds. 

I will declare thy name unto my 
brethren : in the midst of the church 
will I sing praise unto thee. 

Heb. ii. 13. 

E yu stfopai tfStfoiQug stt’ avroj — 
I<5ou syo) xai ra rfaiSia a po i sduxsv o 
©sog. 

I will put my trust in him. — Be- 
hold I and the children which God 
hath given me. 

Heb. iii. 7—10. 

Srjp^ov sav rv\g cpuvYjg avrov axov- 
dYjrs, /AY] dxXYjgvvYjrs rag xagSiag upwv, 
6)g sv tw iragaftixpadiAu, xara rv\v 
Yj/ASgav rov tfSigad(Aov sv rr\ s^pw* Ou 
srfsigadav (as oi tfarsgsg upwv, s<5ox«pa- 
dav (AS, xai SiSov ra sgya pou rsddaga- 
xovra sty]' Aio •n'^oduy&ida rr\ ysvsa 
sxsivyj, xai sirfov Asi tfXavuvrai rr\ 
xagSia' avroi Ss ovx syvudav rag oSovg 
(aov ( Qg wpotfa sv rr\ ogyrj pou, si 
zidsXsvdovrai sig ryjv xaro.tfavdiv pou. 

To-day, if ye will hear his voice, 
harden not your hearts, as in the 
provocation, in the day of tempta¬ 
tion in the Avilderness ; when your 
fathers tempted me, proved me, and 
saw my works forty years. Where¬ 
fore I was grieved with that gene¬ 
ration, and said, They do alway err 
in their hearts; and they have not 
known my ways. So I sware in 
my wrath, They shall not enter into 
my rest. 




412 


Quotations taken from the Septuagint, [Part. I. Ch 


Exod. xxv. 40. 


Heb. viii. 5. 


41. 

'O^a, Koiv\(fs\g xarce rov rvrfov r ov 
SsSsly^svov (foi sv ru ogsi. 

See that thou make them accord¬ 
ing to the pattern shown thee on 
this mount. 

42. Psal. xl. 0—9. 

©utfiav xou tfgotfyoguv oux r\Qs\r\<fa£, 
tfu/xa Ss xarr]gn<fu poor 'OXoxaurwjxa 
xou rsgi a/x agnag ovx rjrvjifag. Tors 
sirfov iSov, r\xoi [sv xstpaXtSi (3i£kiov 
yeygarfrai itsgi s/j.ov') rov rfontidai ro 
§s\yi[a<x dov 6 ©sog /xou, tjS’ouXi^tjv, xai 
rov vo/xov (fov sv postfw rrjg xagSiag fxov. 

Sacrifice and offerings thou didst 
not desire, but thou preparedst a 
body for me. Whole burnt offerings, 
and offerings for sin thou didst not 
require. Then I said, Behold I 
come (in the volume of a book it is 
written respecting me) to perform, 
O my God, thy will, I was deter¬ 
mined, even that law of thine, with¬ 
in my heart. 

43. Prov. in. 34. 

K-j£io£ brfSgqfpoLvoig avnratfffsrat, 
rocvsivoig Ss SiSutfi X a f ,v * 

The Lord resisteth the proud, but 
he giveth grace unto the humble. 

44. Isa. xl. 6—8. 

TLada <fag% X°S T0 ^ XOil * a( *a 
So%a avdgurfov Sig avSog yogrov 
E^gavdrj o X°g T °S’ X0Ll <ro av ^°S 


•op» yag, (pyjffi, foir\(fy]g navra 
xara rov rvtfov rov Ss^svra dot sv roJ 
ogsi. 

For, See, saith he, that thou 
make all things according to the 
pattern showed to thee in the mount. 

Heb. x. 5—7. 

Qvffiav xui tfgorfyogav ovx rfsXrjdag, 
<fu[xa Ss xccrygrnfoj p-or 'OXoxaurw- 
jxara xui nsgi afiagnag ovx svSoxr\<fag. 
Tors sirfov iSov, tjxw (sv xscpukiSi 
/3i€Xtov ysygunrui irsgt s/xou) rov 
tfottjtfai, o ©so£, ro 2rsXir]|xa tfou.i 

Sacrifice and offering thou would- 
est not, but a body hast thou pre¬ 
pared me. In burnt offerings and 
sacrifices for sin thou hast had no 
pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come 
(in the volume of the book it is writ¬ 
ten of me) to do thy will, O God. 


James iv. 6. 

'O Gsog btfsgYiepuvoig avriraffdsrui, 
rar’Sivoig Ss SiSudi X a £ ,v * 1 2 

God resisteth the proud, but 
giveth grace unto the humble. 

1 Pet. i. 24, 25. 

Aion rratfa rfagg tig X°S ro ^’ xa ‘ 
rfatfot Saga avQgurov ag av&og x°£~ 
rov E%r}gavQy) 6 X 0 ^ 0 ^ xai T0 av $°£ 


1 This quotation is nearly from the Septuagint; but both of them vary from the 
Hebrew in substituting Swpa tie KaTripncw hoc — But d body hast thou prepared for 
me, instead of the clause rendered in our version, Mine ears hast thou opened. 
This variation has afforded abundant scope for the critical acumen of learned men. 
The apostle’s argument, however, (Mr. Scott justly remarks,) does not at all depend 
on the words which differ from the Hebrew. Yet it must be allowed, that there is 
more reason to think that the Hebrew text is here corrupted, than in almost any 
other place quoted in the New Testament. This is also the opinion of Dr. Ran¬ 
dolph. On the Quotations, p. 44. 

2 This is taken from the Septuagint, only putting f O 0£oj instead ofKvptoj. They 
differ from the Hebrew, with which the Vulgate agrees, illudet illusores — he will 
scorn the scorners. The Arabic version agrees with the Septuagint — resistet su- 
perbis, he will resist the proud. The Syriac version renders it destruet irrisores, 
he will destroy the scorners; and the Chaldee paraphrase — illusores propcllet, 
he will drive away the scorners. It is not easy to account for this difference ; nor is 
it worth while to attempt it: the sense is much the same, as the proud and the 
scorners are equivalent expressions in scripture language. Dr. Randolph, p. 46. 


i 



IX. Sect. II.] 


But with some Variation. 


413 


ej'ctfSG'e. To 6s pa rou ©sou -/jptov 
psvsj sig rov aiuva. 

All flesh is grass; and all the 
glory of man as a flower of grass. 
The grass is withered, and the 
flower fallen ; but the word of our 
God endureth for ever. 

45. Isa. xxviii. 16. 

I<$ou, syu sp§aXXw stg ra OspsXia 
X»Sov iroXvrsX?}, sxXsxrov, axgo- 
yuviaiov, svnpov, s»g ra SspsXia aunrjs* 
xai o tfnfrsvuv ou ps xarairf%vv6r). 

Behold, I lay for the foundation 
of Sion, a stone of inestimable 
worth, a chosen precious corner¬ 
stone for the foundations of it: and 
he who believeth shall not be 
ashamed. 

46. Isa. liii. 9. 

Avopiav oux stfonifl'sv, ou6s 6oXov sv 
toj (frofian aurou. 

He committed no iniquity, nor 
practised guile with his mouth. 

47. Isa. viii. 12, 13. 

Tov 6s <po§ov aurou ou ps <p oGijSyits, 
o uSs p>j raPaySrirs. Ku^iov aurov 
ayiatJars. 

Be not ye terrified with the fear 
of him, nor dismayed. Hallow the 
Lord himself. 


aurou s£s«7rscfe* To 6s £»jpa Kupiou 
psvsj sig tov aiwva. 

For all flesh is as grass, and all the 
glory of man, as the flower of grass. 
The grass withereth, and the flower 
thereof falleth away: but the word 
of the Lord endureth for ever. 

1 Pet. ii. 6. (and see Rom. ix. 33.) 

l6ou, <nQr) [jli sv 2iojv Xidov ax^o^w- 
viaiov, sxXsxrov, svnpov xai o ffitfrsuwv 
Si r’ aurou ou p»] xaranfyuvdy]. 

Behold I lay in Sion a chief cor¬ 
ner-stone, elect, precious; and he 
that believeth on him shall not be 
confounded. 


1 Pet. ii. 22. 

'Og apa^nav oux siroivj&sv, ou 6s 
sugsSv] 6oXog sv toj tfropan aurou. 

Who did no sin, neither was guile 
found in his mouth. 

1 Pet. iii. 14, 15. 

Tov 6s <po§ ov aurwv pr) (poGrrfrjrs, 
ixr t 6s ra^a^yjrs. Ku^jov 6s tov ©Sov 
ayiadars} 

And be not afraid of their terror, 
neither be troubled, but sanctify the 
Lord God in your hearts. 


III. Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint in Sejtse> but not in 

Words. 

agrees in sense, but 

1. Jer. xxxi. 15. not in words with Matt. ii. 18. 


4>wvrj Sv 'Papa TjxouO'drj &£?]vou, xa» 
xXau Q/xov, xai o6ugixou. 'Pa^X a-ro- 
xXaiopsvr) oux ydsXs ‘7rau'J'a<fl)aj sin roig 
vioig a vryg, bn oux sttfiv. 

There was heard at Rama, a 
sound of lamentation, and weeping 
and wailing : Rachel, weeping for 
her children, refused to be comfort¬ 
ed, because they are not. 


4>wvij sv 'Papa rjxoutfSi?, SgyMog xai 
xXau S/xog, xai o6vg(xog iroXvg, 'Pa^?]X 
sxXaioutfa ra rsxva avrrjg, xai oux 
ijflsXs iragaxXrj^rjvai, bn oux sitfi. 

In Rama was there a voice heard, 
lamentation, and weeping, and great 
mourning, Rachel, weeping/or her 
children, and would not be com¬ 
forted, because they are not. 


l Both this quotation and the Septuagint give the meaning of the Hebrew; but 
the word avrwv ( their ), which is used by St. Peter, seems to give the sense better 
than the singular avrov (his) of the Septuagint. The original Hebrew (which is 
Jehovah Sabaoth, Lord of Hosts), will admit of either. (Scott.) 






414 


Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint [Part I. Ch. 

2. Isa. xl. 3—5. agrees in sense but Matt. iii. 3. Mark i. iii. 

not in words, with Luke iii. 4—6. 


§0WVT0g SV 77 ] SgrifLU ' 'Etoj- 
patfa-rs <r>jv o(5ov Ku^iou, svSsiag croislrs 
rag 7gi£ovg tou ©sou v^pwv. Ilatfa 
yagayl ‘TrXrj^Yjdsrai, xai tfav o£og 
y.ai (3 o\jvos TatfSivw^tfSTar mi stfrca 
■Ttavru 7a tfxoXia eig svSs lav, mi y 7ga- 
■%sia Big tfsSt a. 1 Ka» otpQrjo'srat v\ Soga 
Ku^jou, mi Ovj^sraj <ratfa (fagl to tfw- 
7T]£lOV tou ©sou. 

A voice of one crying in the wil¬ 
derness, Prepare the way of the 
Lord ; make straight the roads for 
our God. Every valley shall be 
filled up ; and every mountain and 
hill be levelled. And all the crook¬ 
ed places shall be made a straight 
road , and the rough way smooth 
plains. And the glory of the Lord 
will appear ; and all flesh shall see 
the salvation of God. 

) 

3. Psal. lxxviii. 2. 

Avotgw sv ‘7ra£a§oXaig to tf-ropa pou, 
ipfisyZoimi rfgo€\ri paTa cw’ a^vjg. 

I will open my mouth in para¬ 
bles ; I will utter dark sayings of 
old. 


4. Deut. vi. 5. 

AyarfrjffSig Ku^iov rov ©sov tfou s| 
bXrjs 77]S Siavoiag tfou, xai s| oX7]g T^g 
^u^o tfou, mi El oX^g t r\s (Suvapsoog 
tfou. 

Thou slialt love the Lord thy God 


<bwv7] /dowvtos sv 77 ] s^ojpw* 'Etoi- 
pottfaTS 7 o]v oSov Ku^jou, su^ssiag -tojsits 
Tag T£i§oug aurou. Ilatfa cpugayl 
«?rXv]^w^tfSTai, xa» crav o£og xat /Souvog 
Ta-rsivw^tfSTai* xa< stfrai Ta tfxoXta 
sig svQsiav, xa» ai 7ga-/siai Big o<$oug 
Xsiag. Ka» o-^STa* tfatfa tfa^ to 

tfWT?]£IOV TOU ©SOU. 

The voice of one crying in the 
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of 
the Lord, make his paths straight. 
Every valley shall be filled, and 
every, mountain and hill shall be 
brought low; and the crooked shall 
be made straight, and the rough 
ways shall be made smooth; and 
all flesh shall see the salvation of 
God. 


Matt. xiii. 35. 

Avoigw sv <7fa£a§oXaig to tfTopa pou, 
sgsugopat xsx£uppsva atfo xaTaSoX^g 
xotfpou. 

I will open my mouth in parables ; 
I will utter things which have been 
kept secret from the foundation of 
the world. 

Matt. xxii. 37. Mark xii. 30. 
Luke x. 27. 

Aya<ry]tfs<g Ku^ov tov ©sov tfou oXtj 
TV) xagcha tfou, xai sv oXtj 77\ •^u^ 
tfou, mi sv oXr; 7r\ ihavoia tfou. 2 

Thou slialt love the Lord thy God 


1 f 0i5ovj Aaaj. (Alex.) 

2 The Vatican edition of the Septuagint here translates nan 1 ? (lcbcbcr), by tijs 
foavoias <rou (thy understanding). But the Alexandrian edition renders it rrjs tcapcias 
i ton (thy heart). St. Matthew takes in both, but puts xpvxv (soul) between ; he also 
puts tv for «£ SA>?s agreeably to the Hebrew ; and he leaves out the latter clause, 
with all thy strength. St. Mark and St. Luke agree entirely with St. Matthew, only 
they add the latter clause. (Dr. Randolph.) The variation from the Septuagint and 
Hebrew does not in the least affect the meaning. Mr. Scott thinks, with great 
probability, that the Evangelists, under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, gave the 
meaning of this first and great commandment in the most emphatical language, 
without intending either implicitly to quote the Septuagint, or literally to translate 
the Hebrew. 



In sense , but not in words. 


415 


IX. Sect, in.] 


with thy whole understanding, and with all thy heart, and with all thy 
with thy whole soul, and with thy soul, and with all thy mind, 
whole might. 


agrees in sense, but 

5. Isa. lm. 12. notin words, with Markxv.28.Lukexxii.37. 


K at sv rots avofioig skoyitfQr). 

And he was numbered among 
the transgressors. 

6. Exod. xiii. 2. 

'Afiatfov (uloj irav <jrgu totoxov 
roysvsg 8 iavo»yov tfatfav fjt,y]T£av. 

Consecrate to me every first born, 
that openeth every womb. 

7. Lev. xii. 8. 

Auo rgvyovag tj duo vsotftfoug irsgttf- 
rs^wv. 

Two turtle-doves or two young 
pigeons. 

8. Isa. liv. 13. 

Kcu iravrag <roug uioug tfou djdaxroug 
©sou. 

Even thy sons, all instructed of 
God. 

9. Zech.ix. 9. 


10. Psal. xli. 9. 

'O stfSiwv o^roug jaou s/xsyaXuvsv 
sir' sfis irrsgv itf/j.ov. 

He, who ate of my bread, hath 
lifted up his heel against me. 


Ka» fxsrcL avofxuv skoyitfbr\. 

And he was numbered with the 
transgressors. 

Luke ii. 23. 

Ilav agffsv diavoiyov ayiev 

ru) K vgioj xXrjSritfSTai. 

Every male that openeth the 
womb shall be called holy to the 
Lord. 

Luke ii. 24. 

Zsuyog rgvyovuv rj duo vsotftfoug 
irsgirfrsguv. 

A pair of turtle doves, or two 
young pigeons. 

John vi. 45. 

Kai stfovrai iravrsg didaxroi rou 
©sou. 

And they shall be all taught of 
God. 

John xii. 15. (See Matt. xxi. 5. 
p. 368. supra.) 

M>) <po€ou, $u yarsg 2»wv* i8ou, 6 
BatfiXsug ffov sg^srai, xa^Tjpisvog sirt 
orwXov ovou. 1 

Fear not, daughter of Sion ; be¬ 
hold thy king cometh, sitting on an 
ass’s colt. 

John xiii. 18. 

'O rguyuv /xst ’ Sju-ou <rov a£<rov, • 
sirrjgsv sit' S[xs <rrjv irrsgv av aurou. 

He that eateth bread with me, 
hath lifted up his heel against me. 


1 This differs both from the Septuagint and the Hebrew, and also from the citation 
in Matt. xxi. 5. The evangelist either followed some other translation, or chose to 
express briefly the sense,, but not the words of the prophet. (Dr. Randolph.) 



416 


Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint [Part I. Ch. 


agrees in sense, but 

11. Psal. cix. 3. not in words, with John xv. 25. 


EirokSfiydav fxs dw^sav. 

They fought against me without 
cause. 

12. Zech. xii. 10. 

EtfiSXs-^ovrai tf£og pis, avS’ wv xa- 
cw^^tfavTo. 

They will look to me instead of the 
things, concerning which (or against 
which) they have contemptuously 
danced. 

13. Psal. lxix. 25. 

revTj^Tw ^ SffauXig aurwv ^pioj- 
fisvy, xai £v roig dxyvojfi afliv aurwv fiy 
sd<ru o xaroixwv. 

Let their tent (or habitation) be 
desolate, and in their dwellings no 
inhabitant. 


Efiidydav fis dw^sav. * 1 

They hated me without a cause. 

John xix. 37. 

'O-^ovrai ov sgsxsvrritfav. 2 

They shall look on him whom 
they pierced. 


Acts i. 20. 

Tsvi’jdi'jrw y sir auXig aurou sgypog, 
xai fiy sdru 6 xaroixwv sv aur>?. 3 

Let his habitation be desolate, 
and let no man dwell therein. 


Acts iii. 22, 23. 

Uporpyryv vfiiv avadrydsi Ku^iog o 
0sog u/xwv sx rwv adsXtpwv upiwv, wg 
f/xs* aurou axoutfstfSs xara tfavra oda 
av XaXrjo'r] tf£og ujuag. Etfrai ds, 
oratfa 4 / U^, rjrig av fiy ccxovdy rou 
<7r^o<p>)Tou sxsivou, sgoXoS^suSiitfsrai sx 
rou Xaou. 4 

A prophet shall the Lord your 
God raise up unto you, of your 
brethren, like unto me: him shall 
ye hear in all things whatsoever he 
shall say unto you. And it shall 
come to pass, that every soul which 
will not hear that prophet, shall 
be destroyed from among the peo- 

ple. _ 

1 This quotation agrees both with the Septuagint and with the Hebrew, except 
that what the former renders eirofoixrjoav (fought against), is by the evangelist ren¬ 
dered eniarivav (they hated). Or possibly the passage intended to be cited may be 
Psal. xxxiv. (xxxv. of English Bible) 19. where the Psalmist speaks of those who 
were his enemies wrongfully : — inoowres pe tiupeav, — who hate me without cause. 
(Randolph, Scott.) 

2 This quotation cannot be made from the Septuagint, which is unintelligible. It 
is an exact translation of the Hebrew, excepting that the evangelist substitutes the 
first for the third person. 

3 This agrees in sense, although not in words, with the Septuagint, which is a 
literal translation of the Hebrew. The only difference is that the apostle applies to 
a particular person, what was spoken by David of his enemies in the plural. (Dr. 
Randolph. 

4 This expresses the sense both of the Hebrew and the Septuagint, but not th* 
words; it may possibly be taken from some other translation or paraphrase. (Dr 
Randolph.) 


14. Deut. xviii. 15.19. 

Hgoyyryv sx rwv adsXtpwv tfou, wg Sfis, 
avadrydsi dot Ku^iog o ©sog tfou* aurou 

axoutfstfSs-Kai 6 av^w-rog 6g sav 

jui7] axovdy oda av \a\ydy 6 irgorpyrys 
sxsivog siri rw ovojxan piou, syu sxSixydu 
sg aurou. 

The Lord thy God will raise up 
for thee, from among thy brethren, 
a prophet like unto me; to him 
shall ye hearken. —And whosoever 
will not hearken to what that pro¬ 
phet shall speak in my name, I will 
execute vengeance on him. 




IX. Sect. II.] 


In sense , but not in words. 


417 


agrees in sense, but 

15. Gen. xv. 13, 14. not in words, with Acts vii. 6, 7. 


Ila^oixov sdrat ro ticsg (Uia tfou sv yrj 
oux tSta, xat SouXojtfoudiv avroug, xat 
xaxwtfoutfiv auroug, xcti racstvutfovtftv 
auroug, rsrgaxocfta sryj. To Ss s^svog 
& sav (SouXsutfoutfi, xgtvoj syu’ [isra Ss 
raura, sgsXsua'ovrai uSs [isra acod- 
xsurjg c oXXrjg. 

Thy seed shall sojourn in a land 
not their own. And they shall be 
enslaved and afflicted, and humbled, 
four hundred years. But the nation 
which they shall serve I will judge ; 
and after that they shall come out 
hither with much wealth. 

16. Isa. lxvi. 1,12. 

'Ourug Xsyst Kvgtog, 'O ou£avag 
fxou &£ovog, xat 7} yy ] vcoCoStov rwv 
coSojv jxou* ‘7roiov otxov oixoSoprjdsrs [xot ; 
xat cotog rocog rr\g xaracavdsug f iou ; 
Ilavra yag raura scotvjtfev yj %stg /xou. 

Thus saith the Lord, The heaven 
is my throne, and the earth my 
footstool. What sort of an house 
will ye build me ? And of what sort 
shall be the place of my rest ? For 
all these things my hand hath made. 

17. Amos ix. 11, 12. 

Ev cv) yjfxsga sxstvYj avaffrrjtfw rr]v 
tfxr)v>]v Aaui5 rrjv cscr wxuiav, xat avot- 
xoSoixrjtfoj ra cscruxoru aur»]g, xai ra 
xa-rso'xap-jULSva auryjg avadrridu, xat 
avoixo8oy.r\(fu aurrjv, xaSug at y/xsgat 
rou aiwvog* 'Otfwg sx^rr^wfl'iv oi xa- 
raXotcot rwv av%gojcuv } xat cavra ra 
sSvt], s<p ’ ou g sctxsxXyjrat ro ovo,aa [xov 
sc ’ auroug, Xsyst Ku£iog o cotuv cavra 
raura. 


'On stir at ro dcsgiia aurou cagotxov 
sv yr] aXXor^ia, xat SovXuxfovtUv auro, 
xat xa xwtfoua'iv srrj rsrgaxodta. Kai 
ro sQvog, w sav <$ouXsu<JWi, xgtvoi syu , 
stcsv 6 ©sog* xat fxsra raura sgsXsu- 
tfovrai, xai Xar^sutfouffi/xoi Sv ru rocu 
rovru. 1 

That his seed should sojourn in 
a strange land, and that they should 
bring them into bondage, and en¬ 
treat them evil four hundred years. 
And the nation, to whom they shall 
be in bondage, will I judge, said 
God: and after that shall they come 
forth, and serve me in this place. 

Acts vii. 49, 50. 

'O ovguvog fiot &£ovog, rj Ss yr\ vco- 
coStov ruv coSuv jxou* tfoiov otxov ©ixo- 
So[j.v}dsrs [xot j Xsyst Ku£iog* rj rig 
rocog ry]g xaracavdsug p.ou ; Oup(? yj 
p(Si£ jxou scxHvitfs raura cavra $ 

Heaven is my throne, and earth 
is my footstool: what house will ye 
build me ? saith the Lord : or what 
is the place of my rest ? Hath not 
my hand made all these things ? 

Acts xv. 16, 17. 

Msra raura ava drgs-^u, xat avotxo - 
Soy.r\du rr]v tfxrjvrjv Aa€i5 rrjv cscru- 
xuiav, xai ra xarsd'xafxp.sva aurujg 
avotxoSofiyiCoJ, xat avoghudu aurrjv* 
'O cug av sx^rrjo'wtfiv oi xaraXoicot 
ruv av^gucuv rov Ku^iov, xai cavra ra 
shvv] s<p’ oug sctxsxXrjrat ro ovofia fxou 
sc’ auroug, Xsyst Ku^iog 6 r’oiwv raura 
•ravra. 2 


1 This passage is not a direct quotation, either from the Hebrew or the Septua- 
gint. Stephen’s design was, to give a short outline of God’s dealings with the 
children of Israel; and in doing this he does not confine himself to the words of 
Moses, but abridges his history, and sometimes adds a clause by way of explanation. 
(Dr. Randolph, Scott.) 

2 This quotation, in general, seems to be taken from the Septuagint, but with 
several verbal variations. The passage, however, varies more materially from the 
Hebrew, especially in the clause, That the yesidue of men may seek after the Lord ; 

vol. ii. 53 



418 


Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint [Part I. Gh. 


In that day I will raise up the 
tabernacle of David, which hath 
fallen ; I will rebuild those parts of 
it which have fallen to decay, and 
repair what have been demolished. 
I will indeed rebuild it as in the 
days of old, that the rest of man¬ 
kind may seek [ the Lord], even all 
the nations who are called by my 
name, saith the Lord, who doth all 
these things. 


After this I will return and build 
again the tabernacle of David, which 
is fallen down ; and I will build up 
again the ruins thereof, and I will 
set it up : that the residue of men 
might seek after the Lord, and all 
the Gentiles upon whom my name 
is called, saith the Lord, who doeth 
all these things. 


agrees in sense, but 

18. Isa. lix. 7, 8. not in words, with Rom. iii. 15—17. 


Ol Ss <xo8sg aurwv etfi tfov^giav 
™X iV01 s *X sal a ^ a — 2uv- 
<r£«jU|xa xai TaXaitfw^ia sv rcog oSoig 
avruv. Kai o5ov si^v^g oux oiiSaa'i. 

Their feet run to evil, they are 
swift to shed blood. — Destruction 
and misery are in their ways, and 
the way of peace they do not know. 


0%eig cl tfoSss avruv sx^sai aiju-a. 
Suvr^i/jqxa xai ‘raXaitfw^ia sv rcag o8oig 
aurwv* Ka< o<5ov stgrjvrig oux syvwtfav. 

Their feet are swift to shed blood. 
Destruction and misery are in their 
ways; and the way of peace they 
have not known. 


19. Gen. xviii. 10. 

Erfava(frgs<puv rfgog tie xara 

XOI£OV TOUTOV Slg w gag, xai s|SI ulov 
Zocgfa r\ yvvTj tfou. 

I will return to thee about this 
time twelvemonth ; and Sarah, thy 
wife, shall have a son. 

20. Hos. ii. 23. 

Kai oux rjya^fxsvyjv, 

xai S£w toj ou Xaw pou, Aao g p-ou si tfu. 

And I will love her who was not 
beloved; and to them who were 
not my people I will say, Thou art 
my people. 


Rom. ix. 9. 

Kara <rov xai^ov <rourov sXsudojaai, 
xai sdrai <rrj 2a^a ulos. * 1 

j 

At this time will I come, and Sara 
shall have a son. 


Rom. ix. 25. 

KaXsdw <rov on Xaov jaou, Xaov pou* 
xai rrjv oux Tjyatfr) [xsvrjv, Tjya^p-svyjv. 

I will call them my people, which 
were not my people; and her be¬ 
loved which was not beloved. 


which, in the authorised English version from the Hebrew, is rendered, That they 
may possess the remnant of Edom. The Septuagint translators evidently read icht 
(yidroshu), not (yiroshu), and din (adam), not o*nN (edom) ; and the quota¬ 
tion of it by the apostle or the evangelical historian, according to that reading, gives 
great sanction to it. (Scott.) 

1 St. Paul here seems to have made use of some other translation, different from 
any we now have ; it agrees in sense both with the Septuagint and the Hebrew. 
The most remarkable difference from the Hebrew is, that run njt3 is rendered 
Kara top Kaipov tovtov. They seem to have read it nin as the same thing is expressed 
Gen. xvii. 21. The Samaritan agrees with the Hebrew. The Vulgate, Syriac, and 
Arabic versions agree with the Septuagint. However the sense of the prophecy, 
both ways, is much the same, that Sarah should have a son at the time of life, or at 
the return of time next year. (Dr. Randolph on the Quotations, p. 36.) 



IX. Sect. III.] 


In sense , but not in words • 


419 


21 . 


t no no agrees in sense, but 

Isa. X. 2/w, 23. not in words, with 


Kai sav ysvyjrai o Xaos I^arjX ug 
rj aij.fj.og rvjg SaXafl'ifyf, to xaraXsijx- 
juta au<rwv <fu§r}(j l srai. Aoyov o'uvrsXwv 
xai (fuvTSfjiVUv sv SixaioG'ww 6<ri Xoyov 
(fvvr£TfJ.r}[XSvov Kvgiog ■n'oirjfl'Si sv tt) 
oixoufxsvrj oXt). 

Though the people of Israel be 
as the sand of the sea, a remnant 
of them shall be saved. He is clos¬ 
ing an account, and making a de¬ 
duction with saving goodness. Be¬ 
cause with the whole land the Lord 
will make a reckoning from which 
a deduction hath been made. 


Rom. ix. 27, 28. 

Eav y] 6 ag&fiog rw tdwv, Ia^a^X 
wff 7] afj.fj.og Trig SaXa ddrjg, to xara- 
Xst/j.fj.a fl'w^rjc’srar Aoyov yag tfuv- 
rsXwv xai o’uvTSfj.vuv sv (hxaiofl'uv'*]* oti 
Xoyov fl'uvTSTja^jxsvov ir'onia'si Ku£io£ stfi 
Til? y*]?. 1 

Though the number of the chil¬ 
dren of Israel be as the sand of the 
sea, a remnant shall be saved: for 
he will finish the work, and cut it 
short in righteousness: because a 
short work will the Lord make upon 
the earth. 


22. 1 Rings xix. 14. 

Ta SutfiaaVi^ia tfou xo&siXav, xai 
coug irgotprirag tfou atfsxrsivav sv £o/x- 
<paia* xai vrfoXsXsifj.fj.ai syw fxovwraroj, 
xai £t\t outfi Tr]v ^up^v jaou Xa§Siv 
aurrjv. 

They have demolished thy altars, 
and slain thy prophets with the 
sword; and I only am left, and 
they seek my life to take it. 

23. Isa. xxix. 10. (and see Isa. 

vi. 9. Ezek. xii. 2.) 

'On <?rS‘iroTixsv vfxag Ivu^iog <rvsvfj.an 
xuravvgcug, xai xap.jxufl'si Tovg otpQaX- 
fxo'og avrwv. 

For the Lord hath drenched you 
with the spirit of stupefaction, and 
will close up the eyes of them. 


Rom. xi. 3. 

Ku£is, Toug tfgoprirag rfou airsxrsivav, 
xai t a SWiatfri^ia <fov xarsfl'xa^av 
xayw uirsXSKpSrjv fxovoj, xai ^rovo'/ 
<n)v 4,u^v jxou. 2 

Lord, they have killed thy pro¬ 
phets, and digged down thine altars ; 
and I am left alone, and they seek 
my life. 


Rom. xi. 8. 

E^wxsv avroig 0 Qsog rfvsvfj.a xaTU~ 
vvgeug, opdaXjxoug <rou fj.rj /3Xs<rsiv, xai 
ura rov fj.r] axousiv. 

God hath given them the spirit 
of slumber, eyes that they should 
not see, and ears that they should 
not hear. 


24. Isa. xlv. 23. 


Rom. xiv. 11. 


Kar’ Sfj.avTov o/xvuw, si p.7] s|s- 
Xsurfsrai sx tov drofj.arog fj. ou Si- 


Zoj syw, Xsys 1 Ku£io£, on 

Sjxoi xafjr^si <rav yovu, xai ira- 


1 This agrees nearly with the Septuagint, and still more nearly with the Arabic 
version. They differ in several particulars from the Hebrew, but the general sense 
is the same: the prophet foretels a great destruction of the children of Israel, but not 
a total one: a remnant shall return and be saved. The apostle very aptly applies 
this to the times of the Gospel, when some few of the Jews believed, and were 
saved, and a signal destruction came upon the rest: it is observable the expressions 
here in Isaiah are the same as we find Dan. ix. where the destruction of Jerusalem 
is foretold. (Dr. Randolph on the Quotations, p. 36.). 

2 This agrees in meaning both with the Septuagint and with the Hebrew ; but it 
is not a quotation from the former, nor an exact translation from the latter. (Scott.) 



420 


Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint [Part I. Ch. 


xaioc'uvy), oi Xoyoi /xov oux amodrgacpv]- 
tfovrar on s/xoi xap^Si may yovv, xca 
cfxsirai matia yXudda rov ©sov. 

By myself I swear (righteousness 
shall proceed from my mouth ; my 
words shall not be reversed), that 
to me every knee shall bow, and 
every tongue shall swear with re¬ 
spect to God. 


da yXudda s\o\ho\oyr\tisrai ru ©sw.i 

As I live, saith the Lord, every 
knee shall bow to me, and every 
tongue shall confess to God. 


agrees in sense, but ... 

26. Job V. 13. not in words, with 1 Cor. ill. 19. 


l O xarctXajx§avwv tfotpouf sv rr\ <pg o- 
vrjdsi. 

Who entangleth the wise in their 
wisdom. 


'O SgUtidO[A£VOg TOVg tioCpOVg SV TV} 

mavovgyia auruv. 

He taketh the wise in their own 
craftiness. 


26. Isa. lii. 11, 12. 

Amotir^rs, umorfryrs, sgsXSars sxsi- 
§sv, xai axaSagrov p,v) a^»]9rs, sgsXSsrs 
sx (xsrfov avryg, atpogidSyrs — xai o 
smitivvayuv vpag Gsog Itigar}X. 

Depart, depart; come out thence, 
and touch no polluted thing. Come 
out of the midst of her, be clean. 
And the God of Israel will bring up 
your rear. 

27. Deut. xxvii. 27. (26. of Eng¬ 

lish version.) 

Em molt agar og mag av&gumog og ovx 
EfAfxsvsi sv matii roig Xoyoig rov vofiov 
rovrov moivjtiai avrovg. 

Cursed be every man who will not 
persevere in all the words of this 
law to do them. 


2 Cor. vi. 17. 

Aio sgsXSsrs sx [xstiov cojtwv, xai 
a<pogid$srs, Xsysi Ku^lOJ• xai axa^ag- 
rov [Ay amstfhs* xayu sitiSs^ofiai 
l^ag . 2 

Wherefore, come out from among 
them, and be ye separate, saith the 
Lord: and touch not the unclean 
thing, and I will receive you. 


Gal. iii. 10. 

Emixaragarog mag og ovx s^xju lsvsi sv 
matii roig ysyga^svoig sv ru (3i£Xiu) 
rov vopov, <rou moir\tiai aura. 3 

Cursed is every one, that con- 
tinueth not in all things, which are 
written in the book of the law, to 
do them. 


1 This does not exactly agree either with the Septuagint or with the Hebrew. 
Instead of Kar’ eyavrov ofiww, — By myself I swear, — the apostle gives us an equiva¬ 
lent expression often used in Scripture, Zw cyw, — As Ilive. The rest of the citation 
agrees exactly with the Alexandrine copy of the Septuagint, which translates ymn 
by e^oyo\oyuTai, shall confess. The Vatican translates it more literally, — oytirai , 
shall swear ; but both of them agree in joining mn'3, in the following verse, with 
]ic * l 7 in this, leaving out qx and — and to this the Arabic version agrees. (Dr. 
Randolph on the Quotations, p. 38.) 

2 The general sense of the prophet cited is given in this passage ; but it is neither 
made from the Septuagint, nor is it a translation of the Hebrew, which see in p. 373. 
supra. The Septuagint is, verbally , much more according to the Hebrew. 

3 Both the apostle’s quotation and the Septuagint version give the grand meaning 
of the Hebrew; but neither of them is a literal translation ; and it is evident that 
the apostle did not studiously quote the Septuagint. (Scott.) 



IX. Sect. II.] 


In sense , but not in words . 


421 


agrees in sense, but 

28. Deut. xxi. 23. not in words, with Gal. iii. 13. 


Ksxarygafisvog uiro @£ou irag x£S/Aa- 
fASvog Sir i guXou. 

Every one that is hanged on a 
tree [gibbet], is accursed of God. 

29. Jer. xxxi. 31—34. 

I<5ou, ypsgai sp^ovrai, <pr]ffi Ku- 
£ 10 $, xai Sia^rjifofiai ru oixw Itf- 
g’aijX xai tcj oixw Iou<5a SiaSrjxrjv 
xaivijv* ou xara <rr)v SiaSrjxrjv rjv 
SiuSeprjv to is itar^atfiv aurwv, sv 
7)jxs^a siriXa§o/A$vou fiov rr]g x Sl £°S 
avruv, sgayaysiv avrovg sx yrjg Ai- 
yuirrou* on auroi oux svspivav sv rrj 
<$iaSr]x»] /xou, xai syw '/jjAsX'/ja'a avruv, 
tprjtfi Kvgio g* 'On avrrj i] SiaSrjxrj 
fxou, t]v (JiaS^tfo/Aai ru oixu Itf£ar)X, 
pra rag >j/AS£ag sxsivag, (prjtfi Ku^iog, 
ch(5oug (Jwtfw vo/xoug fxou sig ri)v Siavoiav 
avruv, xai siri xagSiug avruv ypa-^u 
avrovg’ xai stfo/Aai avroig sig ©sov, xai 
auroi sdovrai fxoi sig Xaov. Kai ou /a?) 
&<5agwtfiv IxaflVog rov iroXirT]v avrov 
xai IxaflVog rov a5sXcpov aurou, Xsyuv, 
rvw&» rov Kufiov* OTI Kavrzg SlSr](fOV(fl 
/as, airo px£ou aurwv Iwg fxsy aXou au¬ 
rwv on iXswg etfo/Aai raig aSixtaig 
avruv, xus ruv afiagnuv avruv ov /at] 
(Xvr]ff5u sn. 


Eirixara^arog irag 6 x^s/Aa/ASvog siri 
fuXou. 1 

Cursed is every one that haugeth 
on a tree. 

Heb. viii. 8—12. 

I<5ou, 7jp£ai sgxovrai, Xsysi Kvgiog, 
xai (fvvrsXsdu siri rov oixov Itf^arjX 
xai siri rov oixov Iou<$a SiaSv\xr\v xaivrv* 
ou xara rr\v Sia&r\xr}v xai vtjv ou xara 
rr\v diaQr\xr\v tjv SiroiTjtfa roig ira- 
rgarfiv aurwv, Sv Tj/AS£a siriXaSopvou 
jaou rrjg X s, a°S ayrwv, sgaya^siv au- 
roug sx yTjg Aiyuirrou* on auroi oux 
svsfxsivav sv r»] (5ia$T]xr) /uoou, xayw 
7][xsXri(fa avruv, Xsysi Kvgt og* 'On 
avrrj tj Sia&r\xr), tjv SiaSrjdo[xai ru oixu 
IrfgarjX pra rag Tjp^ag sxsivag, Xsysi 
Ku^iog* &<$oug vo/Aoug jAou Sig rrjv Sia- 
voiav aurwv, xai siri xagSiag avruv 
Siriy^a-^w auroug* xai S(fo[xai auroig 
sig ©sov, xai auroi stfovrai /aoi sig Xaov* 
Kai ou /at) 5i5a|oj(riv IxaflVog rov irXrj- 
tfiov aurou, xai IxaflVog rov aSsX(pov 
avrov, Xsyuv, Tvoodi rov Ku^iov* on 
iravrsg si^rfourfi /as, airo fjuxgov avruv 
£ug /AsyaXou aurwv* on iXswg stTo/xai 
raig aSixiaig avruv, xai ruv upaeriuv 
avruv, xai ruv avo/xiwv aurwv ou /xr) 
ixvrjtfdu sn. 2 


1 Neither the apostle nor the Septuagint gives a literal translation of the Hebrew. 
The word raj, everyone , is inserted, which has no corresponding word in the He¬ 
brew ; and the words vno 6eov , <?/ GW, of the Septuagint, are omitted. (Scott.) 
Dr. Randolph thinks that they are probably a corruption of the text. 

2 This long quotation is in general made from the Septuagint, though with several 
verbal differences, which will be easily observed on collation, but which do not 
affect the meaning, though they seem to imply, that the apostle did not confine him¬ 
self to the Septuagint. It is, however, manifest that he had that translation in his 
thoughts, because he exactly quotes it, where it differs most materially from the 
Hebrew. The Septuagint is, almost throughout this passage, a close version of the 
Hebrew; but, instead of the clause, which in our authorised English translation is 
rendered — although I was a husband to them , the Septuagint reads, Kai ryw rj^tKrtaa 
avrm’, therefore I took no care of them; which lection is followed by the apostle. 
Whether the Hebrew was then read differently, as Dr. Randolph and other learned 
men suppose, or whether the apostle did not think the difference so material as to 
interrupt his argument on account of it, others must determine. Another variation 
is, that the Hebrew has the preterite in one place, where the Septuagint has the 
future, SiSovf Sum, I will put, <^c. But the Hebrew should doubtless be read with 
what the grammarians term the conversive vau, and be understood in a future sense, 



422 Quotations agreeing with the Septuagint , fyc. [Part 1. Ch 


Behold, the days are coming, 
saith the Lord, when I will make a 
new covenant with the house of Ju¬ 
dah : not according to the covenant 
which I made with their fathers, in 
the day when I took them by the 
hand to bring them out of Egypt. 
Because they did not abide by this 
covenant of mine, therefore I took 
no care of them, saith the Lord. 
For, this is my covenant which I 
will make with the house of Israel: 
after those days, saith the Lord, I 
will adapt my laws to their under¬ 
standings, and write them on their 
hearts, and I will be their God, and 
they shall be my people ; and they 
shall no more teach every man his 
neighbour, and every man his bro¬ 
ther, saying, Know the Lord; for 
all will know me from the greatest 
to the least of them ; for I will be 
merciful to their iniquities, and no 
more remember their sins. 


Behold, the days come, saith the 
Lord, when I will make a new 
covenant with the house of Israel 
and the house of Judah: not ac¬ 
cording to the covenant that 1 
made with their fathers, in the day 
when I took them by the hand to 
lead them out of the land of Egypt; 
because they continued not in my 
covenant, and I regarded them not, 
saith the Lord. For this is the 
covenant that I will make with the 
house of Israel after those days, 
saith the Lord. I will put my laws 
in their mind, and write them in 
their hearts ; and I will be to them 
a God, and they shall be to me a 
people : And they shall not teach 
every man his neighbour and every 
man his brother, saying, Know the 
Lord: for all shall know me from 
the least to the greatest. For I will 
be merciful to their unrighteous¬ 
ness, and their sins and their ini¬ 
quities will I remember no more. 


agrees in sense, but 

30. Exod. xxiv. 8. not in words, with Heb. ix. 20. 


• l5ou to aipuz T^g (haSvjxiig, »jg <$i£- 
Ssto Ku£io£ <jt£ og ufxag. 

Behold the blood of the covenant 
which the Lord hath made with 
you. 

31. Hagg. ii* 6. 

Eti atfajj syw rov ou^avov, 

xai tt]v yri'j. 

Yet once more, I will shake the 
heaven and the earth. 

32. Psal. ii. 9. 

IToifjLavsig cturoug £v £a§<5w Gi(5r)£a* 
wg o'xsuog x££ajaswg tfuvT^sig auToug. 

Thou shalt rule them with a rod 
of iron : thou shalt break them to 
pieces like a potter’s vessel. 


Touto to a'tfxa rrjg Sict6r}xr]g, vjg £v£- 
TSiXaTo T^og upag o ©£og. 

This is the blood of the testa¬ 
ment, which God hath enjoined 
unto you. 

Heb. xii. 26. 

Eti affag syu GSiu ou povov Trjv yrjv, 
aXXa xai tov ou^avov . * 1 

Yet once more I shake, not the 
earth only, but also heaven. 

Rev. ii. 27. 

Kai T'oifxav£i auToug £v £a€<$w CiSrjg a* 
wg Ta (txsvrj t a x££a ( uixa CuvT£i§£Tar 2 

And he shall rule with a rod of 
iron: as a potter’s vessel, shall they 
be broken to shivers. 


as the context requires (which both before and after speaks of a new and future 
covenant); as it is also rendered in all the antient versions, and in the Chaldee 
paraphrase ; and as twenty of the Hebrew manuscripts collated by Dr. Kennicott 
read it. See his Dissertatio Generalis, § G6. (Dr. Randolph, Scott.) 

1 The apostle seems purposely to have varied from the Septuagint, in order to 
render the quotation more emphatical and suited to his purpose. The Septuagint 
well translates the Hebrew, omitting the words rendered in our version, It is a little 
while. (Scott.) 

2 This is nearly a quotation of the Septuagint (which exactly translates the He¬ 
brew), the person only being altered from the second to the third. — (Dr. Randolph, 

Scott.) 



423 


IX. Sect. II.] Quotations agreeing with the Hebrew. 

IV. Quotations differing from the Septuagint , but agreeing exactly , 

or nearly , with the Hebrew. 

There are several instances of an evidently intentional renuncia¬ 
tion of the Septuagint version, in order to adhere to the Hebrew 
original: these instances occur when the Septuagint so materially 
differs from the Hebrew, as to render the passage unsuitable to the 
purpose for which the sacred writer produced the quotation, or 
where it is palpably erroneous. The number of these departures 
from the Septuagint is eleven; viz. 


1* Hos. xi. 1. cited in Matt. ii. 15. 

Eg Aiytwrrou psrsxaXeda ra. tsxv a Eg Aiyu-rrou sxaXstfa <rov uiov / mod . 

ajrou * Out of Egypt have I called my 

I called his children out of Egypt. son. 


2. Jer. xxxi. 15. 

See the passage, No. 2. p. 353. 
supra. 

3. Isa. liii. 4. 

Oikog rag apagnag puv <pS£Si, xai 
vegi fyiwv o5uvarai. 

This man beareth away our sins, 
and for us he is in sorrow. 

4- Zech ix. 9. 

Xaige dyotiga Suya rsg 2iwv, xygvdds 
%yarsg i lsgo\jda\r\p’ n$ou, 6 BatfiXsug 
doo sg^srai doi Sixatog xai duguv, av- 
<ro$ <rgaijg, xai swSsovjxug Sen oero^uyiov, 
xai erwXov vsov. 

Rejoice exceedingly, O daughter 
of Sion; make proclamation, O 
daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy 
king is coming to thee; he is right¬ 
eous, and having salvation. He is 
meek, and mounted on an ass, even 
a young colt. 

5. Psal. xxii. 1. 

*0 @sog, 6 Gsog pov , 'ifgod^sg pot, 
Ivan syxarsXiersg ps ; 

O God, my God, attend to me! 

Why hast thou forsaken me ? 

•> 


Matt. ii. 18. 


Matt. viii. 17. > 

Aurog Tag adSiveiag ypuv sXa£s, 
xai rag vodovg sSadradSv. 

Himself took our infirmities, and 
bare our sicknesses. 

Matt. xxi. 5. 

Eierars rr) Svyargi 2iwv I(5ou, o 
BatfiXsug d ou s^srai dot er^ai jg, xai 
sen§s§y)xwg sen ovov, xai erwXov uiov 
iWo^uyiou. 1 

Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Be¬ 
hold thy king cometh unto thee, 
meek and sitting upon an ass, and 
(more correctly, even) a colt the foal 
of an ass. 


Matt, xxvii. 46. 

HXi, HXi, "kapa daQa-yfavi ; tout’ 
sdn, Qss pov, ©ss pou, Ivan ps syx a- 
<rsXiersg ; 

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ? That 
is to say, My God, my God, why 
hast thou forsaken me ? 


1 See note 1. in p. 368. supra. 



424 


Quotations differing from the Septuagint [Part. I. Ch. 

6. Isa. lii. 7. cited in Rom. x. 15. 


'fig ugu siri <rwv o£swv, ug tfodsg 
suayysXi^ofisvov axorjv si^rjvrjg, ug svay- 
ysX^o^svog ayaSra . 1 2 

Like beauty on the mountains, — 
like the feet of one proclaiming 
peace, like one proclaiming glad 
tidings. 

7. 1 Kings xix. 18. 

Kou xarotXsi-JsStg sv I<Tgar)X lirra 
X»a dug avd^wv, cravra yovara a ovx 
wxXatfav yovv <ru BaaX. 

And thou shall leave in Israel se¬ 
ven thousand men, even all the 
knees which have not bowed to 
Baal. 

8. Job v. 13. 

See the passage inp. 420. No. 25. 

9. Isa. xxv. 8. 

Karsffjsv 6 Savarog itf^utfag. 
Mighty death had swallowed up. 

10. Lev. xi. 44. 

4 

Kai ayiot sdsiids, bn ayiog sifxi syu 
Kvgiog 6 0 eog vfiojv. 

And be ye holy, because I the 
Lord your God am holy. 

11. Prov. x. 12. 

Ilavrag <5s rovg pyj (piXovsixovvrag 
xoCXvirrsi <p iXia. 

But friendship covereth all them 
who are not contentious. 


'Hg w£<xjo» oi tfoSsg ruv svayysXii^o- 
p,svwv si^vrjVj ruv svayysXi^o[XSvuv <ra 
ayaSa. 

How beautiful are the feet of 
them that preach the Gospel of 
Peace, and bring glad tidings of 
good things ! 

Rom. xi. 4. 

KareXjirov s/xavru k'rt'raxuSyfkiovg 
avSgag, o'invsg ovx sx ap-^av yovv <r»j 
BaaX. 

I have reserved to myself seven 
thousand men who have not bowed 
the knee to the image of Baal. 

1 Cor. iii. 19. 

1 Cor. xv. 54. 

KarstfoSs 6 Savarog sig vixog. 

Death is swallowed up in victory. 

1 Pet. i. 16. 

‘Ayioi ysvsdQs, bn syu ayiog sipa. 

Be ye holy, for I am holy. 

1 Pet. iv. 8. 

'Oci v) ayairr\ xaXu-^si wX^So g 
up agnuvf 

For charity shall cover the mul¬ 
titude of sins. 


1 The Septuagint is here extremely corrupted. This quotation agrees with the 
Hebrew, only omitting upon the mountains. (Dr. Randolph on the Quotations, 

2 This is a translation from the Hebrew, and widely different from the Septua¬ 
gint ; only for all sins, the apostle has the multitude of sins. The Septuagint, 
Syriac, and Arabic versions differ strangely from each other. (Dr. Randolph, Scott.) 



425 


IX. Sect. II.] And from the Hebrew . 

V. Quotations which differ both from the Septuagint and from the 
Hebrew , and are probably taken from some other translation , or 
paraphrase , or were so rendered by the sacred writers themselves . 

1. Micaliv. 2. cited in Matt. ii. 6. 


Kai (fv BqflXssp. oixo g E(pgat)a, 0 X 1 - 
yotfrog s », sx rov sivai sv ^iXiatfiv Iou- 
<5a ; sx tfou pot sfsXsufl'srai, rov sivai 
cig afX 0V<ra T0U lo^a^X. 

But, as for thee, Bethlehem, thou 
house of Ephratha, art thou the 
least [or, too little], to become one 
of the thousands of Judah? Out of 
thee shall one come forth to me, to 
be the ruler of Israel. 

2. Isa. xl. 3—5. 

See the passage in p. 366. No. 1. 

supra. 

3. Isa. ix. 1, 2. 

Xw£a Zctf3ovXuv rj yrj Ns<p&aXsi|ut., 
xaj oi Xoitfoi o'» rr\v tfa^aXiav, xai tfsgav 
rou Io^davou TaXiXaia rwv s Qvuv. 'O 
Xaoj o irogsvopsvog sv tfxorSi iSsrs (pug 
psyor oi xaroixovvrsg sv Cxia 

Savarou, (pug Xap^st s<p’ vpag. 

With regard to the region of Za- 
bulon, the land of Nephthalim, and 
the rest who inhabit the sea shore, 
and beyond Jordan, Galilee of the 
nations; ye people who walk in 
darkness, behold a great light! and 
ye who dwell in a region, the shade 
of death, on you a light shall shine. 

4. Mai. iii. 1. 

I6ou sgan'otfrsXXu rov ayysXov pov, 
xou sm£Xs^srai oSov <jrgo rfgotfurfov 
pov. 

Behold I send forth my messen¬ 
ger, and he will examine the way 
before me. 


5. Isa. xlii. 1—4. 

Iaxw§ o iratg pov, avriXy-^opca 


Kai (fv Ba$Xss|a, yrj IovSa, ovSapug 
sXcc^KSry] si sv rotg yyspotfiv Iou<5a* ex 
<fov yag s%sXsv<fsrca rjyovpsvog, odng 
rfotpavsi rov Xaov pov rov Io^ariX.l 

And thou, Bethlehem in the land 
of Juda, art not the least among the 
princes of Juda: for out of thee 
shall come a governor that shall 
rule my people Israel. 


Matt. iii. 3. Mark i. 3. Luke iii. 
4—6. 


Matt. iv. 15, 16. 

Ibi Za£otiXwv, xai yrj NspSaXsif*, 
oSov SuXouftfyg, tfs^av rou Io£<$avou, 
Ta-XiXaia ruv sdvuv. *O Xaog o xa- 
&ripsvog sv tfxorsi s»5s (pug psycc, xai 
roig xa^fxsvoij sv %w£a xai tfxia Sava- 
rov (pug avsrsiXsv avroig. 

The land of Zabulon, and the 
land of Nephthalim, by the way of 
the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of 
the Gentiles; the people which sat 
in darkness saw great light: and to 
them which sat in the region and 
shadow of death, light is sprung up. 


Matt. xi. 10. Mark i. 2. Luke 
vii. 27. 

iAou, syu ouifotfrsXXu rov ayysXov 
pov r^o rgotfurfov (fov og xaratfxsuatfsi 
rrjv oSov (fov sprfgotfQsv (fov. 

Behold I send my messenger be¬ 
fore thy face, which shall prepare 
thy way before thee. 


Matt. xii. 18—21. 

Ith)y, 6 tfciig pov, ov rjecTHftt 6 


VOL. II. 


1 See note 1. in p. 379. supra 

54 



426 


Quotations differing from the Septuagint [Part I. Ch. 


aurai/ Io^a^X 6 exXexrog jaou, ifgode- 
degaro aurov \u"/y\ M* 00 ? £( 5wxa ro 
ffveujua (xou eff’ aurov, x^nfiv <ro»g eSvetfiv 
egottfsi. Ou xsx^agsrai, o uSs avrjtfei, 
cude axoutfS.KjO'srai s|w *>j <pwv?) aurou. 
KaXajxov rs^Xarf/xsvov ou tfuvrgi^ei, xai 
Xivov xatfvi^ajaevov ou dfistfsi, aXXa eig 
aXrj^eiav egoitfei x^wfiv— Kai sm red 
ovo/xari aurou eSv»j gXffioutfiv. 

Jacob is my servant, I will up¬ 
hold him; Israel ts my chosen 
one, my soul hath embraced him. 
I have put my spirit upon him; he 
will publish judgment to the na¬ 
tions, he will not cry aloud, nor 
urge with vehemence, nor will his 
voice be heard abroad. A bruised 
reed he will not break, nor will he 
quench smoking flax, but will bring 
forth judgment unto truth, — and in 
his name shall the nations trust (or 
hope). 


ayanrrfrog /xou, eig ov sudoxijtfsv tj 
( ioV §rj<f ou ro rfvsv/xa juou sk' aurov, 
xai x£jtfiv <roig e^vetfiv a sruyysXsi. Oux 
g^itfei, ovSs xgavya&si, oude axoutfei <rig 
ev <raig crXaTeiaig r»jv (pojvijv aurou. 
KaXa/xov (fvvrsr^i[X[xsvov ou xa<reagei, 
xai Xivov 7V(po[M£vov ou tf§£ff£i* £wg av 
sxGaXrj eig vixog rrjv x^itfiv. Kai ev <rw 
ovop-an aurou eSvq eXtfioutfi. 1 

Behold my servant whom I have 
chosen, my beloved in whom my 
soul is well pleased. I will put my 
spirit upon him, and he shall show 
judgment to the Gentiles. He shall 
not strive nor cry ; neither shall any 
man hear his voice in the streets. 
A bruised reed shall he not break, 
and smoking flax shall he not 
quench, till he send forth judgment 
unto victory. And in his name shall 
the Gentiles trust. 


6. Zech. ix. 9. cited in 

See p. 369. No. 8. and the note 

there. * 


John xii. 15. (and see Matt- 
xxi. 5.) 


7. Deut. xviii. 15. 19. 

See the passage, in p. 416. No.. 
14. and the note there. 

8. Hab. i. 5. 

■Iders eu xarap^ovrai, xai s<jri/3X£- 
4-are, xai Sau/xatfare Sau^atfia, xai 
apavKj^re’ Sion sgyov syu sgya^ofiou 
sv r cr.ig 'fasgeag ufxuv, o ou [xrj nridrsv- 
Cyrs, sav rig exdiyjyrjrai. 

Behold, ye despisers, and view in¬ 
tently, and be amazed at wonderful 
things, and vanish (or perish). For 
in your days I am doing a work, 
which ye will not believe, though 
one tell you. 


Acts iii. 22, 23. 


Acts xiii. 41. 

IderS oi xara^ovTjrai, xai Sau|aa- 
(fare, xai afpavKf^rs* on sgyov syu 
sgyufyfiai ev raig fyxe^aig u/xwv, e^yov 
w ou fj.r] <7n tfreutf^re, eav rig sxSirjyrjrou 

U[XIV. 

Behold ye despisers, and wonder 
and perish; for I work a w ork in 
your days, a work which you shall 
in no wise believe, though a man 
declare it unto you. 


1 This quotation hy no means agrees with the Septuagint version, whose authors 
have obscured this prophecy by adding the words Jacob and Israel , which are not 
in the original Hebrew. It is probably taken from some old translation agreeing 
very nearly with the Hebrew. The only difficulty is in the words iw s av expa^r os 
T1 T l [ Kfnrnv. But if by we understand the cause under trial, then to send 
forth his cause unto truth will be to carry the canse, and vindicate its truth ; which, 
agrees in sense with anc/JaX? us vlkos t^v xpicuv. (Dr. Randolph on the Quotations, p. 28 




427 


IX. Sect. II.] And from, the Hebrew. 


9. Gen. xviii. 10. cited in 

See the passage in p. 418. No. 19. 

10. Hos. ii.23. 

See the passage in p. 418. No. 20. 

11. Isa. x. 22, 23. 

See the passage in p. 419. No. 21. 

12. 1 Kings xix. 14. 

See the passage in p. 419. No. 22. 

13. Deut. xxxii. 35. 

Ev vjnega sxSixrjdsug avrairoSudcj. 

In the day of vengeance I will 

requite. 


Rom. ix. 9. 

Rom. ix. 25. 

Rom. ix. 27, 28. 

Rom. xi. 3. 

Rom. xii. 19. (and see Heb. x. 30.) 

EfA 0 » sxSixYitfig* syu avratfo^wtfw, 
Xsysi Ku^iog. 

Vengeance is mine (literally to me 
belongeth vengeance); 1 will repay, 
saith the Lord. 


14. Isa. lxiv. 4. 

Atfo to u aiwvos oux *]xoutfajUtsv, ou<$s 
0» OCpdaX/JLOl 7][XUV SlSoV ©SOV, tfXl'JV rfou, 

xa» Ta sgyu tfou, a tfon’jo'sig rotg utfo/AS- 
voutfiv sXsov. 

Never have we heard, nor have 
our eyes seen a God, besides thee, 
nor works such as thine, which thou 
wilt do for them who wait for 
mercy. 


1 Cor. ii. 9. 

*A opdaX/xos oux sids, xai ovg oux 
‘yjxouffs, xai Stfi xagSiuv ctvdguirov oux 
a vs£t], a Voip-atfsv o Qsog roig ayuiru- 
o*iv aurov. 1 

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
nor have entered into the heart of 
man, the things which God hath 
prepared for them that love him. 


15. Isa. xxviii. 11, 12. 

Aia (pauXiff/xov ^eiXswv, Sia. yXw<f- 
<fr)g kregag on XaX^tfouo'i tw Xaw toutoj 

— xai oux Y\6s\T)<fav axousiv. 

On account of the mockery of 
their lips, because they will speak 
to this people with a strange tonguo 

— yet they would not hear. 


1 Cor. xiv. 21. 

'Oti sv !tS£ oy\u<J6oig, xai £v ys*- 
Xstfiv Usgoig, XaXrjtfw rw Xaw toutcj, 
xai ou5’ ovrug stdaxovdovrai fxou, \sysi 
Ku^iog. 2 

With men of other tongues and 
other lips will I speak unto this 
people; and yet for all that will 
they not hear me, saith the Lord. 


1 This is a most difficult passage: It does not agree either with the Hebrew, or 
the Septuagint, or any other translation now extant: nor is it possible either to 
make sense of the Hebrew, or to reconcile the old versions, either with the Hebrew 
(which is given in No. 12. p. 381. supra), or with one another. In the apostle’s cita¬ 
tion the sense is easy and consistent, and agreeable to the context in the prophet. No 
sense can be made of the Hebrew, but by a very forced construction. Some critics 
have imagined that the quotation was taken from some apocryphal book: but it is 
so near to the Hebrew here, both in sense and words, that we cannot suppose it to 
be taken from any other passage. Nor in this case would the apostle (it is pre¬ 
sumed) have introduced it with — as it is written. It is more reasonable to suppose 
that the Hebrew text has been here greatly corrupted, and that the apostle took his 
citation from some more correct copy. See Bishop Lowth’s Note on Isa. lxiv. 4. 
and Dr. Kennicott’s Dissertatio Generalis, § 84. 87. (Dr. Randolph on the Quo¬ 
tations, p. 39.) 

2 This is not quoted from the Septuagint, but agrees in substance with the He¬ 
brew ; excepting that it substitutes the first person for the third , and adds Aeyw 
Kvpioj — saith the Lord. 



428 Quotations differing from the Septuagint , [Part I. Ci). 

16. Deut. xxvii. 27. cited in Gal. iii. 10. 

See the passage in p. 420. No. 27. 

17. Psal. lxviii. 18. 

Avafas Sis v+os, '^(xaXwTSufl'as 
ar^aXwtfiav* sXa§s$ So/xara sv av- 

^6J«7rw. 

Having ascended on high, thou 
hast led captivity captive, and re¬ 
ceived gifts in the manner of men. 

18. Exod. xxiv. 8. 

See the passage in p. 422. No. 30. 

19. Deut. xxx. 12—14. 

Oax sv tw ougavu avw stfrj, Xsywv, 

Tj£ avuGrjtfsrcu fyuv sis tov oi^avov, 
xai Xrj^STai 7}[Aiv avrvjv ; xai axoudav- 
tsj auTrjv tfop.sv 5 Ou< 5 s ‘Trs^av 
SaXafl'rfrjs stf<n, Xsywv, Tig Siairsgcufsi 
rifiiv sig to neg av t?js SaXaMys, xai 
Xa§?j i][xiv aurrjVj xai axov<frrjv fyuv 
rroiYfii) auT^jv, xai ‘jr'opjtfofxsv; E 
tfou stfTi <ro £r) jaa tf(po^a sv to dTo/xaTi 
tfou, xai sv t»j xagSia tfou, xai sv Taig 

X s ^ 1 tfou TTOISIV aUTO. 

It is not in heaven above, that 
thou shouldest say, Who will as¬ 
cend for us into heaven, and bring 
it to us, that we may hear and do 
it ? Nor is it beyond the sea, that 
thou shouldest say, Who will cross 
the sea for us, and bring it to us, 
and let us hear it, and we will do 
it ? The word is very near thee, in 
thy mouth and in thy heart, and in 
thy hand. 


1 This quotation is placed here, because it is not referable to either of the preced¬ 
ing classes. As the passage extracts from the words of Moses some thoughts or 
expressions, which St. Paul applied in a striking manner to those things which were 
appropriate to the Gospel, it would be unreasonable to expect either a regular quo¬ 
tation of the Septuagint, or a translation of the Hebrew. In Deut. xxx. 12—14. 
Moses, speaking of the covenant made with the children of Israel, expresses its 
easiness by proverbial phrases taken from the transactions of God with the children 
of Israel. Who (says he) shall go up for us into heaven , &c. alluding to the delivery 
of the law from heaven— Who shall go over the sea for us, &c. alluding to the 
passage of the Israelites over the Red Sea; the apostle makes use of the like 
phrases, only altering the latter so as to allude to the descent of Christ into the 
grave ; this is a most beautiful allusion ; and the latter part, in which the main stress 
of the argument lies, agrees both with the Septuagint and the Hebrew, only omit¬ 
ting a word or two. (Scott, Dr. Randolph.) 


Eph. iv. 8. 

Ava§a$ sig u-^os, yxiiaXursutrsv 
ai^fAaXwtfjav, xai sSuxs So/xara toi s 
avd^wtfois. 

When he ascended up on high, 
he led captivity captive, and gave 
gifts unto men. 

Heb. ix. 20. 


Rom. x. 6—8. 

Mrj sitfrjs Sv ryj xagSiot Coti* Ti£ 
avaGrjrfe-mi Sis tov ou^avov; (tout’ 
so'ti, XgKfrov xarayaysiv.) H, ns 
xaraGv}(fsrai sis t^v a; (tout’ 
stfrij X^itfrov sx vsxguv ava.ya.yziv) 

-Eyyug tfou to ^rjjaa stfTiv, 

Sv tw tfTOjxaTi <fov , xai sv <ty\ xa^5ia 
tfou. 1 

Say not in thine heart, Who shall 
ascend into heaven ? (that is, to 
bring down Christ from above.) Or, 
Who shall descend into the deep ? 
(that is, to bring up Christ again 
from the dead.).... The word is 
nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and 
in thy heart. 





429 


IX. Sect. II j| Concluding Observations. 

VI. On a comparison of the quotations from the Old Testament 
in the New, it is obvious that in the Epistles , which were addressed 
generally to churches consisting of converted Hellenists (that is 
Greek Jews), or Gentiles, or of both, the quotations are uniformly 
made from the Septuagint version, or with express reference to it, 
except where some important reason induced the sacred writer to 
deviate from it: for the Septuagint was the only version generally 
known in those churches, whose members were mostly strangers to 
the Hebrew. There are however some apparent contradictions in 
the quotations from die Old Testament in the New, die reconcilia¬ 
tion of which has much engaged the attention of learned men, who 
have assigned various causes to account for, or explain such discre*' 
pancies. These it may be useful briefly to consider, before we dis¬ 
cuss the mode in which the sacred writers of the New Testament 
apply their quotations from the Old Testament. The causes of the 
differences in these quotations may be reduced to diree, viz. 1. So¬ 
phistications or corruptions of the Hebrew text: —2. Various read¬ 
ings, or differences in copies : — and 3. Our ignorance of die cor¬ 
rect meaning of particular texts. 

1. The instances of Sophistication, or corruption of the Hebrew 
text, are comparatively few, and are only nine in number, as we have 
already seen the comparison of manuscripts and versions alone can 
enable the critic to determine the true reading. 

2. Various Readings in the manuscript copies of the Greek Bible, 
used by the sacred writers of the New Testament, are another cause 
of the apparent contradictions in the quotations made in it from the 
Old Testament; and these manuscripts might differ from those 
which we have at present. Professor Michaelis likewise thinks it 
possible that, in those cases where the quotations are materially dif¬ 
ferent, another translation might have been added in the Septuagint 
as a marginal note, in the same manner as we find in die Hexapla of 
Origen under the name of aXXos. The Proverbs of Solomon, he 
observes, present instances where the same Hebrew words are twice 
translated ; which can be explained on no other supposition, than that 
one of them was originally a marginal note, which has insensibly crept 
into the text itself. And he adduces the following instance in which 
the Septuagint version is false, Prov. x. 12. ‘ira.vras rovs pi (piXovstxowrag 

(pi\ia, a passage which is twice quoted in the New Testament, 
and both times with a more accurate translation : James v. 20. xaXu^e* 
djxa^T»wv, and 1 Pet. iv. 8. on tj ctyuirrj xaXu+si irXr]&os a p.a|<nwv. 
The question may be asked, whether the Apostles found this reading 
in their Greek Bibles ?—But, before we can speak with decision 
relative to the quotations from the Old Testament, we must wait for a 
more perfect edition of the Septuagint, collated from the best manu¬ 
scripts ; for, in the editions which we have at present, too little at¬ 
tention has been paid to the accuracy of the text; and the 
manuscripts which have been used are not only inconsiderable 


1 See Sect. I. § VIII. p. 382. supra. 



430 Concluding Observations. [Part I. Ch. 

m number, but, though antient, precisely those which are least 
correct. 1 

3. Another cause of the apparent discrepancy occurring in the 
quotations from the Old Testament in the New may arise from our 
not understanding particular Hebrew texts or words : a few such in¬ 
stances have already been noticed. 2 But this is only a temporary 
cause — the researches of commentators and critics (which the pre¬ 
ceding tables have tended to confirm) have shown that the writers of 
the New Testament express the true sense, though not the sense 
generally attributed to the Hebrew: and in proportion as such re¬ 
searches are more diligently prosecuted, and our knowledge of the 
original languages of the Scriptures is increased, these difficulties will 
gradually and certainly diminish. 

4. It is further to be observed that the very same quotations are 
often contracted by some of the evangelists and as often enlarged 
by others. This difference in quoting may be accounted for by the 
different occasions on which they are introduced, ^md the different 
ends which they were intended to serve. Thus, Luke, who wrote his 
Gospel for the instruction of Gentile converts, quotes (iii. 4—6.) not 
less than three verses from the prophet Isaiah ; 3 while Matthew (iii. 3.) 
and Mark (i. 3.) quote only theirs* of them. But it was necessary 
to Luke’s purpose that he should proceed so far, in order to assure 
the Gentiles, that they were destined to be partakers of the privileges 
of the Gospel, and to see the salvation of God . On the other hand, 
Matthew (xiii. 14,15.) and Paul (Acts xxviii. 26, 27.) when reprov¬ 
ing the Jews for their incredulity, which Isaiah had long before pre¬ 
dicted, introduce the prophecy at full length, whereas Mark (iv. 11, 
12.) and Luke (viii. 10.) only refer to it briefly. Mark, whose 
Gospel was written for a mixed society of Jewish and Gentile converts, 
has many peculiarities belonging to him, which are not specified by 
the other evangelists. Of these peculiarities, we have an instance in 
his manner of citing the passage of Isaiah just noticed. The verse 
in his Gospel runs thus : 

Toig sgu sv tfctga(3o\cus ra iravru yivsrai* 'Iva (3\enovrss xa» pi 

xai ■axovwrtg axouwtfi, xai py tfuviwa'i, piffors wtfi, xai a<ps^»i auroij 

ca ujia^imra. Unto them, that are without all these things are done in 
parables: That seeing they may see and not perceive ; and hearing , 
they may hear and not understand; lest at any time they should be 
converted and their sins should be forgiven them. 

In order to engage the Jews the more effectually to adopt and 
obey his Gospel, Mark has not only inserted in it more Hebrew or 
rather Syro-Chaldaic phrases than all the other evangelists together; 
but in the verse here given, he has forsaken both the Hebrew and 
Greek of Isa. vi. 11. (in our translation truly rendered and I will 
heal them), and has quoted the C haldee Paraphrase, which he trans- 

1 Marsh’s Michaelis, vol. i. p. 235. The question ajjove noticed will, most pro- 
bably, be fully solved when the elaborate edition of thfe Septuagint, now printing 
at Oxford shall be completed. 

2 See $ VII. pp. 378—381. supra. 

3 See the passages of Isaiah and Luke at length, in p. 366. No. 1. 




431 


JX. Sect. II.] Concluding Observations, 

lated for himself, xa» aps^i? avroig ra uixagrruxura, and their sins should 
be forgiven them ; and which thus probably became more intelligible 
to the Gentiles also. Now these particular variations are so far from 
being disparagements to the Gospels, that they are in reality the ex¬ 
cellencies and ornaments of them. They are such variations only, as 
these different converts, of different conceptions, required to have 
made, for their obtaining a true and right knowledge of the Old Tes¬ 
tament prophecies. 1 A similar mode of citation is pursued by the 
illustrious apostle, Paul, who does not mention or allege the law and 
the prophets in one and the same manner to Jews and Gentiles. 
Thus, to Felix the Roman governor, he says of himself (Acts xxiv. 
14.) Believing all things which are written in the law and the 
prophets. But to king Agrippa (xxvi. 22.) Saying none other things 
than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come. And 
thus he distinguishes in his Epistles. In that to the Hebrews are 
many passages from the Old Testament, but not a single instance in 
which it is quoted as written. But in his other Epistles he rarely 
uses any other form than, It is written , or The Scripture saith. Thus 
he cites it to the Romans; the chief variations from which mode to 
that of He saith , are in the three chapters, ix. x. xi. which principally 
relate to the Jews; and even there he seldom fails to name the 
prophet whose tvords are adduced. To the Galatians, and in both 
Epistles to the Corinthians, with one or two exceptions, he urges the 
words of the Old Testament as written. To the Philippians, Colos- 
sians, and Thessalonians, if we mistake not, he makes no direct quo¬ 
tation from it. In the Epistle to the Ephesians he refers to it twice, 
and there indeed in both places under the form of He saith. But he 
himself had spent above two years in teaching them with the utmost 
diligence and attention (Acts xix. 8. 10.) and wrote his Epistle to 
them some years after; when he might have full assurance that he 
spoke to those who knew the law. A passage in this Epistle, com¬ 
pared with a similar one in that to the Colossians, seems to prove 
that he made a difference between them, and judged the Ephesians 
to be better versed in the sacred books. To these he proposes the 
precept of obedience to parents with a view to the Mosaic promise : 
(Eph. vi. 1— 3.) Children , obey your parents in the Lord; for this 
is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first 
commandment with promise. But he omits this reference to the 
words of the Decalogue, in giving the same precept to the Colossians; 
with whose proficiency in the Scriptures he was less acquainted, as 
having never been among them. He says only (Col. iii. 20.) Chil¬ 
dren, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto 
the Lord. 

Thus we see that St. Paul has one mode of citing the Old Testa¬ 
ment to the Hebrews, and another to the churches of which the Gen¬ 
tiles were members; that in the former case he agrees with Matthew, 
in the latter with Mark and Luke. And in this respect there is so 

1 Dr. Owen, on the Modes of Quotation used by the Evangelical Writers, pp, 
85—87. 




432 


Concluding Observations . [Part I. Ch 

much uniformity in the Apostle and two Evangelists, that we may 
justly conclude, it was not accidental, but designed by him and them, 
for the same purpose of suiting their style to the small measure of 
scriptural knowledge which they might well suppose many of their 
readers to possess. By which means the unlearned or newly con¬ 
verted Gentiles were instructed, that what was offered to them as the 
word of God which came in old time , was to be found in the books of 
Scripture 5 and, if Judaisers crept in and perplexed them with doc¬ 
trines of an oral or traditionary law, they were furnished with this 
reply to such teachers: “ When the Apostles and Evangelists, who 
have been our more immediate guides, propose to us any part of the 
Mosaic economy, they allege only what is written , and what they 
carefully inform us to be so.” 1 

We have dwelt the longer on this subject, not only on account of 
ks importance in illustrating the external form of the quotations of the 
Old Testament by the Evangelists and Apostles, but also because it 
furnishes us with an additional instance of those simple notes of au¬ 
thenticity, with which the New Testament abounds, and which the 
genius of forgery could never have devised. 

Upon the whole, then, as it respects the external form of quotations 
from the Old Testament, it may be observed that the writers of the 
New Testament did not make it a constant rule to cite from the Greek 
version, because there are many places in which their quotations differ 
from that version, and agree with the Hebrew. 2 And as their quota¬ 
tions now correspond with the Hebrew, very frequently in express 
words, 3 and generally in the sense ; 4 so it is highly probable that they 
uniformly agreed at first, and that, where the Hebrew was properly 
expressed in the Greek version, they used the words of that version. 
But were it materially varied from the meaning of the Hebrew Scrip¬ 
tures, they either gave the sense of the passage cited in their own 
words; or took as much of the Septuagint as suited their purpose, 
introducing the requisite alterations. Hence several passages are 
neither direct quotations from the Hebrew text, nor quotations from 
the Septuagint ; 5 and some, as we have already seen, agree with the 
latter even where it varies from the former, but only where the devia¬ 
tion does not so affect the meaning of the passage as to interfere with 
the pertinency of the quotation for the purpose intended. “ All this 
accords to what ordinary writers, in similar circumstances, would have 
done, and in fact have been authorised to do : but the sacred penmen, 
being themselves divinely inspired, might take liberties which we must 
not; because their comments were equally the Word of God with 
the texts commented on.” 6 

1 Dr. Townson’s Discourses on the Four Gospels, disc. 4. sect. ii. (Works, vol. 

i. pp. 101, 102.) 

2 See § IV. pp. 423, 424. supra. 3 See §§ I. and II. pp. 343—366. supra. 

4 See §§ III.—V. pp. 366—377. supra. 5 See § V. p. 376. supra. 

6 The Rev. T. Scott, on the Authority of the Septuagint, in the Christian Ob¬ 
server for 1810, vol. ix. p. 102. 




IX. Sect. HI.] On the Internal Form of Quotations. 


433 


SECTION III. 

ON THE INTERNAL FORM OF QUOTATIONS, OR THE MODE IN WHICH 
CITATIONS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT ARE APPLIED IN THE NEW. 

General observations on the Rabbinical and other modes of quoting 
the Old Testament — classification of the quotations in the JYew 
Testament; — I. Quotations from the Old Testament in the New , 
in which the predictions are literally accomplished; — II. Quota¬ 
tions , in which that is said to have been done , of which the Scrip¬ 
tures have not spoken in a literal , but in a spiritual sense ; — III. 
Quotations that are accommodated by the sacred writers to particu¬ 
lar events or facts. IV. Quotations and other passages from the 
Old Testament which are alluded to in the New. 

In considering the passages of the Old Testament, which have been 
introduced by the apostles and evangelists into the writings of the 
New, “ there is often a difficulty with respect to the application of 
such quotations; when they are applied to a purpose to which they 
seem to have no relation, according to their original design. This 
difficulty arises from the writers of the New Testament making quo¬ 
tations from the Old with very different views : and it can be removed 
only by attending to their real view in a particular quotation.” An 
accurate distinction therefore must be made between such quotations 
as, being merely borrowed, are used as the words of the writer him¬ 
self, and such as are quoted in proof of a doctrine, or the completion 
of a prophecy. 

Michaelis 1 has remarked, that whenever a book is the subject of 
our daily reading, it is natural that its phrases should occur to us in 
writing — sometimes with a perfect recollection of the places whence 
they are taken, and at other times when the places themselves have 
totally escaped our memory. Thus, the lawyer quotes the maxims 
of the law : the scholar, his favourite classics; and the divine, the 
precepts of the Gospel. It is no wonder, therefore, if the same has 
happened to the writers of the New Testament; who being daily 
occupied in the study of the Old Testament, unavoidably adopted its 
modes of expression, and especially of the Greek Septuagint, which 
they have borrowed, and applied to their own use in various ways 
and for various purposes. 

The quotations from the Old Testament in the New are generally 
introduced by certain formulae, such as, That it might be fulfilled — 
As it is written — Isaiah prophesied , &c.; and various rules have 
been framed, in order to account for their application. It has been 
observed by the same great philologist, that the writers of the New 
Testament quote in general like the Rabbins, without mentioning the 
place whence the quotation is taken ; as they pre-suppose the reader 
to be so well acquainted with the Old Testament, as to be able to 
find it without particular direction. The Rabbins select some princi- 

l Introduction to the New Testament, vol. i. pp. 200—203. 
vol. ii. 55 




434 


On the Internal Form of Quotations. [Part I. Ch. 

pal word out of each section, and apply that name to the section itself, 
in the same manner as the Mohammedans distinguish the suras or 
chapters of their Koran, saying, in Eli, in Solomon, when they intend 
to signify the sections where the names are mentioned. For instance, 
Rashi, in his remarks on Hosea ix. 9. ( They have deeply corrupted 

themselves,* as in the days of Gibeah ), says — “ Some are of opinion 
that this is Gibeah of Benjamin in the concubine ,” that is, is mentioned 
in the chapter of the concubine, or Judges xix. And in this manner 
quotations are sometimes made in the New Testament. Thus, in 
Mark xii. 26. and Luke xx. 37. stri ryg fiarov ( in or at the bush), sig¬ 
nifies, “ in the section relating to the burning bush,” which, according 
to the modern division, is the third chapter of Exodus. Again, in 
Rom. xi. 2. sv HX/a, (in Elias) signifies “ in the section in which the 
actions of Elias are recorded which at present forms the seven¬ 
teenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth chapters of the first book ol Kings. 1 

Another very frequent practice of the Rabbins was, to produce 
only the initial words of a quoted passage, while those are omit¬ 
ted in which the force of the argument consists, or the absence of 
which destroys the connection. Of this description are the quotations 
in Rom. vii. 7. and xiii. 9. (Thou shalt not covet), in which the 
apostle leaves us to supply the following words contained in Exod. 
xx. 17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbours wife , he. Similar in¬ 
stances are to be found in Rom. xi. 27. and Heb. ii. 13. 2 

The formulae (as it is written , that it might be fulfilled , it hath 
been said , he. he.) with which the quotations in the New Testament 
are generally introduced, have been supposed by Surenhusius, 3 (to 
whose learned researches biblical students are most deeply indebted) 
to be the indications of the modes in which they are expressed: so 
that, by attending to these formulas, we may easily know why the 
evangelists allege the subsequent words in one certain manner rather 
than in another; and why they depart more or less from the Hebrew 
text. Agreeably to this hypothesis, Surenhusius has, with infinite la¬ 
bour and industry, collected a great variety of rules 4 out of the Tal- 

1 Michaelis, vol. i. pp. 243, 244. 133, 134. 492. Upon the same rule, Michaelis 
thinks the supposed contradiction between Mark ii. 26. and 1 Sam. xxi. 1. may be 
explained u in the chapter of Abiathar,” or, in that part of the books of Samuel in 
which the history of Abiathar is related. This explanation, Rosenmttller very just¬ 
ly remarks, would be preferable to any other, if Mark had added the expression, it 
is written , or the Scripture saith. Scholia in N. T. tom. i. p. 573. edit. 1801. See 
also Kuinoel on Mark ii. 26. Comm, in Libros N. T. Historicos, tom. ii. p. 32. 

2 Michaelis, vol. i. pp. 244—246. 

3 In the preface to his “ BtSAoj KaraXXay^s: in quo, secundum veterum Theologo- 
rum Hebracorum Formulas allegandi et modos interpretandi, conciliantur loca ex 
Veteri in Novo Testamento allegata.” 4to. Amst. 1713. The words of Professor 
Surenhusius are as follow : u Etenim omni in loco ex V. T. in JV. allegato recte 
conciliando , videndum est prius, qua allegandi formuld utantur Jipostoli; ex qua 
statirn dignoscere licet , quare sequentia verba hoc , et non alio modo, allegavermt , 
atque ad veterem Scripturam Hebrceam plusve minusve attenderint. Sic aliuvi sen¬ 
sual involvit ilia allegandi formula Epprj$v ; alium , Ttpairrai) alium , Iva n\ripu)di) to 
pt]6ev ahum , Eir \rip(odr) rj ypa<pij, fyc. 

4 The following are the principal theses or rules laid down by Surenhusius, whose 
work, it may be proper to remark, deserves a place in the library of every biblical 
student, on account of its learned illustration of many passages of Scripture not 
immediately connected with the quotations from the Old Testament. 



435 


IX. Sect. III.] On the Internal Form of Quotations. 

mud and the Rabbinical writings, and has illustrated them with nu¬ 
merous extracts, in order to explain and justify all the quotations 
made from.the Old Testament in the New. But what militates 
against this hypothesis is, that we find, that the very same quotations, 
expressed in the same words, and brought to prove the very same 
points, are introduced by different formula? in different gospels. A 
further objection to the rules adduced by Surenhusius, is their num¬ 
ber and their complexity, which render it difficult to refer all the 
quotations accurately to them. Jt is therefore not only more con¬ 
venient, but more intrinsically useful, to refer the citations from the 
Old T. estament in the New to the four following classes, which have 
been adopted, with some alteration, from Rosenmuller, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 after Gusset 
and Wolfius. According to these, the phrases, that it might be ful¬ 
filled, as it is written , &ic. &c. may be properly applied in the New 
Testament, — 

I. When the thing predicted is literally accomplished. 

II. When that is done, of which the Scripture has spoken, not in 
a literal, but in a spiritual sense. 

III. When a thing is done, neither in a literal nor in a spiritual 
sense, according to the fact referred to in the Scriptures ; but is si- 


1. Sometimes the words are read, not according to the regular vowel-points, but 
agreeably to others substituted for them. Instances of this sort, Surenhusius is of 
opinion, are to be found in Acts iii. 22, 23. and vii. 42, &c. 1 Cor. xv. 54. and 2 
Cor. viii. 15. 

2. Sometimes letters are changed, as in Rom. ix. 33. 1 Cor. ix. 9, &c. Heb. viii 

9. and x. 5. 

3. Sometimes both letters and vowel-points are changed, as in Acts xiii. 40, 41. 
and 2 Cor. viii. 15. 

4. Sometimes words are added from a parallel passage, or are changed in the 
quotation, which words appear as if the whole occurred in the cited text, as in 
Rom. xi. 3. xv. 10. 1 Cor. xv. 45. 2 Cor. vi. 16. Eph. v. 14. and Heb. xii. 12, 13. 

5. Sometimes additional words are inserted to complete the same, as in Matt. iv. 

10. xxi. 5. John vi. 49. xii. 38. and Rom. x. 6. 

6. Sometimes several passages are abridged together, in order to make the sub¬ 
ject more clear : as in Matt. xxi. 5. Luke iv. 18, 19. John viii. 5, &c. 

7. Sometimes the beginnings of verses are only added, for the sake of brevity, 
although the sacred writer refers to the whole passage, which he paraphrases. 
Instances of this sort occur in Acts i. 20. Rom. xi. 27. Heb. iii. and iv. and x. 

8. Some passages are cited, either allegorically, or by way of simple proof, in 
which case the subject cannot be proved, unless the passage cited be compared 
with others, and illustrated as in Rom. ix. 12, 13. x. 8. and Heb. iv. 5, 6. 

9. Sometimes one and the same passage is cited to prove many things, and is 
applied to many persons, as in Matt. xiii. 14. compared with John xii. 40. Rom. 
ix. 33. and x. 11. compared with 1 Pet. ii. 6. 

10. Sometimes a subject is intended to be proved by several passages, though 
one only is adduced, the reader being left to find them out, as in Acts xv. 15, 16. 

11. The first and last clauses of a verse only are sometimes cited, the interme 
diate clauses being omitted. See Eph. v. 14. and 1 Pet. i. 24, 25. 

12. Sometimes a passage is simply adduced without any formula of quotation, 
and then another intervenes parenthetically ; which being cited, the sacred writer 
returns to the first quoted passage, which is illustrated in a variety of particulars. 
Thus St. Paul, in Heb. iii. 7. first cites Psal. xcv. 7.; then he interposes references 
to Exod. xvii. 2. Numb. xx. 13. xiv. 23. and Deut. i. 34.; and at length, in the 15th 
verse, he returns to Psal. xcv. 7.; which he explains, as if all the intermediately 
quoted passages were contained in one and the same text. Similar instances oc 
cur in Heb. iv. 15. and 1 Cor. iii. 7. Surenhusii Bt/3Xoj K araWayris, pp. 1—56. 

1 Scholia in Nov. Test. tom. i. p. 25. 



436 


On the Internal Form of Quotations. [Part I. Ch. 


milar to that fact. The passages thus cited may, briefly, be termed 
accommodated quotations. 

IV. When the sacred writers have made simple allusions to pas¬ 
sages in the Old Testament, for the sake of example or illustration} 

In the following tables, the quotations are arranged under each 
class, to which they appear respectively to belong. Some of the 
references, perhaps, may be disputable ; and in some, it is possible 
that the author may be mistaken : but as they are the result of a la¬ 
borious and patient comparison of every prophecy or citation, in classi¬ 
fying which lie could have but little assistance, he trusts he may be 
allowed to say, that he has exerted the best of his judgment, and to 
indulge the hope that he has not misapplied the quotations in any es¬ 
sential point. 

I. Of Quotations from the Old Testament in the JYew, in which the 
things predicted are literally accomplished. 

Direct prophecies are those which relate to Christ and the Gospel, 
and to them alone, and which cannot be taken in any other sense ; 
and the Scripture is said to b e fulfilled in the literal sense , when that 
event which it foretels is accomplished. The quotations from the 
Old Testament in the New, which belong to this class, are both nu¬ 
merous and highly important. Such are those which mention the 
calling of the Gentiles, and the everlasting kingdom of Messiah : 
such also is the 110th Psalm, which, it has been well remarked, is 
as plain as a prophetic description ought to be. It is applicable to 
Christ alone, and it sets forth his exaltation, his royal dignity, his 
priestly office, the propagation of his Gospel, the obedience of his 
subjects, the destruction of his enemies, and of the Roman emperors 
who persecuted his church. 1 2 

Other examples of this description will be found in the following 
quotations, the references in which are made to the authorised En¬ 
glish version of the Bible. 3 


Gen. xii. 3. xviii. 18. xxii. 18. quoted 
Gen. xvii. 7. 19. xxii. 16, 17. 

Deut. xvii. 15. 19. - 

Psal. ii. 1, 2. 

Psal. ii. 7. ... 

Psal. viii.2. - 

Psal. viii. 4—6. ... 

Psal. xvi. 8—11. - 

Psal. xvi. 10. ... 

Psal. xxii. 1. ... 

Psal. xxii. 18. . 

Psal. xxii. 22. ... 


in Acts iii. 25. Gal. iii. 8. 

Luke i. 55. 72, 73, 74. 

Acts iii. 22, 23. 

Acts iv. 25, 26. 

Acts xiii.33. Heb. i. 5. v. 5. 

Matt. xxi. 16. 

Heb. ii. 6—8. 

Acts ii. 25—28. 31. 

Acts xiii. 35. 

Matt, xxvii. 46. Mark xv. 34. 

S Matt, xxvii. 35. Mark xv. 24. Luke xxiii. 
£ 34. John xix. 24. 

Heb. ii. 12. 


1 The fourth class mentioned by Rosenmttller, Gusset, and Wolfius, is as follows: 
— When that which has, in the Old Testament, been mentioned as formerly done, 
is accomplished, in a large and more extensive sense, in the New Testament. But 
as the citations which appear to belong to this class may be referred to the first 
and third, we have substituted the preceding in lieu of it. 

2 Jortin’s Remarks on Eccles. Hist. vol. i. p. 121. 2d edit. The best critical il¬ 
lustration of the prophetical sense of Psalm cx. is, perhaps, that given by Dr. Gre¬ 
gory Sharpe, in his u Second Argument in defence of Christianity, taken from the 
Antient Prophecies, pp. 275—311. 

3 As the passages from the prophetic writings have already been given at full 
length, they are here designedly omitted. 




437 


IX. Sect. III.] On the Internal Form of Quotations. 


Psal. xxxi. 5. quoted in 

Psal. xli. 9. 

Psal. xlv. 6, 7. 

Psal. lxviii. 18. 

Psal. lxix. 21. 

Psal. lxix. 25. cix. 

Psal. xcv. 7—11. 

Psal. cii. 25—27. 

Psal. cx. 1. 

Psal. cx. 4. 

Psal. cxviii. 22,23. 

Psal. cxviii. 25, 26. 

Psal. cxxxii. 11. 17. 

Isa. vii. 14. 

Isa. ix. 1, 2. 

Isa. ix. 7. (with Dan. vii. 14. 27.) 
Isa. xi. 10. 

Isa. xxv. 8. 

Isa. xxvii. 9. and lix. 20, 21 
Isa. xxviii. 16. (with Joel ii. 32.) 

Isa. xl. 3—5. 

Isa. xlii. 1—4. 

Isa. xlix. 6. 

Isa. liii. 1. 

Isa. liii. 3—6. 

Isa. liii. 4—6. 11. 

Isa. liii. 4. 

Isa. liii. 9. 

Isa. liii. 12. 

Isa. liv. 13. 

Isa. Iv. 3. 

Jer. xxxi. 31—34. 

Hosea i. 10. 

Hosea ii. 23. 

Joel ii. 28—32. 

Amos ix. 11,12. 

Micah v. 2. 

Habak. i.5. 

Haggai ii. 6. 

Zech. ix. 9. 

Zech. xi. 13. 

Zech. xii. 10. 

Zech. xiii. 7. 

Mai. iii. 1. 

Mai. iv. 5, 6. 


Luke xxiii. 46. 

John xiii. 18. Acts i. 16. 

Heb. i. 8, 9. 

Eph. iv. 7, 8. 

John xix. 28, 29. Matt, xxvii. 48. Mark 
xv. 36. and Luke xxiii. 36. 

Acts i. 20. 

Heb. iii. 7—11. iv. 3. 5—7. 

Heb. i. 10—12. 

Matt. xxii. 44. Mark xii. 36. Luke xx. 42 
Acts ii. 34, 35. Heb. i. 13. 

Heb. v. 6. 

Matt, xxi.42. Mark xii. 10, 11. Luke xx. 
17. Acts iv. 11. 

Matt. xxi. 9. Mark xi. 9. John xii. 13 
Luke i. 69. Acts ii. 30. 

Matt. i. 23. 

Matt. iv. 15, 16. 

Luke i. 32, 33. 

Rom xv. 12. 

1 Cor. xv. 54. 

Rom. xi. 26, 27. 

Rom. ix. 33. and 1 Pet. ii. 6. 

Matt. iii. 3. Mark i. 3. Luke iii. 4—6. 
Matt. xii. 17—21. 

Acts xiii. 47,48. and xxvi.23. Luke ii. 32. 
John xii. 38. Rom. x. 16. 

Acts xxvi. 22, 23. 

1 Pet. ii. 24, 25. 

Matt. viii. 17. 

1 Pet. ii. 22. 

Mark xv. 28. Luke x. xii. 37. 

John vi. 45. 

Acts xiii. 34. 

Heb. viii. 8—12. x. 16, 17. 

Rom. ix. 26. 

Rom. ix. 25. 1 Pet. ii. 10. 

Acts ii. 16—21. 

Acts xv. 16,17. 

Matt. ii. 5, 6. John vii. 42. 

Acts xiii. 40. 

Heb. xii. 26. 

Matt. xxi. 4, 5. John xii. 14. 16. 

Matt, xxvii. 9,10. 

John xix. 37. 

Matt. xxvi. 31. 56. Mark xiv. 27. 50. 
Matt. xi. 10. Mark i. 2. Luke vii. 27. 

Matt. xi. 13, 14. xvii. 10—13. Mark ix, 
11—13. Luke i. 16, 17. 


II. Of Quotations from the Old Testament in the New, in ivhich 
that is said to have been done, of which the Scriptures have not spok¬ 
en in a literal, but in a spiritual sense. 


There are citations out of the Old Testament in the New, in a 
mediate and typical or spiritual sense, respecting Christ and his 
mystical body the church. The Scripture is therefore said to be 
fulfilled, when that is accomplished in the antitype which is written 
concerning the type. Thus, in John xix. 36. we read, these things 
were done that the Scriptures should be fulfilled , — “ a bone of him 
shall not be broken.” These words which were originally written 
of the paschal lamb (Exod. xii. 46. Numb. ix. 1*2.), are said to be 
fulfilled in Christ, who is the antitype of that lamb. Additional ex¬ 
amples of the same kind will be found in the annexed passages. 







438 


On the Internal Form of Quotations. [Part I. Cb 


Gen. xiv. 18.20. cited and applied in 

Gen. xv. 5. - 

Gen. xvi. 15. - 

Gen. xvii. 4. - 

Gen. xviii. 10. 

Gen. xxi. 1—3. - 

Gen. xxi. 12. - 

Gen. xxv. 23. - 

Exod. xvi. 13—15. - 

Exod. xvii. 6. Num. xx. 11. 

Exod xix. 6. - 

Exod. xxiv. 8. - 

Levit. xxvi. 11.12. - 
Numb. xxi. 8, 9. 

Deut. xxi. 23. - 

Deut. xxxii. 21. - 

2 Sam. vii. 14. 

Psal. ii. 9. - 

Psal. viii. 4—6. 

Psal. viii. 6. - 

Psal. xviii. 49. - 

Psal. xxxv. 19. lxix. 4. and cix. 3. - 

Psal. xl. 6—8. - 

Psal. lxix. 9. - 

Psal. civ. 4. - 

Isa. xl. 6, 7. 

Isa. lii. 7. and Nahum i. 15. 

Isa. liv. 1. - 

Isa. lxiv. 4. - 

Hosea xi. 1. - 

Jonah i. 17. ii. 1. and iii. 5. - 

Habak. ii. 3. - 

Habak. ii. 4. - * - - 


Heb. vii. 1—10. 

Rom. iv. 18. 

Gal. iv. 22^ 

Rom. iv. 17. 

Rom. ix. 9. 

Gal. iv. 22, &c. 

Rom. ix. 7. 

Rom. ix. 10. 

John vi. 31. 49. 1 Cor. x. 3. 

1 Cor. x. 4. 

1 Pet. ii. 9. 

Heb. ix. 20. 

2 Cor. vi. 16. 

John iii. 14. 

Gal. iii. 13. 

Rom. x. 19. 

Heb. i. 5. 

Rev. ii. 27. 

Heb. ii. 6—8. 

1 Cor. xv. 27. 

Rom. xv. 9. 

John xv. 25. 

Heb. x. 5—'7. 

John ii. 17. 

Heb. i. 7. 

1 Pet. i. 24, 25. 

Rom. x. 15. 

Gal. iv. 27. 

1 Cor. ii. 9. 

Matt. ii. 15. 

Matt. xii. 40, 41. Luke xi. 30. 32. 
Heb. x. 37. 

Rom. i. 17. Gal. iii. 11. Heb. x. 38. 


III. Of Quotations from the Old Testament in the New , in which 
a thing is done neither in a literal nor in a spiritual sense , according 
to the fact referred to in the Scriptures , but is similar to that fact ,— 
in other ivords, where the citation is accommodated. 

Accommodations are passages of the Old Testament, which are 
adapted by the writers of the New Testament to an occurrence that 
happened in their time, on account of correspondence and similitude. 
These are not prophecies, though they are said sometimes to be ful¬ 
filled ; for any thing may be said to be fulfilled when it can be per¬ 
tinently applied. This method of explaining Scripture by accom¬ 
modation will enable us to solve some of the greatest difficulties 
relating to the prophecies. 

For the better understanding of this important subject, it should be recollected^ 
that the writings of the Jewish Prophets, which abound in fine descriptions, po¬ 
etical images, and sublime diction, were the classics of the later Jews ; and in sub¬ 
sequent ages, all their writers affected allusions to them, borrowed their images 
and descriptions, and very often cited their identical words when recording any 
event or circumstance that happened in the history of the persons whose lives 
they were relating ; provided it was similar and parallel to one that occurred in 
the times, and was described in the books of the antient prophets. It was a fa¬ 
miliar idiom of the Jews,! when quoting the writings of the Old Testament, to 
say — that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by such and such a prophet; 
not intending to lie understood that such a particular passage in one of the sacred 
books was ever designed to be a real prediction of what they were then relating, 
but signifying only, that the words of the Old Testament might be properly adapt¬ 
ed to express their meaning, and illustrate their ideas. And thus the Apostles,, 


! The Talmud and Rabbinical writers abound with instances, great numbers of' 
which are cited by Surenhusius, in the work already cited, p. 444. note 3. 




439 


IX. Sect. III.] On the Internal Form of Quotations . 

who were Jews by birth, and wrote and spoke in the Jewish idiom, have very fre¬ 
quently alluded to the sacred books, after the customary style of their nation \ in¬ 
tending no more by this mode of speaking, than that the words of such an antient 
writer are happily descriptive of what was transacted in their time, and might, 
with equal propriety, be adapted to characterise such a particular circumstance as 
happened in their days : that there was a con-similarity of case and incidents ; 
and that the expressive style and diction of the old inspired prophets were as justly 
applicable to the occurrences recorded by the apostles, as they were suitable to 
denote those events and facts in their times which they had commemorated. 

Thus, our Lord, speaking of the insurmountable prepossessions and perverse¬ 
ness of the Jews to whom he preached, says : — Seeing they see not, and hearing 
they hear not, neither do they understand, — that is, their stupidity is so gross, 
and their prejudices are so numerous, that though they have capacities proper for 
understanding and receiving my doctrine, they will neither understand nor receive 
it; so that in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, — his words are perfectly 
applicable to the present age, and descriptive of their moral character and condi¬ 
tion : — Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand ; and seeing, ye shall 
see, and shall not perceive. For this people's heart is waxed, gross, and their ears 
are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should 
sec icith their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their 
heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Isa. vi. 9, 10. cited in 
Matt. xiii. 14, 15.) The same passage of the evangelical prophet is cited by St. 
Paul (Rom. xi. 8.), and applied to the invincible obstinacy of his countrymen,— 
not, indeed, as though they had then, and then only, received their precise ac¬ 
complishment, but as beautifully expressive of the obduracy, determined infidelity, 
and impenitence of the Jews. 

Again, the prophet Jeremiah, describing the miseries of captivity by a beautiful 
figure, represents Rachel as deploring the loss of her children, bathed in tears, 
piercing the air with loud lamentations, and indulging inconsolable grief. When 
Herod imbrued his hands in the blood of the innocents in Bethlehem and its vi¬ 
cinity, how applicable were the prophet’s words to such a cruel scene, and how 
happily are they cited by the evangelist, to exhibit to his reader the mourning and 
lamentation caused by that sanguinary tyrant! They are a beautiful quotation, 
and not a prediction of what then happened : and yet, upon the murder of these 
babes, the sacred historian says, according to the Jewish phraseology, when they 
cited Scripture : — Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by the prophet Jere¬ 
miah ; in Ramah there was a voice heard , lamentation, and weeping, and great 
mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted because 
they are not. (Jer. xxxi. 15. cited in Matt. ii. 17, 18.) 

Once more, — our Lord having delivered several parables, the sacred historian, 
after remarking that Jesus Christ chose to convey his religious and moral in¬ 
struction to the Jews by means of parables, with which all his public discourses 
abounded, says :— That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, “ / 
will open my mouth in parables, I tcill utter things which have been kept secret 
from the foundation of the world." (Psal. lxxviii. 2. quoted in Matt. xiii. 35.) 1 

A similar instance of accommodation occurs in St. Paul’s second Epistle to the 
Corinthians (vi. 2.); where he cites the saying of the Prophet (Isaiah xlix. 8.) — 
I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation I have succoured 
thee. In this passage the apostle does not mean to declare that the prophet had 
the Corinthians in view, but he cites it as a parallel case : intimating that they 


1 This mode of accommodating passages was not confined to the inspired penmen. 
Pagan writers often cite passages from their old poets, to describe things of which 
these poets never thought; and this Dr. Jortin remarks, is no fault, but rather a 
beauty in writing: and a passage, applied justly in a new sense, is ever pleasing 
to an ingenious reader, who loves to see a likeness and pertinency where he ex¬ 
pected none. (Rem. on Eccl. Hist. vol. i. p. 120.) In iElian, Diogenes the Cynic 
philosopher i 3 reported to have said, that “ he fulfilled in himself all the curses of 
tragedy”: and Olympiodorus, in his life of Plato, has this expression, “ that it 
might be true concerning him," and then cites the following verse from Homer. 

Tot; km airo kXwoovs y\vKUi)v peer avSrj. 

Words sweet as honey from his lips distilled. Pope. 

Which verse, however applicable to that great philosopher, is not to be considered 
as an oracle delivered by the poet, with a view to the particular use or accommo¬ 
dation of it by this biographer. (Sharpe’s Second Argument in Defence of Christi¬ 
anity, p. 349.) 



440 


On the Internal Form of Quotations. [Part 1. Ch. 


might collect from that saying that there was a certain accepted time, in which 
God would hear them, and which, therefore, it concerned them not to let pass 
without carefully improving it. 


The following table presents a list of the passages thus accommo¬ 
dated from the Old Testament by the writers of the New: — 


Gen. xv. 5. cited in 

Gen. xv. 6. - 

Gen. xviii. 10. 

Gen. xix. 15. 26. 

Gen. xxi. 12. 

Gen. xxv. 33. 

Gen. xxvii. 28, &c. 

Exod. ix. 16. 

Exod. xxxii. 6. 

Exod. xxxiii. 19. 

Lev. xi. 45. 

Lev. xviii. 5. • 

Deut. vi. 13. 

Deut. vi. 16. 

Deut. viii. 3. - 

Deut. xxv. 4. - 

Deut. xxvii. 26. 

Deut. xxxii. 35. 

Deut. xxxii. 36. 

Deut. xxxii. 43. 

Josh. i. 5. 

1 Sam. xxi. 6. 

1 Kings xix. 14.18. • 

Psal. v. 9. and cxl. 3. 

Psal. x. 7. 

Psal. xiv. 1—3. and liii. 1—3. 
Psal. xix. 4. - 

Psal. xxiv. 1. 

Psal. xxviii. 16. 

Psal. xxxii. 1,2. 

Psal. xxxiv. 12—16. - 
Psal. xxxvi. 1. 

Psal. xliv. 22. 

Psal. li. 4. 

Psal. lxix. 9. - 

Psal. lxix. 22, 23. 

Psal. lxxviii. 2. 

Psal. lxxxii. 6. 

Psal. cxii. 9. 

Psal. cxvi. 10. 

Psal. cxvii. 1. - 

Psal. cxviii. 6. 

Prov. i. 16. Isa. lix. 7, 8. 
Prov. iii. 11,12. 

Prov. iii. 34. 

Prov. x. 12. 

Prov. xxv. 21,22. - 

Prov.xxvi.il. 

Isa. i. 9. - 

Isa. vi. 9, 10. 

Isa. viii. 12,13. 

Isa. viii. 17,18. 

Isa. x. 22, 23. 

Isa. xxix. 10. 

Isa. xxix. 13. 

Isa. xxix. 14. 

Isa. xxix. 16. and xlv. 9. 

Isa. xlv. 23. 


Rom. iv. 18. 

Rom. iv. 3. Gal. iii. 6. and James ii. 23. 
Rom. ix. 9. 

Luke xvii. 28, 29. 32. 

Rom. ix. 7. 

Heb. xii. 16. 

Heb. xi. 20. xii. 17. 

Rom. ix. 17. 

1 Cor. x. 7. 

Rom. ix. 15. 

1 Pet. i. 16. 

Rom. x. 5. Gal. iii. 12. 

Matt. iv. 10. Luke iv. 8. 

Matt. iv. vii. Luke iv. 12. 

Matt. iv. 4. Luke iv. 4. 

1 Cor. ix. 9. 1 Tim. v. 18. 

Gal. iii. 10. 

Rom. xii. 19. Heb. x. 30. 

Heb. x. 30. 

Rom. xv. 10. 

Heb. xiii. 5. 

Matt. xii. 3, 4. Mark ii. 25, 26. Luke vi 
3, 4. 

Rom. xi. 3,4. 

Rom. iii. 13. 

Rom. iii. 14. 

Rom. iii. 10—12. 

Rom. x. 18. 

1 Cor. x. 26. 

Rom. x. 11. 

Rom. iv. 7, 8. 

1 Pet. iii. 10—12. 

Rom. iii. 18. 

Rom. viii. 36. 

Rom. iii. 4. 

Rom. xv. 3. 

Rom. xi. 9,10. 

Matt. xiii. 35. 

John x. 34. 

2 Cor. ix. 9. 

2 Cor. iv. 13. 

Rom. xv. 11. 

Heb. xiii. 6. 

Rom. iii. 15- 17. 

Heb. xii. 5, 6. 

James iv. 6. 

1 Pet. iv. 8. 

Rom. xii. 20 

2 Pet. ii. 22. 

Rom. ix. 29. 

John xii. 40. Matt. xiii. 14, 15. Luke 
viii. 10. Rom. xi. 8. 

1 Pet. iii. 14,15. 

Heb. ii. 13. 

Rom. ix. 27,28. 

Rom. xi. 8. 

Matt. xv. 8, 9. Mark vii. 6. 

1 Cor. i. 19. 

Rom. ix. 20, 21. 

Rom. xiv. 11. Phil. ii. 10. 





441 


IX. Sect. III.] 


On the Internal Form of Quotations. 


Isa. xlix. 8. - cited in 

Isa. lii. 5. with Ezek. xxxvi. 20. 

Isa. lii. 7. and Nahum i. 15. 

Isa. lii. 11, 12. ~ 

Isa. lii. 15. 

Isa. lvi. 7. (and Jer. vii. 11.) 

Isa. lxi. 1,2. 

Isa. lxv. 1,2. 

Isa. lxvi. 1,2. 

Jer. xxxi. 15. 

Jer. xxxi. 33. and xxxii. 38. (with 2 
Sam. vii. 14.) 

Hab. ii. 4. 

Joel ii. 32. 

Mai. i. 2, 3. 


2 Cor. vi. 2. 

Rom. ii. 24. 

Rom. x. 15. 

2 Cor. vi. 17. 

Rom. xv. 21. 

Matt. xxi. 13. Mark xi. 17. Lukexix.46. 
Luke iv. 18, 19. 

Rom. x. 20, 21.. 

Acts vii. 49, 50. 

Matt. ii. 17,18. 

2 Cor. vi. 18. 

Rom. i. 17. 

Rom. x. 13. 

Rom. ix. 13. 


It cannot escape observation, that by far the larger portion of 
the preceding quotations is accommodated by the apostle Paul. 
Dr. John Taylor 1 has some useful remarks (of which the following 
are an abstract), on the various designs with which St. Paul cited 
them : 

1. Sometimes his intention goes no further than using the same 
strong expressions , as being equally applicable to the point in hand. 
Thus, in Rom. x. 6—8. he uses the words of Moses (Deut. xxx. 12 
—14.), not to prove any thing, nor as if he thought Moses spoke of 
the same subject; but merely as intimating that the strong and live¬ 
ly expressions, used by Moses concerning the doctrine lie taught, 
were equally applicable to the faith of the Gospel. So, in Rom. x. 
18. he quotes Psal. xix. 4. though it is not unlikely that those ex¬ 
pressions were used by the antient Jews in application to the Messi¬ 
ah, as the apostle applies them. 

2. Sometimes the design of the quotation is only to show that the 
cases are parallel: or that what happened in his times corresponded 
with what happened in former days. See Rom. ii. 24. viii. 36. ix. 27 
—29. xi. 2—5. 8—10. and xv. 21. 

3. Sometimes the quotation is only intended to explain a doctrinal 
point. See Rom. i. 17. iv. 7, 8. 18—21. ix. 20, 21. x. 15. and xv. 3. 

4. Sometimes the quotation is designed to prove a doctrinal point. 
See Rom. iii. 4. 10—18. iv. 3—17. v. 12—14. ix. 7. 9.12, 13. 15. 17. 
x. 5. 11. 13. xii. 20. and xiv. 11. 

Lastly, when a passage of the Old Testament is quoted in the New, 
in order to prove a point of doctrine, the person or writer applies it, 
though not always in the precise words of the original, yet constantly 
according to its genuine sense as it stands there. Examples of such 
application will be found in Deut. viii. 3. compared with Matt. iv.4.; 
Deut. vi. 16. compared with Matt. iv. 7., Deut. xxxii. 35. and Prov. 
xxv. 21, 22. compared with Rom. xii. 19, 20. — The expression in 
Hos. vi. 6. mercy and not sacrifice is applied to different purposes in 
Matt. ix. 13., but to both properly. 

In applying the accommodated citations of the Old Testament, 
Turretin has suggested the three following rules, which claim the 
attention of the biblical student. 

1. In applications of this kind, we must not neglect the literal 
sense, which is the first and only genuine sense of Scripture. 

1 In his Paraphrase and Notes on Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, p. 339. 
4th edit. 1769. 

vol. ii. 56 




442 


On the Internal Form of Quotations . [Part I. Ch. 


2. Such applications ought not to be forced, or far-fetched ; for 
those which were made by the apostles, were simple, and easy to be 
apprehended. 

3. Too much stress ought not to be laid on these applications ; 
which, it should be considered, are merely illustrations adduced by 
the sacred writers further to explain the subjects under their discus¬ 
sion. 

4. Such being the nature of these accommodations, it follows that 
no doctrines — at least such as are necessary to salvation — either 
can or ought to be deduced from them. 1 

IV. Of Quotations, and other Passages from the Old Testament , 

which are alluded to in the New. 

Besides the passages mentioned in the preceding class, as accom¬ 
modated by the writers of the New Testament, there is a fourth 
class, nearly allied to them, and comprising a few quotations, to¬ 
gether with a larger number of other passages not distinctly cited 
from the Old Testament; but which, on comparing them with the 
New Testament, appear most evidently to have been present to the 
minds of the sacred writers, who have alluded to them by way of il¬ 
lustration or example. A careful inspection of such passages, with 
reference to their scope and context, together with an application 
of the rules above suggested by Turretin, will readily enable the stu¬ 
dent to judge of the allusions which he may meet with in the New 
Testament: and in addition to those rules, Dr. Gerard has remark¬ 
ed, that when the inspired writers quote a passage from the Old 
Testament, merely in the way of allusion, it is enough that the words 
which they borrow emphatically express their own meaning. It is 
not necessary that they be precisely the same with those of the pas¬ 
sage alluded to, nor that they be there used, either of the same sub¬ 
ject or of a similar subject. 2 Thus, Deut. xxx. 12—14. which was 
originally written concerning the law, is by Saint Paul accommo¬ 
dated to the Gospel (Rom. x. 6—8.), with proper variations and ex¬ 
planations. The following table presents a list of the principal pas¬ 
sages thus alluded to in the New Testament. 


Gen. i. 6. 9. 

Gen. i. 27. 

Gen. ii. 2, 3. 
Gen. ii. 7. 
Gen. ii. 21, 22. 

Gen. ii. 24. 

Gen. iii. 6. 
Gen. iii. 4.13. 


alluded to in 2 Pet. iii. 5. 

< Matt. xix. 4. Mark x. 6. 1 Cor. xi. 7. 

\ James iii. 9. 

- - Heb. iv. 4. 

1 Cor. xv. 45. 

1 Cor. xi. 8. 1 Tim. ii. 13. 

$ Matt. xix. 5. Mark x. 7. 1 Cor. vi. 16. 
I Eph. v. 31. 

1 Tim. ii. 14. 

2 Cor. xi. 3. 


1 Turretin, De Sacr. Script. Interpretatione, pp. 118, 119. see also pp. 107—117 
The subject of accommodated passages of Scripture is more fully discussed by Dr 
Sharpe (Seoond Argument from Prophecy, pp. 347—365.); Dr. Hey (Norrisian 
Lectures, vol. i. pp. 260. 262.) ; Dr. Harwood (Introduction to the New Test, vol 
i. pp. 279—290.); Rumpeeus (Comment. Crit. ad Libros Nov. Test. pp. 443. 449, 
450.); Bishop Kidder (in his Demonstration of the Messias, chap. iii. Boyle’s 
Lectures, vol. i. pp. 150—152.); Dr. Nicholls (Conference with a Theist, part iii 
vol. ii. pp. 10—13. ed. 1698) ; and especially by Dr. Sykes (On the Truth of the 
Christian Religion, chapters xiii. xiv. and xv. pp. 206—296. edit. 1725.) The 
reader will also find some excellent remarks on the different modes of quotation, 
in Dr. Cook’s Inquiry into the Books of the New Testament, pp. 284—304. 

2 Institutes of Biblical Criticism, p. 422. § 135. 







443 


rx. Sect. IV.] 


Apocryphal Passages. 


Gen. iii. 16. alluded to in 

Gen. iv. 4. - 

Gen. iv. 8. - 

Gen. v. 24. - 

Gen. vi. vii. - 

Gen. xii. 1—4. - 

Gen. xiii. 15. - 

Gen. xv. 13, 14. * 

Gen. xvii. 10. 

Gen. xviii. 3. xix. 2. - - 

Gen. xviii. 10. 

Gen. xviii. 12. 

Gen. xix. 24. 

Gen. xxi. 12. - 

Gen. xlvi. 27. - 

Gen. xlvii. 31. 

Gen. 1. 24. - 

Exod. ii. 2. 11. 

Exod. iii. 6. ... 

Exod. xii. 12.18. - 

Exod. xiv. 22. ... 

Exod. xix. 12. 16. 18,19. 

Exod. xx. 12—16. Deut. v. 16—20. 

Exod. xiii. 2. Numb. viii. 16, 17. 

xviii. 15. 17. 

Lev. xiv. 3, 4. 10. 

Lev. xix. 12. - 

Lev. xix. 18. - 

Numb. xi. 4. ... 

Numb. xiv. 23.29.37. and xxvi. 64,65. 

Numb. xxi. 4—6. 

Numb. xxii. 23. 39. 

Deut. xviii. 1. 

Deut. xxiv. 1. 

Josh. ii. 1. vi. 22, 23. 

Josh. vi. 20. ... 

Judges, the whole book, generally - 
1 Sam. viii. 5. and x. 1. 

1 Sam. xiii. 14. xv. 23. xvi. 12,13. - 
1 Kings xvii. 1. and xviii. 42—45. - 
1 Chron. xxiii. 13. 

Psal. xc. 4. - 

Prov. xxvii. 1. - 

Isa. xii. 3. - 

Isa. lxvi. 24. - 

Jer. vi. 16. . . - 

Lam. iii. 45. ... 

Dan. iii. 23—25. ... 

Dan. ix. 27. xii. 11. 

Hos. xiii. 14. ... 

Hos. xiv. 2. • 

Amos v. 25,26,27. 


1 Cor. xiv. 34. 

Heb. xi. 4. 

Matt, xxiii. 35. Luke xi. 51 1 John iii. 

12. Jude, verse 11. 

Heb. xi. 5. 

Matt. xxiv. 37, 38. Luke xvii. 26, 27. 
Heb. xi. 7. 1 Pet. iii. 19, 20. 2 Pet. 
ii. 5. iii. 6. 

Acts vii. 3. Heb. xi. 8. 

Rom. iv. 13. 

Acts vii. 6, 7. 

Acts vii. 8. 

Heb. xiii. 2. 

Heb. xi. 11. 

1 Pet. iii. 6. 

2 Pet. ii. 6. Jude, verse 7. 

Heb. xi. 18. 

Acts vii. 14. 

Heb. xi. 21. 

Heb. xi. 22. 

Heb. xi. 23—27. Acts vii. 20—29. 

Mark xii. 26. Acts vii. 31, 32. Heb. xi. 16. 
Heb. xi. 28. 

1 Cor. x. 2. Heb. xi. 29. 

Heb. xii. 18—20. 

Matt. xix. 18,19. Mark x. 19. Luke xviii. 
20. Rom. xiii. 9. James ii. 11. 

Luke ii. 23. 

Matt. viii. Mark i. 44. Luke v. 14. 
Matt. v. 33. 

Matt. v. 43. Gal. v. 14. 

1 Cor. x. 6. 

Heb. iii. 16, 17. Jude, verse 5. 

1 Cor. x. 9. 

2 Pet. ii. 15,16. Jude, verse 11. 

1 Cor. ix. 13. 

Matt. v. 31. Mark x. 4. Luke xvi. 18. 
Heb. xi. 31. James ii. 25. 

Heb. xi. 30. 

Acts xiii. 20. Heb. xi. 32. 

Acts xiii. 21. 

Acts xiii. 22. 

James v. 17, 18. 

Heb. v. 4. 

2 Pet. iii. 8. 

James iv. 13,14. 

John vii. 38. 

Mark ix. 44. 

Matt. xi. 29. 

1 Cor. iv. 13. 

Heb. xi. 34. 

Matt. xxiv. 15. Mark xiii. 14. 

1 Cor. xv. 55. 

Heb. xiii. 15. 

Acts vii. 42, 43. 


SECTION IV. 

OF APOCRYPHAL PASSAGES, SUPPOSED TO BE QUOTED IN THE NEW 
TESTAMENT-QUOTATIONS FROM PROFANE AUTHORS. 

It was a practice of the antient Hebrew divines to cite, not only 
the Scriptures, as we have seen in the preceding sections, but also 










444 


Part I. Ch. 


On Apocryphal Passages. 

to quote histories, facts, and apophthegms or sayings of their early 
sages, which they had received by oral tradition from the time of 
Moses, in order to supply those passages which are wanting in the 
Pentateuch. Of this method of quotation we have three instances 
in the New Testament. The first is 2 Tim. iii. 8. where we meet 
with the name of Jannes and Jambres as the two Egyptian magicians 
who opposed Moses. Schickard and some other learned men are 
of opinion that Saint Paul, being deeply conversant in Jewish lite¬ 
rature, derived his knowledge of these names from the Targum or 
Chaldee Paraphrase of Jonathan Ben Uzziel, on Exod. vii. 11. But 
as there is reason to believe that this Targum is of too late a date to 
have been consulted by the apostle, it is most probable that he al¬ 
luded to an antient and generally received tradition relative to those 
men. What corroborates the latter conjecture is, that their names 
are mentioned by some antient profane writers, as Numenius the 
Pythagorean, 1 by Artapanus, 2 and by Pliny. 3 The Jews affirm 
that they were princes of Pharaoh’s magicians, and that they greatly 
resisted Moses. 4 * Origen, who flourished in the second century, 
informs us, that there was extant, in his time, an apocryphal book 
concerning these magicians, inscribed Jannes et Mambres LiberJ 
The other two instances alluded to are the 9th verse of the Epistle 
of Jude, which cites the story of Michael the archangel, contending 
with Satan about the body of Moses, and the 14th verse of the same 
epistle, in which he quotes an apochryphal prophecy of Enoch. The 
first of these is borrowed from traditional accounts then received by 
the Jews, with whom the apostle argues from their own authors and 
concessions. 6 The prophecy of Enoch is now known to have been 
cited from an apocryphal book, bearing that patriarch’s name, which 
was extant at the time when Jude wrote, and of which we have 
already given a short notice. 7 The following is the passage, as 
translated by archbishop Laurence from an Ethiopic version of this 
book. 

“ Behold, he comes with ten thousand of his saints, to execute 
judgment upon them, and to reprove all the carnal for every thing 
which the sinful and ungodly have done and committed against 
him.” 8 

Thus this much litigated point is now finally determined : but 
Jude’s quotation of a single passage from the apocryphal book in 


1 Apud Origen contra Celsum, pp. 198, 199. edit. Spencer, and in Eusebius de 
P»aep. Evang. 1. 8. c. 8. 

2 In Eusebius, 1. 9. c. 27. 3 Pliny, Hist. Nat. 1. 30. c. 1. 

4 Surenhusius, BijSXos KaraMayw, pp. 589, 590. 

5 Tract 35. in Matt, cited by Dr. Whitby on 2 Tim. iii. 8. 

6 Surenhusius (pp. 699—702.) has given a long extract from the Jalkut Rubeni, 
fol. 76. col. 2. which details the history of Michael’s conflict with the devil. The 

same author (pp. 709—712.) has also referred to many Rabbinical writers who take 
notice of Enoch’s prophecy. 

7 See Vol. I. Appendix, No. V. Section I. pp. 630, 631. 

8 The Apocryphal Book of Enoch the Prophet, (London, 1821, 8vo.) ch. ii. p. 2. 
On the subject of the apocryphal quotations by Jude, see further, Vol. IV. Part 
II. Chap. IV. Sect. VII. § II. 



445 


IX. Sect. IV.] On Apocryphal Passages . 

question, will no more prove his approbation^ the whole book, than 
Paul’s quotations from certain heathen poets prove that apostle’s ap¬ 
probation of every part of the compositions to which he referred. 


On a reference to the passages of the Old Testament, which are 
accommodated by the evangelical writers, 1 it will be observed that 
by far the greater number of such accommodations has been made 
by Saint Paul. But the same great apostle of the Gentiles, becom¬ 
ing all things to all men, and being deeply versed in the works of 
heathen authors, as well as in the sacred writings, did not confine 
himself exclusively to the inspired books : and, accordingly, we have 
three instances in the New Testament of the fine taste and ability 
with which he accommodated passages from Pagan authors, when 
contending with the Gentiles, or writing to Gentile converts. The 
first is in Acts x'vii. 28. where he cites part of a verse from the 
Phenomena of Aratus. 

. tov yap icai yevos capcv. 

.for we his offspring are. 

The passage was originally spoken of the heathen deity Jupiter, and 
is dexterously applied to the true God by Paul, who draws a very 
strong and conclusive inference from it. 

The second instance alluded to is in 1 Cor. xv. 33. in which pas¬ 
sage the apostle quotes a senary iambic, which is supposed to have 
been taken from Menander’s lost comedy of Thais. 

•tSeipovatv rjSrj optAiat KaKat : 

rendered, in our translation, Evil communications corrupt good man¬ 
ners. 

The last instance to be noticed under this head is Titus i. 12. 
where Saint Paul quotes from Epimenides, a Cretan poet, the verse 
which has already been cited and illustrated in Vol. I. pp. 195, 196.; 
to wdiich the reader is referred. 


1 See pp. 440, 441. supra. 









446 


On the Poetry of the Hebrews. 


[Part I. 


CHAPTER X. 

ON THE POETRY OF THE HEBREWS. 

I. A large portion of the Old Testament proved to be poetical; — 
Cultivation of Poetry by the Hebrews .—II. The Sententious Pa¬ 
rallelism , the Grand Characteristic of Hebrew Poetry. — Its ori¬ 
gin and varieties. — 1. Parallel Lines gradational; — 2. Paral¬ 
lel Lines antithetic ; — 3. Parallel Lines constructive ; — 4. Pa¬ 
rallel Lines introverted. — III. The Poetical Dialect not confined 
to the Old Testament. — Reasons for expecting to find it in thh 
New Testament. — Proofs of the existence of the poetical dialect 
there ; — 1. From simple and direct quotations of single passages 
from the poetical parts of the Old Testament; — 2. From quota¬ 
tions of different passages , combined into one connected whole ; — 
3. And from quotations mingled with original matter. — IV. 
Original Parallelisms occurring in the New Testament ,— 1. Pa¬ 
rallel Couplets ; —2. Parallel Triplets ; — 3. Quatrains ; — 4, 
5. Stanzas of five and six lines; — 6. Stanzas of more than six 
parallel lines. —V. Other examples of the poetical parallelism in 
the New Testament; — 1. Parallel Lines Gradational; —2. 
The Epanodos. — VI. Different kinds of Hebrew Poetry. — 1. 
Prophetic Poetry ; — 2. Elegiac Poetry ; — 3. Didactic Poetry ; 
— 4. Lyric Poetry ;■— 5. The Idyl ; — 6. Dramatic Poetry ; — 
7. Acrostic or Alphabetical Poetry. — VII. General Observations 
for the better understanding the compositions of the sacred poets. 

i. It is obvious to the most cursory reader of the Holy Scriptures, 
that among the books of the Old Testament there is such an appa¬ 
rent diversity in style, as sufficiently discovers which of them are to 
be considered as poetical, and which are to be regarded as prose 
compositions. While the historical books and legislative writings 
of Moses are evidently prosaic in their composition, the book of Job, 
the Psalms of David, the Song of Solomon, the Lamentations of 
Jeremiah, a great part of the prophetic writings, and several passages 
occasionally scattered through the historical books, bear the most 
plain and distinguishing marks of poetical writing . 1 We can have no 
reason to doubt that these were originally written in verse, or in some 
kind of measured numbers ; though, as the antient pronunciation of 
the Hebrew language is now lost, we can only very imperfectly as¬ 
certain the nature of the Hebrew verse. 

From the manner, however, in which Josephus, Origen, and Je¬ 
rome have spoken of the Hebrew poetry, it should seem that in their 
time its beauty and rules were well known. Josephus repeatedly 
affirms 2 that the songs composed by Moses are in heroic verse, and 

1 In illustration of this remark, we may mention the song of Moses at the Red 
Sea, (Exod. xv.) ; the prophecy of Balaam, (Nura. xxiv. 18—24.): the song of De¬ 
borah, and Barak, (Jud. v.) Nor is it improbable that the Book of the Wars of tht 
Lord, (Numb. xxi. 14.) and the Book of Jashcr, (Josh. x. 13. 2 Sam. i. 18.) were 
written in poetic measures. 

2 Antiq. Jud. lib. ii. c. 16. § 4. lib. iv. c. 8. $ 44. and lib. vii. c. 12. § 3. 



447 


Ch. X.] On the Poetry of the Hebrews. 

that David composed several sorts of verses and songs, odes and 
hymns, in honour ol God : some of which were in trimeters or verses 
of three feet, and others in pentameters or verses of five feet. Ori- 
gen and Eusebius are said to have espoused the same notion : and 
Jerome, probably influenced by the manner in which he found the 
poetical parts of the Old Testament exhibited in the manuscripts of 
the Septuagint version, fancied that he perceived iambic, alcaic, and 
sapphic verses in the psalms, similar to those occurring in the works 
of Pindar and Horace : hexameters and pentameters in the songs of 
Deuteronomy and Isaiah, the book of Job, and those of Solomon; 
and sapphic verses in the Lamentations of Jeremiah . 1 2 Among mo¬ 
dern writers, the nature and genius of Hebrew poetry have been 
warmly contested f but by no one have these subjects been illustrat¬ 
ed with more elegance and ability than by the late eminently learned 
Bishop of London, Dr. Robert Lowth. In the third of his justly ad¬ 
mired Lectures on Hebrew Poetry , 3 he has collected much and very 
valuable information concerning the much litigated question, respect¬ 
ing the nature of Hebrew metre ; but many of his arguments are 
successfully controverted by Bishop Jebb, in his Sacred Literature ; 4 * * * * * 
to which work, and to Bishop Lowth’s Lectures, the reader is neces¬ 
sarily referred, as the discussion of this very difficult question would 
extend this chapter to an inordinate length. The construction, cha¬ 
racteristics, and different kinds of Hebrew Poetry, including also the 
poetical style of the New Testament, are the subjects now to be con- 

1 Hieronymi, Praefat. in Chronic. Epist. 135. ad Paul. Urb. et Epist. ad Paulin. 
Comment, in Ezek. c. 30. 

2 Carpzov (Introd. ad Libros Canonicos Vet. Test, pars ii. pp. 28, 29.) has given 
a list of antient and modern writers who have treated on Hebrew poetry ; and in 
pp. 2-—27. he has noticed the various discordant opinions on this topic. The hy¬ 
pothesis of Bishop Hare on Hebrew metre was refuted by Bishop Lowth at the end 
of his lectures, and also in his u Larger Confutation,” published in 17G0, in 8vo., in 
answer to Dr. Edwards’s Latin Letter in defence of Hare’s system, published in 
the preceding year. The general opinion of the learned world has coincided with 
the arguments of Lowth. 

3 The first edition of these lectures appeared in 1753, in 4to., under the title of 
“ De Sacra Pogsi Hebrseorum Preelectiones Academic® a second edition was 
printed by Bishop Lowth in 17G3, in two volumes octavo ; the second volume, con¬ 
sisting of additions made by the celebrated Professor Michaelis, who had reprinted 
the Praelectiones at Gottingen. Several subsequent editions have issued from the 
Clarendon press ; particularly a beautiful one in 1821, including (besides the addi¬ 
tions of Michaelis) the further observations of Rosenmtlller, (whose edition appear¬ 
ed at Leipsic in 1815,) Ritcher and Weiss. In 1787, the late Dr. George Gregory 
printed his excellent English translation of Bishop Lowth’s Lectures, in two octa¬ 
vo volumes, with some very important additional notes ; which -was reprinted in 
1816. In 1787 M. Herder published at Leipsic two octavo volumes On the Spirit 
of Hebrew Poetry ; from which a selection was translated and published in 1801, 
under the title of Oriental Dialogues. Both these publications are distinguished 
by that bold criticism, which for the last fifty or sixty years has characterised too 
many of those German divines, to whose researches in other respects, biblical lite¬ 
rature is so largely indebted. Sir William Jones has a few observations on He¬ 
brew metres in his Poesos Asiatic® Comment, cap. ii. (Works, vi. pp. 22—59.) 

4 pp. 4—22. The title at length of this beautifully and correctly printed work 

is as follows : — 11 Sacred Literature : comprising a Review of the Principles of 

Composition, laid down by the late Robert Lowth, D. D. Lord Bishop of London, 

in his Preelections and Isaiah, and an application of the principles so reviewed to 

the illustration of the New Testament. By John Jebb, A. M. [now D. D. and 

Bishop of Limerick.] London, 1820.” 8vo. 



448 


On the Poetry of the Hebrews. [Part f. 

sidered. and our account of them is chiefly abridged from the Lec¬ 
tures of Bishop Lowth, and from his preliminary dissertation prefixed 
to his version of the prophet Isaiah, together with Bishop Jebb’s ele¬ 
gant and instructive volume above cited. 

The peculiar excellence of the Hebrew poetry will appear, when 
we consider that its origin and earliest application have been clearly 
traced to the service of religion. To celebrate in hymns and songs 
the praises of Jehovah — to decorate the worship of the Most High 
with all the charms and graces of harmony — to give force and ener¬ 
gy to the devout affections — w r as the sublime employment of the 
sacred muses : and it is more than probable, that the very early use 
of sacred music in the public worship of the Hebrews, contributed 
not a little to the peculiar character of their poetry, and might im¬ 
part to it that appropriate form, which, though chiefly adapted to this 
particular purpose, it nevertheless preserves on every other occasion. 
In the Old Testament we have ample evidence that music and poe¬ 
try were cultivated from the earliest ages among the Hebrews. In 
the days of the judges, mention is made of the schools or colleges of 
the prophets ; in which the candidates for the prophetic office, under 
the direction of some superior prophet, being altogether removed 
from intercourse with the world, devoted themselves entirely to the 
exercises and study of religion : and though the sacred history affords 
us but little information concerning their institutes and discipline, yet 
it is manifest from 1 Sam. x. 5 —10. and xix. 20—24., that a prin¬ 
cipal part of their occupation consisted in celebrating the praises of 
Jehovah in hymns and poetry, with choral chants accompanied with 
various musical instruments. But it was during the reign of David, 
that music and poetry were carried to the greatest perfection. For 
the service of the tabernacle he appointed four thousand Levites, di¬ 
vided into twenty-four courses, and marshalled under several lead¬ 
ers, whose sole business it was to sing hymns, and to perform instru¬ 
mental music in the public worship. Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun 
were the chief directors of the music, and, from the titles of some of 
the psalms, we may infer that they also were excellent composers of 
hymns or sacred poems. In the first book of Chronicles (ch. xxv.) 
we have an account of the institutions of David : which were more 
costly, splendid, and magnificent than any that ever obtained in the 
public service of other nations. 

II. According to Bishop Lowth there are four principal charac¬ 
teristics of Hebrew poetry, viz. — 1. The acrostical or alphabetical 
commencement of lines or stanzas; — 2. The admission of foreign 
words and certain particles, which seldom occur in prose composi¬ 
tion, and which thus form a distinct poetical dialect; — 3. Its sen¬ 
tentious, figurative, and sublime expressions; and, 4. Parallelism, 
the nature of w r hich is fully illustrated in a subsequent page. But 
the existence of the three first of these characteristics has been dis¬ 
proved by Bishop Jebb, who observes that the grand characteristic 
of Hebrew poetry does not appear to belong peculiarly to the origi¬ 
nal language of the Old Testament as contra-distinguished from that 


449 


Ch. X.] On the Poetry of the Hebrews. 

of the New. “It is not the acrostical, or regularly alphabetical com¬ 
mencement of lines or stanzas ; for this occurs but in twelve poems 
of the Old Testament: it is not the introduction of foreign words, 
and of what grammarians call the paragogic, or redundant particles; 
for these licenses, though frequent, are by no means universal, in 
the poetical books of Scripture; and they are occasionally admitted 
in passages merely historical and prosaic : it is not the rhyming ter¬ 
mination of lines ; for no trace of this artifice is discoverable in the 
alphabetical poems, the lines or stanzas of which are defined with 
infallible precision; and every attempt to force it on the text, has 
been accompanied by the most licentious mutilation of Scripture: 
and finally, this grand characteristic is not the adoption of metre, 
properly so called, and analagous to the metre of the heathen class¬ 
ics ; for the efforts of the learned, to discover such metre in any one 
poem of the Hebrews, have universally failed; and while we are 
morally certain, that, even though it were known and employed by 
tiie Jews, while their language was a living one, it is quite beyond 
recovery in the dead and unpronounceable state of that language, there 
are also strong reasons for believing, that, even in the most flourishing 
state of their literature, the Hebrew poets never used this decoration. 

Again, it is most certain, that the proper characteristic of Hebrew 
poetry is not elation, grandeur, or sublimity, either of thought or dic¬ 
tion. In these qualities, indeed, a large portion of the poetical Scrip¬ 
tures, is not only distinguished, but unrivalled : but there are also 
many compositions in the Old Testament, indisputably poetical, which, 
in thought and expression, do not rise above the ordinary tone of just 
and clear conceptions, calmly., yet pointedly delivered .” 1 

The grand, and indeed, the sole characteristic of Hebrew Poetry, 
is w r hat Bishop Lowth entitles Parallelism , that is, a certain equality, 
resemblance, or relationship, between the members of each period ; 
so that in two lines, or members of the same period, things shall 
answer to things, and words to words, as if fitted to each other by a 
kind of rule or measure. This is the general strain of the Hebrew 
poetry; instances of which occur in almost every part of the Old 
Testament, particularly in the ninety-sixth psalm. 

It is in a great measure owing to this form of composition that our 
admirable authorised version, though executed in prose, retains so 
much of a poetical cast; for, that version being strictly word for word 
after the original, the form and order of the original sentences are 
preserved ; which, by this artificial structure, this regular alternation 
and correspondence of parts, makes the ear sensible of a departure 
from the common style and tone of prose. 

The origin of this form of poetical composition among the He¬ 
brews, Bishop Lowth has satisfactorily deduced from the manner in 
which they w r ere accustomed to sing or chant their sacred hymns. 
They were accompanied with music, and were alternately sung by 
opposite choirs : sometimes one choir performed the hymn itself, 
while the other sang a particular distich, which was regularly in- 

3 Bp. Jebb’s Sacred Literature, pp. 4, 5. 

57 


VOL. IJ. 




450 


On the Poetry of the Hebrews. [Part I. 

terposed at stated intervals. In this manner we learn that Moses 
with the Israelites chanted the ode at the Red Sea (Exod. xv. 20, 
21.) ; and the same order is observable in some of the psalms which 
are composed in this form. On some occasions, however, the mu¬ 
sical performance was differently conducted, one of the choirs sing¬ 
ing a single verse to the other, while the other constantly added a 
verse in some respect correspondent. Of this the following distich is 
an example : — 

Sing praises to Jehovah, for he is good, 

Because his mercy endureth for ever. (Psal. cxxxvi. 1.) 

Which Ezra informs us (iii. 10, 11.) was sung by the priests and 
Levites in alternate choirs, “ after the ordinance of David, king of 
Israelas indeed may be collected from the hundred and thirty- 
sixth psalm itself, in which the latter verse sung by the latter choir 
forms a perpetual epode. Of the same nature is the song of the 
women concerning Saul and David (1 Sam. xviii. 7.); and in the 
very same manner does Isaiah describe the seraphin as chanting the 
praises of Jehovah — “ they cried one to another,” that is, alternately, 

Holy, holy, holy, Jehovah God of hosts ! 

The whole earth is filled with his glory. (Isa. vi. 3.) 

But the fullest example perhaps of this style of composition is to 
be found in the twenty-fourth psalm, composed on occasion of the 
induction of the ark to mount Sion ; the mode of performing which 
is particularly illustrated by Bishop Lowth, 1 and must have had a 
most noble and impressive effect. 

In determining the length of his lines, Bishop Lowth considers 
only that relation and proportion of one verse to another which arises 
from the correspondence of terms, and from the form of construc¬ 
tion, whence results a rhythmus of propositions, and a harmony of 
sentences. From this correspondence of the verses one with ano¬ 
ther, arises a certain relation also between the composition of the 
verses, and the composition of the sentences, so that generally peri¬ 
ods coincide with stanzas, members with verses, and pauses of the 
one with pauses of the other. This correspondence is called paral¬ 
lelism, the corresponding lines are called parallel lines, and the words 
or phrases answering one to another in the corresponding lines, pa¬ 
rallel terms. 

A single example will illustrate the above definition of parallelism: 

*—In Luke i. 52, 53. we read, He (God) hath put down the 
mighty from their seats , and exalted them of low degree. He hath 
f iled the hungry vnth good things, and the rich he hath sent empty 
away. In this passage the same thing is expressed, viz. that God 
changes the conditions of men : and this same thing is also express¬ 
ed, in corresponding members that represent it in various points of 
view. Thus the Almighty changes adversity into prosperity, and 
prosperity into adversity. The words answer to each other , the 

1 Lecture xxvii. Bishop Horsley, in his translation of the Book of Psalms, has 
divided them so as to exhibit the construction of those divine compositions to the 
best possible advantage. 



451 


Ch. X.] On the Poetry of the Hebrews. 

mighty — those of low degree; put down — exalted $ the hungry 
(or poor) — the rich ; filled with good things — sent empty away. 
Lastly, the things or subjects stated answer to each other by a con¬ 
trast sufficiently obvious : the former (the powerful and rich) are de¬ 
pressed ; the latter (the humble and poor) are exalted. 

The nature of parallelism, thus defined and illustrated, is some¬ 
times so evident as to strike even a careless reader, and sometimes 
so subtle and obscure as to require considerable practice, and some 
familiarity with the system, in order to distribute the pauses, and 
develope the different members of the sentences in probable order 
and connection. Thus, much doubt has arisen not only as to what 
books, but as to what parts of books, are to be accounted poetical. 
Sometimes, according to Dr. Jebb, it is continuous and unmixed, as 
in the Psalms, Proverbs and Canticles; sometimes it characterises 
the main body of a work with a prosaic introduction and conclusion, 
as in the book of Job, — sometimes it predominates throughout a 
whole book with an occasional mixture of prose, as in most of the 
prophets ; sometimes the general texture is prose, with an occasional 
mixture of verses, as in the historical books, and the book of Eccle¬ 
siastes. 

This parallelism has hitherto been confined principally to the poet¬ 
ical books of the Old Testament; and to them chiefly in the former 
edition of this work, the author has restricted it. Bishop Jebb, how¬ 
ever, has demonstrated that this grand characteristic of Hebrew poe¬ 
try pervades the New Testament as well as the Old. 

The poetical parallelism has much variety and many gradations, 
being sometimes more accurate and manifest, sometimes more vague 
and obscure : it may, however, on the whole, be said to consist of 
four species, viz. Parallel Lines, Gradational j Parallel Lines Anti¬ 
thetic, Parallel Lines Synthetic , and Parallel Lines Introverted. 

1. Parallel Lines Gradational are those, in which the second or 
responsive clause so diversifies the preceding clauses, as generally to 
rise above it, sometimes by a descending scale in the value of the re¬ 
lated terms and periods, but in all cases with a marked distinction of 
meaning. This species of parallelism is the most frequent of all: 
it prevails chiefly in the shorter poems, in many of the psalms, and 

1 Bishop Lowth has ranged the different kinds of parallelism under three classes 
only, viz. parallels synonymous, parallels antithetic, and parallels synthetic. The 
two last terms, it will be perceived, we have retained, and in lieu of parallels sy¬ 
nonymous we have adopted the term parallel lines gradational. Bishop Jebb has 
assigned satisfactory reasons for changing the bishop’s phraseology. According to 
Lowth, parallel lines synonymous are those which correspond one to another by 
expressing the same sentiment in different but nearly equivalent terms. But Bp. 
Jebb proves, from an examination of the bishop’s examples, that this definition does 
not hold good : he therefore proposes that of cognate parallels , as preferably appli¬ 
cable to this kind of parallels. (Sacred Literature, pp. 34—50.) A learned critic, 
however, has suggested the term gradational parallelism , as being most expres¬ 
sive, and also most applicable to the examples adduced by these eminent prelates. 
(British Critic for 1820, vol. xiv. pp. 585, 580.) We have therefore adopted this 
term in the present chapter. Bp. Jebb had further considered the introverted pa¬ 
rallel as a variety of the Hebrew parallelism ; but as the same critic has assigned 
good reasons for constituting it a distinct class, we have availed ourselves of hia 
authority, and have accordingly adopted it. 



452 


(T art i. 


On the Poetry of the HeOrews. 

very frequently in the prophecies of Isaiah. Three or four instances 
will suffice to show the nature of parallel lines gradational. The first 
example shall be taken from the first psalm. 

O the happiness of that man, 

Who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly ; 

And hath not stood in the way of sinners ; 

And hath not sat in the seat of the scornful. (Psalm i. 1.) 

“ The exclamation with which the psalm opens, belongs equally to each line of 
the succeeding triplet. In the triplet itself, each line consists of three members; 
and the lines gradually rise, one above the other, not merely in their general sense, 
but specially, throughout their correspondent members. To walk , implies no 
more than casual intercourse ; to stand , closer intimacy; to sit, fixed and perma¬ 
nent connection ; the counsel, the ordinary place of meeting, or public resort; the 
way, the select and chosen foot-path ; the seat, the habitual and final resting place ; 
the ungodly, negatively wicked ; sinners, positively wicked ; the scornful , scof¬ 
fers at the very name or notion of piety and goodness.” 1 

The following passages will supply additional examples: — 

Who shall ascend the mountain of Jehovah ? 

And who shall stand within his holy place ? 

The clean of hands, and the pure in heart. (Psalm xxiv. 3, 4.) 

il To ascend marks progress ; to stand, stability and confirmation : the mountain 
of Jehovah, the site of the divine sanctuary ; his holy place, the sanctuary itself: 
and in correspondence with the advance of the two lines which form the first 
couplet, there is an advance in the members of the third line : the clean of hands ; 
and the pure in heart: the clean of hands, shall ascend the mountain of Jehovah : 
the pure in heart, shall stand within his holy place .”2 

O Jehovah, in thy strength the king shall rejoice ; 

And in thy salvation, how greatly shall he exult. 

The desire of his heart, thou hast granted him ; 

And the request of his lips, thou hast not denied. (Psalm xxi. 1,2) 

il The gradation of member above member, and line above line, in each couplet 
of this stanza, is undeniable : “ salvation” is an advance upon “ strength j” and 
(i how greatly shall he exult,” an advance upon “ he shall rejoice :” again, “ the 
request of the lips,” is something beyond “ the desire of the heart,” — it is desire 
brought into act. The gradation in the last members of the last two lines may 
not be equally obvious ; but it is by no means less certain : “ thou hast granted : — 
thou hast not denied the negative form is here much stronger than the positive ; 
for it is a received canon of biblical philology, that verbs of negation, or, what 
amounts to the same thing, adverbs of negation prefixed to verbs, have, in such 
cases, the force of expressing the opposite affirmative with peculiar emphasis : — 
for example ; “ the Lord will not hold him guiltless, who taketh his name in vain: 
that is, WILL ASSUREDLY HOLD HIM GUILTY. Exod. XX. 7.” 

The prophetic muse is no less elegant and correct. Isaiah especially abounds 
in beautiful instances of this mode of gradation. Thus he says : 

Seek ye Jehovah, while he may be found ; 

Call ye upon him, while he is near ; 

Let the wicked forsake his way ; 

And the unrighteous man his thoughts : 

And let him return to Jehovah, and he will compassionate him ; 

And unto our God, for he aboundeth in forgiveness. Isaiah lv. G, 7. 

In the first line, men are invited to seek Jehovah, not knowing where he is, and 
on the bare inteHigence that he may be found ; in the second line, having found 
Jehovah, they are encouraged to call upon him, by the assurance that he is near. 
In the third line, the wicked, the positive, and presumptuous sinner, is warned to 
forsake his way, his habitual course of iniquity ; in the fourth line, the unright¬ 
eous, the negatively wicked, is called to renounce the very thought of sinning. 
While in the last line, the appropriative and encouraging title our God, is substi¬ 
tuted for the awful name of Jehovah ; and simple compassion is heightened into 
overflowing mercy and forgiveness .3 


1 Bp. Jebb’s Sacred Literature, p. 41. 
^ Ibid, pp. 37—38. 


2 Ibid. p. 40. 




453 


Ch. X.] On the Poetry of the Hebrews. 

In Isa. li. 1. 4. 7. there is another singularly fine example of moral 
gradation, which is admirably illustrated by Bishop Jebb, 1 to whose 
1 Sacred Literature’ the reader is referred. But excellent as Isaiah 
confessedly is, he is not unrivalled in this kind of composition: the 
other prophets contain abundant examples ; we shall however only 
adduce two instances. The first, which is from Hosea, is exquisitely 
pathetic, and will speak for itself: — 

How shall I give thee up, O Ephraim ? 

Abandon thee, O Israel ? 

How shall I make thee as Admah, 

Place thee in the condition of Zeboim ? 

My heart is turned upon me; 

My bowels yearn altogether. 

I will not execute the fury of mine anger: 

I will not return to make destruction of Ephraim. 

For God I am, and not man ; 

The Holy One in the midst of thee, although I am no frequenter of cities 

Hosea xi. 8, 9. (Bp. Horsley’s Translation.) 

The other passage is from Joel, and is highly animated. 

Like mighty men shall they rush on ; 

Like warriors shall they mount upon the wall; 

And, every one in his way, shall they march ; 

And they shall not turn aside from their paths. Joel ii. 7. 

The prophet is denouncing a terrible judgment on the land of Judah, by the 
devastation of locusts : and all naturalists and travellers, who have witnessed the 
desolation caused by those destructive insects, attest and confirm the fidelity of 
Joel's description of their progress and ravages. 

2. Parallel Lines Antithetic are, when tw T o lines correspond one 
with another, by an opposition of terms and sentiments ; when the 
second is contrasted with the first, sometimes in expressions, some¬ 
times in sense only. This is not confined to any particular form. 
Accordingly the degrees of antithesis are various, from an exact con¬ 
traposition of word to word, sentiment to sentiment, singulars to sin¬ 
gulars, plurals to plurals, down to a general disparity, with something 
of a contrariety in the two propositions. 

This species of parallelism is of less frequent occurrence in the 
prophetical poems of the Old Testament, especially those Avhich are 
elevated in the style, and more connected in the parts; but it is ad¬ 
mirably adapted to adages, aphorisms, proverbs, and detached sen¬ 
tences. Much, indeed, of the elegance, acuteness, and force, of a 
great number of the proverbs of Solomon, arises from the antithetic 
form, the opposition of diction and sentiment, as in the following ex¬ 
amples : 

A wise son rejoiceth his father : 

But a foolish son is the grief of his mother. Prov. x. i. 

Here every word has its opposite, the terms father and mother being relatively 
opposite: , 

The memory of the just is a blessing . 

But the name of the wicked shall rot. Prov. x. 7. 

In this instance there are only two antithetic terms, for memory and name are 
synonymous. See also Prov. xi. 24. xvi. 33. and xxix. 26. 

But, though the antithetic parallel be of comparatively rare occur¬ 
rence in the superior kinds of Hebrew poetry, it is not inconsistent 
with them. Thus, we have a beautiful instance of it in the thanks- 


1 Bp. Jebb’s Sacred Literature, pp. 46—49. 




454 


On the Poetry of the Hebrews. [Part I 

giving ode of Hannah, 1 Sam. ii. 4—7., and in some of the Psalms, 
as in Psal. xx. 7, 8. xxx. 5. and xxxvii. 10, 11. Isaiah, also, by 
means of it, without departing from his usual dignity, greatly in¬ 
creases the beauty of his composition. 

• 

For the mountains shall be removed ; 

And the hills shall be overthrown; 

But my kindness from thee shall not be removed ; 

And the covenant of my peace shall not be overthrown. 

Isa. liv. 10. 

See likewise Isa. liv. 7, 8. ix. 10. and lxv. 13, 14. 

3. Parallel Lines Constructive are, when the parallelism consists 
only in the similar form of construction ; in which word does not an¬ 
swer to word, and sentence to sentence, as equivalent or opposite ; 
but there is a correspondence and equality, between the different 
propositions, in respect of the shape and turn of the whole sentence, 
and of the constructive parts; such as noun answering to noun, verb 
to verb, member to member, negative to negative, interrogative to in¬ 
terrogative. This species of parallel includes all such as do not come 
within the two former classes. Accordingly, Bishop Lowth remarks, 
that the variety of this form is very great: sometimes the parallelism 
is more, sometimes less exact, and sometimes hardly at all apparent. 
The nineteenth psalm will furnish a beautiful instance of parallel lines 
constructive : 

The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; 

The testimony, of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple ; 

The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart: 

The commandment of Jehovah is clear, enlightening the eyes: 

The fear of Jehovah is pure, enduring for ever, 

The judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are just altogether; 

More desirable than gold, or than much fine gold, 

And sweeter than honey, or the dropping of honey-combs. 

Psal. xix. 7—11. 

Additional instances of the constructive parallelism occur in Psalm cxlviii. 7— 
13. Job xii. 13—16. Isa. xiv. 4—9. and lviii. 5—8. 

Respecting the three preceding species of parallelism, Bishop Jebb 
remarks that, separately, “ each kind admits many subordinate varie¬ 
ties, and that, in combinations of verses, the several kinds are per¬ 
petually intermingled ; circumstances which at once enliven and 
beautify the composition, and frequently give peculiar distinctness and 
precision to the train of thought.” He has illustrated this observation 
by some instances of such subordinate varieties. The six following 
are taken partly from his volume, and partly from the nineteenth of 
Bishop Lowth’s Lectures on Hebrew Poetry. Thus: 

(1.) Sometimes the lines are bi-membral ; that is, they consist each 
of double members, or two propositions (or sentiments, as Lowth 
terms them). — For example, 

The nations raged; the kingdoms were moved ; 

He uttered a voice ; the earth was dissolved : 

Be still, and know that I am God ; 

I will be exalted in the nations ; I will be exalted in the earth. 

Psal. xlvi. 6. 10. 

Bow thy heavens, O Jehovah, and descend; 

Touch the mountains and they shall smoke : 


Ch. X.J 


455 


On the Poetry of the Hebrews . 

Dart forth thy lightning, and scatter them ; 

Shoot out thine arrows and destroy them. 

Psal. cxliv. 5, 6. 

Isaiah has two striking instances of these bi-membral lines. 

When thou passest through waters, I am with thee ; 

And through rivers, they shall not overwhelm thee : 

When thou walkest in the fire, thou shaltnot be scorched; 

And the flame shall not cleave to thee. 

Isa. xliii. 2. 

And they shall build houses, and shall inhabit them ; 

And they shall plant vineyards, and shall eat the fruit thereof* 
They shall not build, and another inhabit; 

They shall not plant, and another eat. 

Isa. lxv. 21, 22. 

(2.) “ Parallels are sometimes formed by a repetition of part of 
the first sentence : — 

My voice is unto God, and I cry aloud; 

My voice unto God, and he will hearken unto me: 

I will remember the works of Jehovah ; 

Yea, I will remember thy works of old : — 

The waters saw thee, O God ; 

The waters saw thee ; they were seized with anguish. 

Psal. lxxvii. 1, 2.17. 

(3.) “ Sometimes, in the latter line, a part is to be supplied from 
the former, to complete the sentence : — 

The mighty dead tremble from beneath : 

The waters, and they that dwell therein. 

Job xxvi. 5. 

4.) “ There are parallel triplets ; where three lines correspond 
together, and form a kind of stanza ; of which, however, only two 
lines are commonly synonymous : — 

The wicked shall see it, and it shall grieve him; 

He shall gnash with his teeth, and pine away ; 

The desire of the wicked shall perish. 

Psal. cxii. 10.”1 

Another instance of parallel triplets occurs in Job iii. 4., and Mi- 
cah vi. 15. 

(5.) “ There are parallels consisting of four lines: two distiches 
being so connected together by sound and construction, as to make 
one stanza: 

The ox knoweth his owner ; 

And the ass the crib of his lord : 

But Israel doth not know; 

My people doth not consider. 

Isa. i. 3. See also Psal. xxvii. 1, 2. 

In stanzas of four lines, sometimes the parallel lines answer to one 
another, alternately; the first to the third, and the second to the 
fourth : — 

As the heavens are high above the earth ; 

So high is his goodness over them that fear him : 

As remote as the east is from the west; 

So far hath he removed from us our transgressions. 

Psal. ciii. 11, 12.”2 

Sometimes however, the alternate quatrain, by a peculiar artifice 
in the distribution of the sentences, the third line forms a continuous 
sense with the first, and the fourth with the second : — 


1 Bp. Jebb’s Sacred Literature, pp. 27, 28. 


2 Ibid. p. 29. 




456 On the Poetry of the Hebrews * [Part 1. 

From the heavens Jehovah looketh down; 

He seeth all the children of men ; 

From the seat of his rest he contemplateth 
All the inhabitants of the earth. 

Psal. xxxiii. 13, 14. 

Isaiah with great elegance uses this form of composition : — 

For thy husband is thy maker ; 

Jehovah God of hosts is his name : 

And thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; 

The God of the whole earth shall he be called. 

Isa. liv. 5. 

(6.) Some periods also may be considered as forming stanzas of 
jive lines; in which the odd line or member usually either comes in 
between two distiches ; or the line that is not parallel is generally 
placed between the two distiches; or, after two distiches, makes a 
full close: 

Who is wise, and will understand these things ? 

Prudent, and will know them ? 

For right are the ways of Jehovah: 

And the just shall walk in them : 

And the disobedient shall fall therein. 

Hos. xiv. 9. 

Like as a lion growleth, 

Even the young lion over his prey ; 

Though the whole company of shepherds be called together against 
him: 

At their voice he will not be terrified, 

Nor at their tumult will he be humbled. 

Isa. xxxi. 4. 

Who established the word of his servant : 

And accomplisheth the counsel of his messenger ; 

Who sayeth to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited, 

And to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built; 

And her desolate places I will restore. 

Isa. xliv. 26. 

The preceding are the chief varieties of the parallel lines, grada¬ 
tional, antithetic, and constructive: a few others of less note are dis¬ 
cussed both by Bishops Lowth and Jebb ; for which the reader is 
necessarily referred to their respective works. We now proceed to 
notice, 

4. Parallel Lines Introverted. —These are stanzas so constructed, 
that, whatever be the number of lines, the first line shall be parallel 
with the last; the second with the penultimate or last but one ; and 
so throughout, in an order that looks inward, or to borrow a military 
phrase, from flanks to centre. This may be called the introverted 
parallelism . 

Bishop Jebb has illustrated this definition with several apposite ex¬ 
amples, from which we have selected the three following. 

u My son, if thy heart be wise ; 

My heart also shall rejoice ; 

Yea, my reins shall rejoice ; 

When thy lips speak right things. 

Prov. xxiii. 15, 16. 

fi And it shall come to pass in that day ; 

The great trumpet shall be sounded : 

And those shall come, who were perishing in the land of Assyria j 
And who were dispersed in the land of Egypt; 


457 


Ch. X.] On the Poetry of the Hebrews . 

And they shall bow themselves down before Jehovah ; 

In the holy mountain, in Jerusalem. Isaiah, xxvii. 12, 13.” 

“ In these two stanzas of Isaiah, figuratively, in the first, and literally in the 
second, is predicted the return of the Jews from their several dispersions. The 
first line of each stanza is parallel with the sixth ; the second with the fifth; and 
the third with the fourth : also on comparing the stanzas one with another, it is 
manifest, that they are constructed with the utmost precision of mutual corres¬ 
pondence ; clause harmonising with clause, and line respectively with line; the 
first line of the first stanza with the first lino of the second, and so throughout. 

u The idols of the heathen are silver and gold: 

The work of men’s hand ; 

They have mouths but they speak not; 

They have eyes but they see not; 

They have ears but they hear not; 

Neither is there any breath in their mouths ; 

They who make them are like unto them; 

So are all they who put their trust in them. 

PseM. cxxxv. 15—18.” 

The parallelisms here marked out are very accurate. In the first line of this 
example we have the idolatrous heathen; — in the eighth, those who put their 
trust in idols ; — in the second line the fabrication ; — in the seventh, the fabri¬ 
cators ; — in the third line, mouths without articulation ; — in the sixth, mouths 
without breath ; — in the fourth line, eyes without vision ; and, in the fifth line, 
ears without the sense of hearing. 

The parallelism of the extreme members, Bishop Jebb proceeds 
to state, may be rendered yet more evident, by reducing the passage 
into two quatrains ; thus : 

The idols of the heathen are silver and gold ; 

The work of men’s hand ; 

They who make them, are like unto them; 

So are all they who put their trust in them. 

They have mouths, but they speak not; 

. They have eyes, but they see not; 

They have ears, but they hear not; 

Neither is there any breath in their mouths. 1 

III. Such is the nature, and such are the species of the parallel¬ 
isms, which are variously distributed throughout the Old Testament. 
With the exception of a few partial failures, it is worthy of remark, 
that the character and complexion of Hebrew poetry have been very 
competently preserved in that body of Greek translations, composed 
at different times, by different persons, and known under the name of 
the Septuagint version. Nor should it be omitted, that the Hebraic 
parallelism occurs also, with much variety, in the Apocrypha: the 
book of Ecclesiasticus, for example, is composed of pure parallelisms: 
the book of Wisdom, too, affords fine specimens of this manner, though 
it is commonly overlaid by the exuberant and vicious rhetoric of the 
Alexandrine "Platonists ; while, not to mention other parts of the 
apocryphal writings, in Tobit and the books of Maccabees there are 
examples both of lyric and didactic poetry, clothed in parallelisms 
which will hardly shrink from comparison with several in the genuine 
Hebrew Scriptures. One other fact remains: namely, that in the 
sententious formula of the Rabbinical writers, the manner of He¬ 
brew poetry is frequently observed, with much accuracy, though with 
a manifest declen sion of spirit. 2 _ 

1 Sacred Literature, pp. 53, 54. 57, 58. 

2 Ibid. p. 76. Bp. Jebb has illustrated the remarks in the text by numerous ap 

vol. ii. 58 




458 


On the Poetry of the Hebrews. [Part I. 

Such being the fact, we are authorised by analogy to expect a 
similar parallelism in the New Testament, particularly when the 
nature of that portion of the Holy Scriptures is considered. It is a 
work supplementary to and perfective of the Old Testament; com¬ 
posed under the same guidance that superintended the composition 
of the latter; written by native Jews, Hebrews of the Hebrews, — 
by men whose minds were moulded in the form of their own sacred 
writings, and whose sole stock of literature (with the exception ol 
Paul, and probably also of Luke and James) was comprised in those 
very writings. Now, it is improbable in the extreme, that such men, 
when they came to write such a work, should, without any assignable 
motive, and in direct opposition to all other religious teachers of their 
nation, have estranged themselves from a manner, so pervading the 
noblest parts of the Hebrew Scriptures, as the sententious parallelism. 
But we are not left to analogical reasoning. The Greek style of the 
New Testament leads us to expect a construction similar to that 
which we find in the Old. The New Testament, as we have already 
shown, * 1 is not written in what is termed strictly classical Greek, but 
in a style of the same degree of purity as the Greek which was 
spoken in Macedonia, and that in which Polybius wrote his Roman 
History. From the intermixture of Oriental idioms and expressions 
with those which are properly Greek, the language of the New Tes¬ 
tament has been termed Hellenistic or Hebrctic-Greek. The differ¬ 
ence in style and manner which subsists between the writers of the 
New Testament and’the Greek classic authors is most strongly mark¬ 
ed : and this difference is not confined to single words and combina¬ 
tions of words, but pervades the whole structure of the composition : 
and in frequent instances, a poetical manner is observable, which not 
only is not known, but would not be tolerated in any modern produc¬ 
tion, purporting to be prose. This poetical style has been noticed 
briefly by Boeder, Ernesti, Michaelis, Schleusner, Dr. Campbell, 
and other critics, and also by the author of this work, in the first edi¬ 
tion : but none of these writers were aware, to how great an extent it 
pervades the New Testament. It was reserved for Bishop Jebb, to 
whose ‘ Sacred Literature’ this chapter is so deeply indebted, to de- 
velope the existence of the poetical parallelism in the New Testa¬ 
ment, and to place its numerous beauties in a point of view, equally 
novel and delightful to the biblical student. 

The proofs of the existence of the poetical dialect in the New 
Testament, are disposed by this critic under the four following divi¬ 
sions, viz. 1. Simple and direct quotations, in the New Testament, of 
single passages from the poetical parts of the Old Testament; — 2. 
Quotations of a more complex kind, when fragments are combined 
from different parts of the poetical Scriptures, and wrought up 
into one connected whole; and, 3. Quotations mingled with ori- 

posite examples from the apocryphal and rabbinical writings, for which the reader 
is referred to his work, pp. 84—90. 

1 >*'ee pp. 20 23. of this volume, for an account of the Greek style of the New 

1 estament. 




Ch. X.] On the Poetry of the Hebrews. 459 

ginal matter. We shall give one or two examples of each of these 
proofs. 

1. Simple and direct quotations of single passages from the poetical 
parts of the Old Testament , in which the parallelism has been preserved 
by the writers of the Neio Testament. 

Kcu <xv Bt]$Xttp, yr) I ovba, 
ovSapois tXa^i^v ti tv roig fjytpoaiv Iou£a. 
sk aov yap t^tXtvatrai byovptvos, 
b?is izoipavu tov Xaov pov tov IcpaJjX. 

And thou, Bethlehem, territory of Judah, 

Art by no means least among the captains of Judah. 

For from thee shall come forth a leader, 

Who will guide my people Israel. 

Matt. ii. 6. 

lit pov, prj oXiyupti itaiStiag K vpcov, 
pt]6t ticXvov, viz' avTov tXty%optvos : 
bv yap ayaiza Kvptos, izaiStvti’ 

pafiyoi St izavra hov , bv izapaSt^trat. 

My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord ; 

Nor faint, when thou art rebuked by him : 

For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, 

But scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

Heb. xii. 5, 6. 

This passage is taken from Proverbs iii. 11, 12.: thus rendered in our authorised 
translation: 

My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord ; 

Neither be weary of his correction: 

For whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth ; 

Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. 

In this last line the parallelism is completely spoiled. But Bp. Jebb shows, that 
Saint Paul’s reading is afforded without altering a letter in the Hebrew text, by a 
slight departure from the Masoretic punctuation. The original passage in Prov. 
iii. 11, 12. therefore, may be thus rendered in strict conformity with the apostle. 

The chastening of Jehovah, my son do not despise; 

Neither be weary at his rebuking : 

For, whom Jehovah loveth, he chasteneth, 

But scourgeth the son in whom he delighteth. 

In the corrected version of this quatrain, the parallelism is not only preserved, 
but there is also a beautiful climax in the sense, both of which are excellently 
illustrated by Bp. Jebb.l 

2. Quotations of a more complex kind , in which fragments are com - 
bined from different parts of the poetical Scriptures , and lorought up 
into one connected or consistent whole. 

Of this class of quotations, the following is a short but a satisfactory specimen : 
b oikos pov, oikos izpoatv^rjs KXrjSrjcrtTai izaai roig tSvtav' 

Iptis bt tizoiTjaare avrov aizijXaiov Xr]<rru)v. 

My house shall be called the house of prayer for all the nations; 

But ye have made it a den of thieves. 

Mark xi. 17. 

This antithetical couplet is composed of two independent passages, very re¬ 
motely connected in their subject matter ; of which the first stands in the Septu- 
agint version of Isaiah lvi. 57. exactly as it is given above from Saint Mark’s Gos¬ 
pel. The substance of the second line occurs in the prophet Jeremiah, (vii. 11.) 

prj aizriXaiov Xrj^uv b oikos pov ) 

Is my house a den of thieves ?2 

1 Sacred Literature, pp. 98. 109—113. In pp. 99—108. other examples are given, 
with suitable philological illustrations. 

2 Sacred Literature, p. 114. 



460 


On the Poetry of the Hebrews. 


[Part I. 


u 6aSog itXovtov , kcu crotpiag, kcu yvoxrevg OcoV 
&S avc^cpevvrjra ra Kpipara avrov' 

Kai ave^iyyia^oi ai bboi avrov’ 
rig yap eyviv vow K vpiov } 
rj ng avpSovXog avrov eyevero, 

V Tig 7rpoeStoKev avroi \ 
tcai avTanobo^tjoerai avrtu ) 

O the depth of the riches, and the wisdom and the knowledge of God ! 
How inscrutable are his judgments; 

And untraceable his ways ! 

For who hath known the mind of the Lord ? 

Or who hath been his counsellor ? 

Or who hath first given unto him, 

And it shall be repaid him again ? 

Rom. xi. 33—35. 

On this passage Bishop Jebb remarks that, although the quotation is not always 
so uniformly direct as in the preceding example, yet the marks of imitation are 
unquestionable; the probable sources of imitation are numerous ; the continuity 
of the parallelism is maintained unbroken ; and the style, both of thought and of 
expression, is remarkable alike for elegance, animation, and profundity. He sup¬ 
poses the apostle to have had the following texts (which are given at length by Dr. 
J.) present in his recollection, when composing this noble epiphonema; Psal. 
xxxvi. 6. Job xi. 7,8. v. 9. xxxvi. 22, 23. Jer. xxiii. 18. Isa. xl. 13. 15. Job xxiii. 
18. and xli. 2. 

“ The first line proposes the subject: 

O the depth of the riches, and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! 

u The notion of depth, as a quality attributed alike to God’s riches, and wis¬ 
dom, and knowledge, is first expanded in the next couplet: 

How inscrutable are his judgments ; 

And untraceable his ways ! 

Riches, wisdom, and knowledge are then, in a fine epanodos, enlarged upon in the 
inverted order ; first, knowledge: 

For who hath known the mind of the Lord 
secondly, wisdom: 

Or who hath been his counsellor ? 
thirdly, riches: 

Or who hath first given unto him, 

And it shall be repaid him again ? 

“ Let, now, the most skilfully executed cento from the heathen classics, be com¬ 
pared with this finished scriptural Mosaic of St. Paul: the former, however im¬ 
posing at the first view, will, on closer inspection, infallibly betray its patch-work 
jointing, and incongruous materials; while the latter, like the beauties of creation, 
not only bears the microscopic glance, but, the more minutely it is examined, the 
more fully its exquisite organization is disclosed. The Fathers also, often quote 
and combine Scripture: let their complex quotations be contrasted with those of 
the apostlo ; the result may be readily anticipated.”! 

3. Quotations , mingled with original matter, in which one or more 
passages derived from the Hebrew Scriptures , are so connected and 
blended with original writing, that the compound forms one homogeneous 
whole; the sententious parallelism equally pervading all the component 
members, whether original or derived. 

nag yap bg av emKaXemjTai to ovopa Kvpiov auiSrjoerai : 
noig ovv tmKaXtaovrai ug bv ovk cmg’tvaav 
iroig be m^tvoovmv, bv ovk rjKovcav 
irwg be aKovaovm KrjpvacrovTog) 

nug be Krjpv^ovaiv eav prj airofaXiom 
(is yeypanrai' 


! Sacred Literature, pp. 114. 117. 120. Other examples of complex quotations 
are given in pp. 121—123. 



Ch. X.] 


461 


On the Poetry of the Hebrews. 


utpaioi Si ttoScs Tmv evayyeXifyj/eviov ciotjvtjv j 
Twv evayyc\i$o/x£v a>v ra aya$a ; 

For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be saved : 

But how shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed ? 

And how shall they believe in him, of whom they have not heard ? 

And how shall they hear without a preacher ? 

And how shall they preach, if they be not sent ? 

As it is written ; 

How beautiful the feet of those who bring good tidings of peace ! 

Who bring good tidings, of good things ! (Rom. x. 13—15.) 

The first line of this passage is literally taken from the Septuagint version of 
Joel ii. 32., the next quotation is original, and affords an exact, though somewhat 
peculiar, specimen of parallelism, its composition nearly resembling that of the 
O^lCtil SOYttCS, in which the predicate of each preceding line becomes the subject 
of the line next in order. Similar instances of this logical construction occur in 
the prophetic writings, and abound in the epistles of St. Paul.l The last couplet 
is from Isa. lii. 7., the Septuagint rendering of whiefh is both confused and inac¬ 
curate. Saint Paul, however, has quoted so much as it answered his purpose to 
quote, but has carefully maintained the parallelism uninjured. 

Ai5ov bv a-neSoKifjiairav Si oiKoSojxovvTCi, 
bvros cycvrjSc us K£(pa\t]v ywvtas' 
irapa Kvpiov eyevero avrrj, 

Kai c?i &av[ia^ri cv o(p$a\nois fifim : 

£ia rovro \cyio i/uv 

Sti ap&r/acrai a<p ’ v[xo)v t] (la<n\tia rov Qcov , 

Kai SoStjacrai t$rei ttoiovvti tovs naprrovs avrtjg : 
xai S ircauiv cm rov Xi5ov tovtov , ovva^Awtrat, 
t<p' Sv 6' av near], XiKfXTiaci avrov. 

The stone which the builders rejected ; 

The same is become the head of the corner : 

From the Lord hath this proceeded ; 

And it is marvellous in our eyes; 

Wherefore I say unto you : 

That from you shall be taken away the kingdom of God; 

And it shall be given to a nation producing the fruits thereof. 

And he who falleth upon this stone, shall be sorely bruised; 

But upon whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 

Matt. xxi. 42—44. 

The first four lines are literally taken from the Septuagint version of Psalm 
cxviii. 22, 23. The last four are original; and Bp. Jebb asks, with great reason, 
whether the parallelism is not more striking in the latter portion, than in the 
former. 1 2 

IV". The preceding examples will sufficiently exemplify the man¬ 
ner in which the inspired writers of the New Testament were accus¬ 
tomed to cite, abridge, amplify, and combine passages from the 
poetical parts of the Old Testament: and also to annex to, or inter¬ 
mingle with, their citations, parallelisms by no means less perfect, of 
their own original composition. These examples further corroborate 
the argument from analogy for the existence of the grand characteristic 
of Hebrew poesy, — the sententious parallelism, — in the New Tes¬ 
tament. We shall, therefore, now proceed to give a few examples of 
the original parallelisms , which pervade that portion of the Holy 


1 Ibid. p. 124. In p. 125. and also in his nineteenth section, (pp. 388—390.) Bp. 
Jebb has given several of the instances above referred to. 

2 Sacred Literature, p. 127. In pp. 128—142. Bp. Jebb has given additional ex¬ 
amples of this class of mingled quotations; one of which (Acts iv. 24—30.) is par 
ticularly worthy of the reader’s attention, on account of the very striking evidence 
which it affords (on the principles of sententious parallelism), ot the supreme Deity 
of Jesus Christ. 



462 


On the Poetry of the Hebrews . [Part II 

Scriptures. They are divided by Bishop Jebb into 1. Parallel coup¬ 
lets ;— 2. Parallel Triplets; — 3. Quatrains of which the lines are 
either directly, alternately, or inversely parallel; — 4, 5. Stanzas of 
five and six lines ; — Stanzas of more than six parallel lines. 

1. Of Parallel Couplets the two following examples will give the 
reader an adequate idea : 

to) aiTOwn 8c, 8i8ov' 

Kai tov 3c\ovTa arro cov 8avuo3ai, ye ano^pa(pT]S. 

To him that asketh thee, give ; 

And him that would borrow from thee, turn not away. 

Matt. v. 42. 

yeyaXvvei r/ ipv%r] yov tov K vpiov' 

Kai rjyaWtaac to wcvya yov cm ru> 0£u> tco aiorrjpi yov' 

My soul doth magnify the Lord ; 

And my spirit hath exulted in God my Saviour. 

Luke i. 46, 47.1 

11 The second line of the latter couplet, it is well observed, clearly rises above 
the first in all its terms ; ycyaXwu is simply to magnify, to praise ; ayaXXiaw de¬ 
notes exultation or extacy ; ^v^o is the animal soul; irvtvya the immortal spirit; 
rov K vpiov is the simplest and most general expression of the Godhead ; the Lord 
of all men ; rw 0£a> rw owTrjpi yov is a considerable amplification in terms, and per¬ 
sonally appropriative in meaning, the God who is my Saviour.” 2 

2. Parallel Triplets consist of three connected and correspondent 
lines, which are constructively parallel with each other, and form 
within themselves a distinct sentence or significant part of a sen¬ 
tence. 

at aXomcKCS (fxoXeovi c^ovar 

Kai ra rtftiva'TOv ovpavov KaTaoKtivoxTets' 

& 0£ Vios TOV avSplxrtTOV OVK £%£l TTOV TTJV K£<paXj]V kXiVT). 

The foxes have dens; 

And the birds of the air have nests ; 

But the son of man hath not where to lay his head. 

Matt. viii. 20. 

5 m^evwv as tov viov , £%ei farjv aiooviov' 
b 8c airuSwv ro> vuo, ovk oiperai £u)??v. 
aAA’ fj opyri tov 3 cov yevci cir * aurov. 

He who believeth in the Son, hath life eternal; 

But he who disobeyeth the Son, shall not see life : 

But the wrath of God abideth on him. 

John iii. 36. 

In this passage, Bishop Jebb justly remarks, the translators of our authorised 
version “ have not preserved the variation of the terms, 6 ms-evtov, b anaduv: ren¬ 
dering the former, “ he that believeththe latter, “ he that believeth not.” The 
variation, however, is most significant; and should, on no account, be overlooked : 
as Dr. Doddridge well observes, “ the latter phrase explains the former; and 
shows, that the faith to which the promise of eternal life is annexed, is an effectu¬ 
al principle of sincere and unreserved obedience .” The descending series is mag¬ 
nificently awful: he who, with his heart, believeth in the Son, is already in pos¬ 
session of eternal life : he, whatever may be his outward profession, whatever his 
theoretic or historical belief, who obeyeth not the Son, not only does not possess 
eternal life, he does not possess any thing worthy to be called life at all ; nor, so 
persisting, ever can possess, for he shall not even see it: but this is not the whole ; 
for, as eternal life is the present possession of the faithful, so the wrath of God is 
the present and permanent lot of the disobedient; it abideth on him .” 3 


1 Ibid. p. 143. In pp. 144—148. are given numerous other instances of parallel 
couplets. 

2 Ibid. p. 310. 

3 Sacred Literature, pp. 149,150. In pp. 151—167. are given numerous other 




463 


Ch. X.] O/i the Poetry of the Hebrews. 

3. In Quatrains , two parallel couplets are so connected as to form 
one continued and distinct sentence ; the pairs of lines being either 
directly, alternately, or inversely parallel: 

eav rag evToXag yov rypyoyre, 
yeveire ev ry ayairy yov' 

KaStog tyio rag evroXag tov irarpog yov TgrypyKa, 

Kai yevto avrov ev ry ayairr 

If ye keep my commandments, 

Ye shall abide in my love ; 

Even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, 

And abide in his love. 

John xv. 10. 

Tig yap oibev avSpioinov, ra tov avSptoirov, 
et yy to vvevya tov avSpcoirov to ev avno) 
bvno km ra tov Oeov ovbeig oibev, 
ei yy to 7 rvevya tov Oeov. 

For who of men, knoweth the depths of any man, 

Save only the spirit of that man which is in him ? 

Even so, the depths of God knoweth no person \ 

Save only the spirit of God. 1 

1 Cor. ii. 11. 

In this last cited passage, our authorised version reads the things of a man ; 
the things of the spirit of God ; an awkward mode of supplying the ellipsis, which 
ought to be filled up from the ra (iaSy of the preceding verse. This ellipsis is sup¬ 
plied by Bishop Jebb from Dr. Macknight. 

4. Five lined stanzas admit of considerable varieties of structure, 
which it would exceed the limits of this work to specify. One or two 
instances must suffice to exemplify them. 

ov%i bcobeKa ccmv wpai ryg yyepag 

eav Tig irepiirary ry ev yycpa, ov rpooKOTTei' 
bn to <p<i)g tov Koayov tovtov SXeirei : 
eav be ng irepiiraTy ev ry vvkti , irpooKoirrei' 
bn to <pug ovk eg-iv ev avnu. 

Are there not twelve hours in the day ? 

If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not ) 

Because he seeth the light of this world : 

But if a man walk in the night he stumbleth; 

Because the light is not in him. 

John xi. 9, 10. 

In this instance, the odd line or member (which commences the stanza) lays 
down a truth which is illustrated in the remaining four lines. A similar disposi¬ 
tion is observable in the first of the two following stanzas, in which the odd line 
lays down the proposition to be illustrated, viz. By their fruits ye shall thoroughly 
hnoio them. In the second stanza, on the contrary, the odd line makes a full 
close, re-asserting with authority the same proposition, as undeniably established 
by the intermediate quatrains. By their fruits, therefore, ye shall thoroughly 
know them. 

airo t<i)V KapiujiV avnov e-xlyvitxreaSe avrovg' 
yyn ovWcyovocv ano aKavSiov fapvhyv 
y airo rpi6o\it)v crvKa 

bvrw irav SevSpov ayaSov Kaprrovg Ka^ovg rrotet 
to be ravpov bevbpov Kapirovg irovypovg miei : 
ov bvvarai bevbpov ayaSov Kapnovg irovypovg vouiv ’ 
ovSe bevbpov aairpov Kapirovg KaXovg iroictv : 
irav bevbpov yy iroiovv Kapirov KaXov, 
eKKOirreTai Kai eig irvp BaWerat : 
apaye airo toiv Kapinov avnov tiriyviocrecSe avrovg. 

By their fruits ye shall thoroughly know them: 

examples, in which are interspersed some admirable quotations from the writings 
of the fathers. 

1 Ibid. p. 169. See also pp. 170-—192. for further examples of the quatrain. 





464 


On the Poetry of the Hebrews. [Part 1 

Do men gather from thorns the grape ? 

Or from thistles the fig ? 

Thus, every sound tree beareth good fruit; 

But every corrupt tree beareth evil fruit: 

A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit; 

Nor a corrupt tree bear good fruit, 

Every tree not bearing good fruit, 

Is hewn down and cast into the fire : 

By their fruits, therefore, ye shall thoroughly know them. 

J Matt. vu. 16. 20. 

5. The Six lined stanzas likewise admit of a great variety of struc¬ 
ture. Sometimes they consist of a quatrain, with a distich annexed : 
sometimes of two parallel couplets, with a third pair of parallel 
lines so distributed, that one occupies the centre, and the other the 
close ; and occasionally, of three couplets alternately parallel; the 
first, third, and fifth lines corresponding with one another ; and, in 
like manner, the second, fourth, and sixth. Of these six lined stan¬ 
zas, Bishop Jebb has adduced numerous examples. We subjoin two. 

otpias ycvopcvrjg, Xcycrc, tvSia } 
nvpfiatyi yap b ovpavos' 

/cat irpun, aripcpov %cip(i)V f 

rrvppa^ct yap fvyvafav b ovpavos : 
vKOKpiraC to pcv ttpotnotrov tov ovpavov yivtooKCre Siaxpivtiv" 
ra Sc orjpua rtov Kaipuv ov SvvaoSe. 

When it is evening, ye say, “ A calm ! 

“ For the sky is red 

And in the morning, 11 To day a tempest: 

“ For the sky is red and lowering 
Hypocrites ! The face of the sky ye know how to discern: 

But ye cannot [discern] the signs of the times ! 

' ^ Matt. xvi. 2, 3. 

This Stanza consists of a quatrain with a distich annexed. In the following 
passage, the stanza begins and ends with parallel lines, a parallel triplet inter 

vening. , ■ 

ckcivos Sc b SovXog b yvovg to &cXrjpa tov xvpiov iavrov , 

/cat pi 7 eroipairas pr)Sc noitjaas irpog to ScXrjpa avrov , 

Saprjtrcrat zo\Xas‘ 
b Sc py yvovs , 
iroirjcas Sc a^ia nXriytov, 

SaprjacTai oXiyag. 

And that servant who knew the will of his lord, 

And who prepared not, neither did according to his will, 

Shall be beaten with many stripes : 

And he who did not know, 

And did things worthy of stripes, 

Shall be beaten with few stripes. 2 

___Luke xii. 47, 48._ 

. 1 Sacred Literature, p. 195. 

2 Sacred Literature, pp. 201. 204. We cannot withhold from our readers Bishop 
Jebb’s beautiful remarks on the last cited passage. “ The antithesis in this passage 
has prodigious moral depth : he who sins against knowledge, though his sins were 
only sins of omission , shall be beaten with many stripes : but he who sins without 
knowledge, though his sins were sins of commission, shall be beaten only with few 
stripes. Mere negligence, against the light of conscience, shall be severely punish¬ 
ed : while an offence, in itself comparatively heinous, if committed ignorantly, and 
■without light, shall be mildly dealt with. This merciful discrimination, however, 
is full of terror : for, whatever may be the case, respecting past, forsaken, and re¬ 
pented sins of ignorance, no man is entitled to take comfort to himself from this 
passage, respecting his present, or future course of life: the very thought of doing 
so, proves that the person entertaining that thought, has sufficient knowledge to 
place him beyond its favourable operation.” Ibid. p. 205. Other examples of the 
six lined stanza are given in pp. 204—211. 



1 


Ch. X.] On the Poetry of the Hebrews. 4G5 

6. Stanzas of more than six parallel lines. — It frequently happens 
that more than six parallel lines are so connected by unity of subject 
or by mutual relationship, as to form a distinct stanza. Of the nu¬ 
merous examples of this kind of distribution, given by Bishop Jebb, 
one specimen must suffice. 

ira$ ovv b?i$ aKovci pov rovs \oyovs tovtovs, k<u noui avrovf , 

bpoiwav avrov avSpi <ppovipio } 

bfig WKoSoprjoc Ttjv oiKiav avrov cm rrjv nETpctv’ 

Kai kutcStj 1 ) (3po%t], 

Kai rj\$ov ol 7 rorapoi, 

Kai eirvevaav ol avepoi t 

Kai npostntaov nj oiKia tKtivr ?, 

Kai ovk tircffc' re$cpe\iu)To yap titi ttjv nerpav : 

Kai 7 raj b okovwv pov rovs Aoyovj tovtovs , Kai prj noiutv avrovs, 

bpoiuStjoerai avbpi pupa, 

b?is otKobopijat ttjv ouaav avrov eirt ttjv appov' 

Kai Kart^T] rj 6po%rj, 

Kai T)\$ov ol itorapoi , 

Kai envcvaav ol avcpoi } 

Kai npoacKoxfav ttj oiKia CKCivt] f 
Kat Eneas' Kai rjv fj nnoais avrrjs peyaXrj’ 

Whosoever, therefore, hearcth these my words, and doeth them, 

I will liken him to a prudent man, 

Who built his house upon the rock : 

And the rain descended, 

And the floods came, 

And the winds blew, 

And fell upon that house ; 

And it fell not$ for it -waa founded upon the rock. 

And every one hearing these my words, and doing them not. 

Shall be likened to a foolish man, 

Who built his house upon the sand: 

And the rain descended, 

And the floods came, 

And the winds blew, 

And struck upon that house ; 

And it fell; and the fall thereof was great.l 

Matt. vii. 24—27. 

V. Further, several stanzas are often so connected with each other 
as to form a paragraph or section. Luke xvi. 9—13. James iii. 1— 
12. iv. 6—10. and v. 1—6. and 1 John iv. 15—17. afford striking 
examples of this sort of distribution; for the detail and illustration of 
which we must refer our readers to Bishop Jebb’s elegant and in¬ 
structive volume, which has been so often cited. It only remains 
that we notice briefly the gradational parallelism , and the epanodos , 
in the New Testament, which he has discovered and elucidated. 

1. Parallel lines gradational (or, as Bishop Jebb terms them, cog - 
nate parallelisms,) we have already remarked, are of most frequent 

1 Sacred Literature, p. 211. In these two connected stanzas, the language may 
be justly termed picturesque . The marked transition in each of them form a long 
and measured movement, to short rapid lines, and the resumption, at the close, of 
a lengthened cadence, are peculiarly expressive. The continual return, too, in the 
shorter lines, of the copulative particle, (a return purely Hebraic, and foreign from 
classical usage,) has a fine effect: it gives an idea of danger, sudden, accumulated, 
and overwhelming. These are beauties which can be retained only in a literal 
translation ; and which a literal translation may exhibit very competently. Ibid, 
pp 214. In pp. 215—248. the reader will find many other examples, intermingled 
with much just criticism and some fine quotations from the fathers. 

vol. ii. 59 





466 


On the Poetry of the Hebrews. [Part I. 

occurrence in the poetical books of the Old Testament. The poeti¬ 
cal parallelisms exhibited in the preceding pages, while they fully 
prove his position, that the poetical dialect pervades the New Testa¬ 
ment, will prepare the reader to expect to find there similar instances 
of parallel lines gradational. The second example of parallel coup¬ 
lets, given in page 462. supra , affords a concise but beautiful speci¬ 
men of the ascent or climax in the terms, clauses, or lines which con¬ 
stitute the parallelism. One or two additional instances, therefore, 
will suffice, to show the existence of the gradational parallelism in 
the New Testament. 

ov b Kuptof Itjaovs ava\oxrei, ra> irvivyan s’ ojiaros avrov' 

Kai Karapyrjtrei, rrj em<pavaa rr/s napovaias avrov. 

Whom the Lord Jesus will waste away, with the breath of his mouth 
And will utterly destroy, with the bright appearance of his coming. 

“ The first words, bv b K vpios Irjaovs are common to both lines ; avakuaet implies 
no more, in this place, than gradual decay; Karapyoaei denotes total extermination: 
while, in terror and magnificence, no less than in the effects assigned, the breath 
of his mouthy must yield to the bright appearance of his coming. The first line 
seems to announce the ordinary diffusion, gradually to be effected, of Christian 
truth: the second, to foretell the extraordinary manifestation of the victorious 
Messiah, suddenly, and overwhelmingly, to take place in the last days.”* 

as bSov efyvujv [XT] aTceX&Tjrc’ 

Kai as tto\lv '£a[iaptiT(j)v [it] uaeyS^re' 

rrofevca&e Ss yaWov npos ra npoSara ra ano\(j)\oTa oikov laparjh. 

To the way of the Gentiles go not off; 

And to a city of the Samaritans, go not in ; 

But proceed rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 

Matt. x. 5, 6. 

• « ' 

“This is a gradation m the scale of national and religious proximity; the Gen¬ 
tiles, the Samaritans, Israel. In the remaining terms, there is a correspondent 
progress: the way, or road to foreign countries ; a city of the Samaritans; the 
house of Israel, a phrase conveying the notion of home ; go not off, — go not from 
Palestine, towards other nations ; go not in to a city of the Samaritans ; though, 
in your progresses between Judea and Galilee, you must pass by the walls of 
many Samaritan cities ; but, however great your fatigue, and want of refreshment, 
proceed rather not merely to the house of Israel, but to the lost sheep of that house. 
Thus, by a beautiful gradation, the apostles are brought from the indefiniteness of 
n road leading to countries remote from their own, and people differing from them¬ 
selves in habits, in language, and in faith, to the homefelt, individual, and endear¬ 
ing relationship of their own countrymen ; children of the same covenant of pro¬ 
mise, and additionally recommended to their tender compassion, as morally lost." 

Bishop Jebb has given additional examples of the gradational parallelism from 
Matt. v. 45., vii. 1. 2., xx. 26, 27., xxiv. 17, 18., Mark iv. 24., Luke vi. 38., Rom. v. 
7., James i. 17., iv. 8., and v. 5., Rev. ix. 6. and xxii. 14. 

2. The nature of the introverted parallelism, or parallel lines intro¬ 
verted, has been stated in page 456. and confirmed by suitable ex¬ 
amples. Closely allied to this is a peculiarity or artifice of construc¬ 
tion, which Bishop Jebb terms an Epanodos, and which he defines 
to be literally “ a going baclc, speaking first to the second of two 
subjects proposed ; or if the subjects be more than two, resuming 
them precisely in the inverted order, speaking first to the last, and 
last to the first.” The rationale of this artifice of composition he 
explains more particularly in the following words : — “ Two pair of 
terms or propositions, containing two important, but not equally im¬ 
portant notions, are to be so distributed, as to bring out the sense in 
the strongest and most impressive manner : now, this result will be 


1 Sacred Literature, p. 312. 





467 


Ch. X.] On the Poetry of the Hebrews , 

best attained, by commencing, and concluding, with the notion to 
which prominence is to be given ; and by placing in the centre 
the less important notion, or that which, from the scope of the 
argument, is to be kept subordinate.” 1 Having established the 
justice of this explanation by examples of epanodos, derived from 
the Scriptures as well as from the best classic authors, Bishop Jebb 
has accumulated many examples proving its existence in the New 
Testament, the doctrines and precepts of which derive new force 
and beauty from the application of this figure. The length to which 
this chapter has unavoidably extended, forbids the introduction of 
more than one or two instances of the epanodos. 

fir; lure to ayiov roig KVfft‘ 

prjle 6a\r)rc rows papyapirag ipuv tpnpo<T$tv ruv ^ oipuv' 
jiTj-Kore KaranarrjiTUffiv avrovg tv roig nooiv avruv. 

Kai g’pacpcvreg firj^ucrtv vfiag . 

Give not that which is holy to the dogs; 

Neither cast your pearls before the swine ; 

Lest they trample them under their feet; 

And turn about and rend you. 

Matt. vii. 6. 

“ The relation of the first line to the fourth, and that of the second to the third, 
have been noticed by almost all the commentators. A minor circumstance, is not 
altogether undeserving of attention: the equal lengths, in the original, of each 
related pair of lines ; the first and fourth lines being short, the second and third 
lines long. The sense of the passage becomes perfectly clear, on thus adjusting 
the parallelism : 

Give not that which is holy to the dogs; 

Lest they turn about and rend you: 

Neither cast your pearls before the swine, 

Lest they trample them under their feet. 

“ The more dangerous act of imprudence, with its fatal result, is placed first 
and last, so as to make, and to leave, the deepest practical impression.”2 

Xptfov tvultti tcytv ru Qtu' 
tv roig au^opevoig, 

kcu tv roig aToWvycvoig' 
olg jiiv oepr) Zavarov, tig Zavarov' 
olg It ocr/irj %urig, tig ^utjv. 

Vc are a sweet odour of Christ: 

To those who are saved; 

And to those who perish ; 

To the one, indeed, an odour of death, unto death ; 

But to the other, an odour of life, unto life ;3 

2 Cor. ii. 15, 16. 

In this specimen of the epanodos, the painful part of the subject is 
kept subordinate ; the agreeable is placed first and last. 

The preceding examples are sufficient to show the existence of 
the grand characteristic of Hebrew poesy, — the sententious paral¬ 
lelism, with all its varieties, in the New Testament. The reader, 
who is desirous of further investigating this interesting topic (and what 
student who has accompanied the author of the present work thus far, 
will not eagerly prosecute it?) is necessarily referred to Bishop Jebb’s 
“ Sacred Literature,” to which this chapter stands so deeply indebted ; 
— a volume, of which it is but an act of bare justice in the writer of 
these pages to say, that, independently of the spirit of enlightened 

1 Sacred Literature, pp. 60. 335. 2 Sacred Literature, p. 339. 

3 Sacred Literature, p. 344. 



468 


On the Poetry of the Hebrews. [Part I 

piety which pervades every part, it has the highest claims to the at¬ 
tention of every biblical student for its numerous beautiful and philo¬ 
logical criticisms and elucidations of the New Testament; for the in¬ 
terpretation of which this learned prelate has opened and developed 
a new and most important source, of which future commentators will 
doubtless gladly avail themselves. 

VI. The sacred writers have left us several kinds of poetical com¬ 
position : they do not, however, appear to have cultivated either the 
epic or the dramatic species, unless we take these terms in a very wide 
sense, and refer to these classes those poems in which several inter¬ 
locutors are introduced. Thus, M. Ugen 1 and (after him) Dr. Good 2 
conceive the book of Job to be a regular epic poem : while Messieurs 
Velthusen and Ammon think that the Song ot Songs exhibits traces 
of a dramatic or melo-dramatic structure. Bishop Lowth, however, 
reduces the various productions of the Hebrew poets to the following 
classes, viz. 

1. Prophetic Poetry. — Although some parts of the writings of the 
prophets are clearly in prose, of which instances occur in the prophe¬ 
cies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonah, and Daniel, yet the other 
books, constituting by far the larger portion of the prophetic writings, 
are classed by Bishop Lowth among the poetical productions of the 
Jews; and (with the exception of certain passages in Isaiah, Habak- 
kuk, and Ezekiel, which appear to constitute complete poems of dif¬ 
ferent kinds, odes as well as elegies) form a particular species of poesy, 
which he distinguishes by the appellation of Prophetic. 

The predictions of the Hebrew Prophets are pre-eminently cha¬ 
racterised by the sententious parallelism, which has been discussed 
and exemplified in the preceding pages. The prophetic poesy, how T - 
ever, is more ornamented, more splendid, and more florid than any 
other. It abounds more in imagery, at least that species of imagery, 
which, in the parabolic style, is of common and established accepta¬ 
tion, and which, by means of a settled analogy always preserved, is 
transferred from certain and definite objects to express indefinite and 
general ideas. Of all the images peculiar to the parabolic style, it 
most frequently introduces those which are taken from natural objects 
and sacred history : it abounds most in metaphors, allegories, com¬ 
parisons, and even in copious and diffuse descriptions. It possesses 
all that genuine enthusiasm which is the natural attendant on inspira¬ 
tion ; it excels in the brightness of imagination, and in clearness and 
energy of diction, and consequently rises to an uncommon pitch of 
sublimity ; hence also it is often very happy in the expression and de¬ 
lineation of the passions, though more commonly employed in excit¬ 
ing them. 3 

The following passage from one of Balaam’s prophecies (which 
Bishop Lowth ranks among the most exquisite specimens of Hebrew 
poetry), exhibits a prophetic poem complete in all its parts. It abounds 

1 Jobi, antiquissimi carminis Hebraici, Natura atque Virtutes, cap. iii. pp. 40—89 

2 Introductory Dissertation to his version of the book of Job, p. xx. 

3 Bp. Lowth s Lectures on Hebrew Poetry, Lect. xviii., xix. and xx. 





469 


Ch. X.] On the Poetry of the Hebrews . 

in gay and splendid imagery, copied immediately from the tablet of 
nature ; and is chiefly conspicuous for the glowing elegance of the 
style, and the form and diversity of the figures. The translation is 
that of the Rev. Dr. Hales. 1 2 

How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, 

And thy tabernacles, O Israel! 

As streams do they spread forth, 

As gardens by the river side ; 

As sandal-trees which the lord hath planted, 

As cedar-trees beside the waters. 

There shall come forth a man of his seed 
And shall rule over many nations : 

And his kingdom shall be higher than Gog, 

And his kingdom shall be exalted.2 

(God brought him forth out of Egypt, 

He is to him as the strength of a unicorn.) 

He shall devour the nations, his enemies, 

And shall break their bones, 

And pierce them through with his arrowB. 

He lieth down as a lion, 

He coucheth as a lioness, 

Who shall rouse him ! 

Blessed is he that blesseth thee, 

And cursed is he that curseth thee. 

The eighteenth chapter and the three first verses of the nineteenth 
chapter of the Apocalypse present a noble instance of prophetic poesy, 
in no respect inferior to the finest productions of any of the Hebrew 
bards. 3 

2. Elegiac Poetry. — Of this description are several passages in 
the prophetical books, 4 as well as in the book of Job, 5 and many of 
David’s psalms that were composed on occasions of distress and 
mourning : the forty-second psalm in particular is in the highest de¬ 
gree tender and plaintive, and is one of the most beautiful specimens 
of the Hebrew elegy. The lamentation of David over his friend Jo¬ 
nathan (2 Sam. i. 17—27.) is another most beautiful elegy : but the 
most regular and perfect elegiac composition in the Scriptures, per¬ 
haps in the whole world, is the book entitled The Lamentations of 

1 Analysis of Chronology, vol. ii. book i. pp. 224—226. 

2 In the rendering of this quatrain, Dr. Hales has followed the Septuagint ver¬ 
sion, which he vindicates in a long note. In our authorised translation, made from 
the Masoretic text, the seventh verse of Numb. xxiv. stands thus: — 

He shall pour the water out of his buckets, 

And his seed shall be in many waters ; 

And his king shall be higher than Agag, 

And his kingdom shall be exalted. 

This is confessedly obscure. — Dr. Boothroyd, in his New Version of the Old 
Testament, with a slight departure from the common rendering, translates the verse 
in the following manner : 

Water shall flow from the urn of Jacob, 

And his seed shall become as many waters; 

Their king shall be higher than Agag, 

And his kingdom more highly exalted. 

3 The passages above noticed are printed in Greek and English, divided so as to 
exhibit their poetical structure to the greatest advantage, in Dr. Jebb’s Sacred Li¬ 
terature, pp. 452—459. 

4 See Amos v. 1,2. 16.; Jer. ix. 17—22.; Ezek. xxii. xxvii. 12—16. and xxxii. 

5 See Job iii. vi. vii. x. xiv. xvii. xix. xxix. xxx. 



470 On the Poetry of the Hebrews. [Part J 

Jeremiah, of which we have given a particular analysis, infra , Vol. 
IV. Part I. Chap. VI. Sect. II. 

3. Didactic Poetry i v s defined by Bishop Lowth to be that which 
delivers moral precepts in elegant and pointed verses, often illustrated 
by a comparison expressed or implied, similar to the Tvw^ai, or moral 
sentences, and adages, of the antient sages. Of this species of po¬ 
etry the book of Proverbs is the principal instance. To this class 
may also be referred the book of Ecclesiastes. 

4. Of Lyric Poetry , or that which is intended to be accompanied 
with music, the Old Testament abounds with numerous examples. 
Besides a great number of hymns and songs which are dispersed 
through the historical and prophetical books, such as the ode of Mo¬ 
ses at the Red Sea (Exod.xv.), his prophetic ode (Deut. xxxii.), the 
triumphal ode of Deborah (Judg. v.), the prayer of Habakkuk (iii.), 
and many similar pieces, the entire book of Psalms is to be consider¬ 
ed as a collection of sacred odes, possessing every variety of form, 
and supported with the highest spirit of lyric poetry ; — sometimes 
sprightly, cheerful, and triumphant; sometimes solemn and magnifi¬ 
cent ; and sometimes tender, soft, and pathetic. 

5. Of the Idyl , or short pastoral poem, 1 the historical psalms afford 
abundant instances. The seventy-eighth, hundred and fifth, hun¬ 
dred and sixth, hundred and thirty-sixth, and the hundred and thirty- 
ninth psalms, may be adduced as singularly beautiful specimens of the 
sacred idyl: to which may be added Isa. ix. 8. — x. 4. 

6. Of Dramatic Poetry Bishop Lowth, 2 adduces examples in the 
Song of Solomon and the book of Job, understanding the term in a 
more extended sense than that in which it is usually received. Some 
critics, however, are of opinion, that the Song of Solomon is a collec¬ 
tion of sacred idyls : and M. Bauer is disposed to consider the former 
book as approximating nearest to the Mekama, that is, “ the assem¬ 
blies,” moral discourses, or conversations of the celebrated Arabian 
poet Hariri. 3 

In another part of this work, some reasons are offered in confirma¬ 
tion of this conjecture. 

Many of the psalms, (and, according to Bishop Horsley, 4 by far 
the greater part,) are a kind of dramatic ode, consisting of dialogues 
between persons sustaining certain characters. “ In these dialogue- 
psalms, the persons are frequently the psalmist himself, or the chorus 
of priests and Levites, or the leader of the Levitical band, opening 
the ode with a proem declarative of the subject, and very often clos¬ 
ing the whole with a solemn admonition, drawn from what the other 
persons say.” 5 The dramatic or dialogue form, which thus pervades 

1 Bishop Lowth defines an idyl to be a poem of moderate length, of a uniform 
middle style, chiefly distinguished for elegance and sweetness ; regular and clear 
as to the plot, conduct, and arrangement. 

2 Lowth, Prelect, xviii.—xxxiv. 

3 Bauer, Hermeneut. Sacr. p. 386. 

4 Bishop Horsley’s Book of Psalms translated from the Hebrew, Vol. i. Pref. p. 
xv. 

5 See Vol. IV. Part I. Chap. III. Sect. II. $ II. 




471 


Ch. X.] On the Poetry of the Hebrews. 

the book of Psalms, admits of considerable variety. Its leading cha¬ 
racteristic, however, is an alternate succession of parts, adapted to the 
purpose of alternate recitation by two semi-choruses in the Jewish 
worship. Bishop Jebb considers the sublime hymn of Zacharias 
(Luke i. 67—79.) as a dramatic ode of this description ; and, in con¬ 
firmation of his opinion, he remarks that Zacharias must have been 
familiar with this character of composition, both as a pious and lite¬ 
rate Jew, much conversant with the devotional and lyric poetry of his 
country, and also as an officiating priest, accustomed to bear his part 
in the choral service of the temple. Dr. J. has accordingly printed 
that hymn in Greek and English, in the form of a dramatic ode : and 
by this mode of distribution has satisfactorily elucidated its true mean¬ 
ing and grammatical construction in many passages, which have hi¬ 
therto in vain exercised the acumen of critics. 1 

To the preceding species of Hebrew poetry, we may add 

7. The Acrostic or Alphabetical Poems. Bishop Lowth consider¬ 
ed this form of poetry as one of the leading characteristics of the pro¬ 
ductions of the Hebrew muse : but this, we have seen, 2 is not the fact. 
It may rather be viewed as a subordinate species, the form of which 
the bishop thus defines : — The acrostic or alphabetical poem con¬ 
sists of twenty-two lines, or of twenty-two systems of lines, or periods, 
or stanzas, according to the number of the letters of the Hebrew al¬ 
phabet ; and every line, or every stanza, begins with each letter in 
its order, as it stands in the alphabet; that is, the first line, or first 
stanza, begins with ( aleph ), the second with ^ ( beth ), and so on. 
This was certainly intended for the assistance of the memory, and 
was chiefly employed in subjects of common use, as maxims of mo¬ 
rality, and forms of devotion ; which, being expressed in detached 
sentences, or aphorisms, (the form in which the sages of the most an- 
tient times delivered their instructions,) the inconvenience arising from 
the subject, the want of connection in the parts, and of a regular train 
of thought carried through the whole, was remedied by this artificial 
contrivance in the form. There are still extant in the books of the 
Old Testament twelve 3 of these poems ; three of them perfectly al¬ 
phabetical, 4 in which every line is marked by its initial letter; the 
other nine less perfectly alphabetical, in which every stanza only is so 
distinguished. Of the three former it is to be remarked, that not only 
every single line is distinguished by its initial letter; but that the 
whole poem is laid out into stanzas ; two 5 of these poems each into 
ten stanzas, all of two lines, except the two last stanzas in each, 
which are of three lines ; in these the sense and the construction ma¬ 
nifestly point out the division into stanzas, and mark the limit of every 
stanza. The third 6 of these perfectly alphabetical poems consists of 
twenty-two stanzas of three lines : but in this the initial letter of every 
stanza is also the initial letter of every line of that stanza : so that 


1 Sacred Literature, pp. 404—417. 2 See p. 448, 449. supra. 

3 Psal. xxv. xxxiv. xxxvii. cxi. cxii. cxix. cxlv. Prov. xxxi. 10—31. Lam. i. n. 

iii. iv. 

4 Psal. cxi. cxii. Lament, iii. 


5 Psal. cxi. cxii. 


6 Lament, iii. 




472 


On the Poetry of the Hebrews. [Part I. 

both the lines and the stanzas are infallibly limited. And in all the 
three poems the pauses of the sentences coincide with the pauses of 
the lines and stanzas. It is also further to be observed of these three 
poems, that the lines so determined by the initial letters in the same 
poem, are remarkably equal to one another in length, in the number 
of words nearly, and probably in the number of syllables ; and that 
the lines of the same stanza have a remarkable congruity one with 
another, in the matter and the form, in the sense and the construction. 

Of the other nine poems less perfectly alphabetical, in which the 
stanzas only are marked with initial letters, six 1 consist of stanzas of 
two lines, two 2 of stanzas of three lines, and one 3 of stanzas of four 
lines : not taking into the account at present some irregularities, 
which in all probability are to be imputed to the mistakes of tran¬ 
scribers. And these stanzas likewise naturally divide themselves into 
their distinct lines, the sense and the construction plainly pointing out 
their limits : and the lines have the same congruity one with another 
in matter and form, as was above observed in regard to the poems 
more perfectly alphabetical. 

Another thing to be observed of the three poems perfectly alpha¬ 
betical is, that in two 4 of them the lines are shorter than those of the 
third 5 by about one third part, or almost half; and of the other nine 
poems, the stanzas only of which are alphabetical, that three 6 consist 
of the longer lines, and the six others of the shorter. 

VII. We have already had occasion to remark, that the poetry of 
the Hebrews derives its chief excellence from its being dedicated to 
religion. Nothing can be conceived more elevated, more beautiful, 
or more elegant, than the composition of the Hebrew bards ; in 
which the sublimity of the subject is fully equalled by the energy of 
the language and the dignity of the style. Compared with them, the 
most brilliant productions of the Greek and Roman muses, who often 
employed themselves on frivolous or very trifling themes, are infi¬ 
nitely inferior in the scale of excellence. The Hebrew poet, who 
worshipped Jehovah as the sovereign of his people — who believed 
all the laws, whether sacred or civil, which he was bound to obey, to 
be of divine enactment — and who was taught that man was depend¬ 
ent upon God for every thing, — meditated upon nothing but Jeho¬ 
vah ; to Him he devoutly referred all things, and placed his supreme 
delight in celebrating the divine attributes and perfections. If, how¬ 
ever, we would enter fully into the beauties of the sacred poets, there 
are two general observations, which it will be necessary to keep in 
mind whenever we analyse or examine the Songs of Sion. 

1. The first is that we carefully investigate their nature and genius. 

For, as the Hebrew poems, though various in their kinds, are each marked by 
a character peculiar to itself, and by which they are distinguished from each 
other, we shall be enabled to enter more fully into their elegance and beauty, if we 
have a correct view of their form and arrangement. For instance, if we wish 
critically to expound the Psalms, we ought to investigate the nature and proper- 


1 Psal. xxv. xxxiv. cxix. cxlv. Prov. xxxi. Lam. iv. 2 Lam. i. ii. 

5 Psal. xxxvii. 4 Psal. cxi. cxii. 5 Lament, iii. 6 Lam. i. ii. iv. 



473 


Ch. X.] On the Poetry of the Hebrews. 

ties of the Hebrew ode, as well as the form and structure of the Hebrew elegies, 
&c., and ascertain in what respects they differ from the odes, elegies, &c. of the 
Greek poets. In like manner, when studying the Proverbs of Solomon, we should 
recollect that the most antient kind of instruction was by means of moral sen¬ 
tences, in which the first principles of antient philosophy were contained ; and, from 
a comparison of the Hebrew, Greek, and other gnomic sentences, we should in¬ 
vestigate the principal characters of a proverb. In the book of Job are to be ob¬ 
served the unity of action, delineation of manners, the external form and con¬ 
struction of the poem, &C. 1 

2. Further, in interpreting the compositions of the Hebrew bards, 
it ought not to be forgotten, that the objects of our attention are the 
productions of poets , and of oriental poets in particular . 

It is therefore necessary that we should be acquainted with the country in which 
the poet lived, its situation and peculiarities, and also with the manners of the in¬ 
habitants, and the idiom of the language. Oriental poetry abounds with strong 
expressions, bold metaphors, glowing sentiments and animated descriptions, por¬ 
trayed in the most lively colours. Hence the words of the Hebrew poets are nei¬ 
ther to be understood in too lax a sense, nor to be interpreted too literally. In 
the comparisons introduced by them, the point of resemblance between the object 
of comparison, and the thing with which it is compared, should be examined, but 
not strained too far : and the force of the personifications, allegories, or other fi¬ 
gures that may be introduced, should be fully considered. Above all, it should be 
recollected, that, as the sacred poets lived in the East, their ideas and manners 
were totally different from ours, and consequently are not to be considered accord¬ 
ing to our modes of thinking. From inattention to this circumstance the produc¬ 
tions of the Hebrew muse have neither been correctly understood, nor their beau¬ 
ties duly felt and appreciated. 

1 The reader will find some hints for the special study of the Book of Psalms, in 
Vol. IV. Part I. Chap. III. Sect. II. § IX., and also a copious analysis of the Book 
of Job, with observations for the better understanding of it, in Part I. Chap HI, 
Sect. I. 6 IX. X. of the same volume. 



( 474 ) 


[Part L 


CHAPTER XI. 

ON HARMONIES OF SCRIPTURE. 

I. Occasion and Design of Harmonies of the Scriptures. — II. Works 
reconciling alleged or seeming Contradictions in the Sacred Wri¬ 
tings. — ill. Harmonies of the Old Testament. — IV. Harmonies 
of the Four Gospels. — V. 1. Harmonies of particular parts of 
the Gospels. — 2. Harmonies of the Acts of the Apostles and of 
the Apostolical Epistles. —VI. Observations on the different 
Schemes of Harmonisers , and on the Duration of the Public Mi¬ 
nistry of Jesus Christ. 

I. THE several books of the Holy Scriptures, having been written 
at different times and on different occasions, necessarily treat on a 
great variety of subjects, historical, doctrinal, moral, and prophetic. 
The sacred authors also, writing with different designs, have not 
aways related the same events in the same order : some are intro¬ 
duced by anticipation ; and others again are related first which should 
have been placed last. Hence seeming contradictions have arisen, 
which have been eagerly seized by the adversaries of Christianity, in 
order to perplex the minds and shake the faith of those who are not 
able to cope with their sophistries : though, as we have seen in the 
preceding volume of this work, there is no foundation whatever for 
charging real contradictions on the Scriptures. 

The manifest importance and advantage of comparing the sacred 
writers with each other, and of reconciling apparent contradictions, 
have induced many learned men to undertake the compilation of 
works, which, being designed to show the perfect agreement of all 
parts of the sacred writings, are commonly termed Harmonies. A 
multitude of works of this description, has at different times been 
issued from the press; the execution of which has varied according 
to the different designs of their respective authors. They may, how¬ 
ever, be referred to four classes; viz.—Works which have for their 
object the reconciling of apparent contradictions in the Sacred Wri¬ 
tings ;— Harmonies of the Old Testament, which exhibit a combin¬ 
ed account of the various narratives therein contained; — similar 
Harmonies of the New Testament; — and Harmonies of particular 
books. Walchius, Fabricius, and other bibliographers have given 
accounts of very numerous works of this description : it is proposed 
in this chapter to notice only a few of those which are most deserving 
of attention. 

II. Among those harmonies, which have for their object the recon¬ 
ciling of apparent contradictions in the sacred writings generally, the 
following publications are the best known. 

1. Michaelis W altheri Harmonia Biblica; sive brevis et plana 
Conciliatio locorum Yeteris et Novi Testamenti, adparenter sibk 
contradicentium. Noribergse, 1696, folio. 

This work first appeared at Strasburg (Argentorati) in 1C96, and has been re~ 
pa&tedly printed in Germany: the edition of 1696 is reputea La be me best andi 

I 


On Harmonies of Scripture. 


475 


Ch. XI.] 


most correct. Walther’s Harmonia Biblica is a work of considerable learning 
and industry, which illustrates many difficult passages with great ability. He has, 
however, unnecessarily augmented the number of seemingly contradictory pas¬ 
sages ; a defect which is common to most of the writers of this class. 

2. Christiani Matthise Antilogise Biblicae ; sive Conciliationes Dic- 
torum Scripturse Sacrce, in speciem inter se pugnantium, secundum 
seriem locorum theologicorum in ordinem redactse. Hamburgi, 
1500, 4to. 

Symphonia Prophetarum et Apostolorum ; in qua, ordine chro- 
nologico Loci Sacree Scripture specie tenus contradicentes, concili- 
antur, ut et ad qusestiones difficiliores chronologicas ct alias Yeteris 
Testamenti respondetur ; in duas partes divisa. Auctore D. M. Jo- 
hanne Scharpio, Scoto-Britanno, Andreapolitano, pastore. Gene¬ 
va, 1525, 4to. 

4. The Reconciler of the Bible enlarged, wherein above three 
thousand seeming Contradictions throughout the Old and New Tes¬ 
tament are fully and plainly reconciled. By Thomas Man, London, 
1662, folio. 

5. Johannis Thaddaei Conciliatorium Biblicum. Amstelodami, 
1648, 12mo. Londini, 1662, folio. 

The last is reputed to be the best edition, and professes to be considerably en¬ 
larged. This work follows the order of the several books of the Old and New 
Testament. The remark above made, on Walther’s Officina Biblica , is equally 
applicable to Mr. Man’s work, to the Conciliatorium Biblicum of Thaddseus, and 
also to 

6. The Dividing of the Ilooff: or Seeming Contradictions through¬ 
out the Sacred Scriptures, distinguish’d, resolv’d, and apply’d, for 
the strengthening of the faith of the feeble, doubtfull, and weake, in 
wavering times. Also to bring the soule (by prayer and spirituall 
application) into more familiar acquaintance with the Lord Jesus, 
the onely David’s-Key, to unlock the cabinet of Jacob’s God, to 
fetch out that secret, why he should lay his hands thus crosse when 
be gave his children this blessing. Helpfull to every houshold of 
faith. By William Streat, M. A. London, 1654. 4to. 

This work is occasionally found in booksellers’ catalogues, where it is marked 
as both rare and curious. It is noticed here merely to put the student on his guard 
not to purchase it. The critical information it contains is very meagre ; and the 
quaint title-page, which we have copied, sufficiently indicates the enthusiastic 
spirit of the author. 

7. Joannis Pontasii Sacra Scriptura ubique sibi constans ; seu 
Difficiliores Sacrae Scripturse Loci, in Speciem secum pugnantes, 
juxta sanctorum ecclesiae sanctae patrum celeberrimorumque theolo- 
gorum sententiam conciliati. Paris, 1698, 4to. 

M. Pontas was distinguished for his knowledge of casuistical theology. His de¬ 
sign in this publication was to have reconciled all the seeming contradictions of 
the Scriptures, but he proceeded no further than through the Pentateuch. It is a 
work of considerable learning and research. 

8. The Harmony of Scripture ; or an attempt to reconcile various 
passages apparently contradictory. By the late Rev. Andrew Fuller, 
8vo. London, 1817. 

This posthumous tract contains fifty-five judicious observations on so many ap¬ 
parently contradictory texts of Scripture. They were originally written for the 
satisfaction of a private individual. 

HI. The following works are more particularly worthy of notice 
among the various Harmonies, which have for their object the elu¬ 
cidation of the Old Testament by disposing the historical, poetical 


476 On Harmonies of Scripture. [Part I. 

and prophetical books, in chronological order, so that they may mu¬ 
tually explain and authenticate one another. 1 

1. A Chronicle of the Times and the Order of the Texts of the 
Old Testament, wherein the books, chapters, psalms, stories, pro¬ 
phecies, &c., are reduced into their proper order, and taken up in 
the proper places, in which the natural method and genuine series 
of the chronology requireth them to be taken in. With reason given 
of dislocations, where they come. And many remarkable notes and 
observations given, all along for the better understanding of the 
text ; the difficulties of the chronicle declared ; the differences oc¬ 
curring in the relating of stories reconciled ; and exceeding many 
scruples and obscurities in the Old Testament explained. 

This ‘ Chronicle’ is to be found in the first volume of Dr. Lightfoot’s works, 
published at London, in 1684, in two volumes folio, and in the second volume of 
the octavo London edition, printed in 1822—23. Of all the theologians of his 
time, this celebrated divine (whose opinion was consulted by every scholar of note, 
both British and foreign,) is supposed to have been the most deeply versed in the 
knowledge of the Scriptures. “ It was his custom for many years, to note down, 
as opportunity presented, in the course of his talmudical and rabbinical studies, 
the order and time of the several passages of Scripture, as they came under his 
consideration.” By pursuing this method he gradually formed the invaluable 
chronicle, the title of which has just been given. In what year it was first pub¬ 
lished, we have not been able to ascertain, but it probably was not before the year 
1646 or 1647, as it is not mentioned by Mr. Torshel, in the publication which is 
noticed below. In this work, Dr. Lightfoot has briefly stated the summary or 
substance of the historical parts of the Old Testament, and has indicated the 
order in which the several chapters, psalms, and prophecies are to be placed. In 
the margin he has given the years of the world, and of the judges or sovereigns 
under whose administration the several events took place. Notwithstanding the 
differences in opinion entertained by the learned concerning the chronology of 
particular events, the general method of this ‘ Chronicle’ has been, and still con¬ 
tinues to be, held in the highest estimation by all who are competent duly to ap¬ 
preciate its merits. 

About or soon after the appearance of Dr. Lightfoot’s Chronicle, 
Mr. Samuel Torshel, another learned Englishman, published at Lon¬ 
don, in 1647, a quarto tract entitled 

2. A Designe about disposing the Bible into an Harmony. Or, 
an Essay concerning the transposing the order of books and chap¬ 
ters of the Holy Scriptures, for the reducing of all into a continued 
history. 

{ Benefits. 

The < Difficultie. 

( Helpes. 

It appears from the preface that Mr. Torshel was preceptor of the children of 
King Charles I. under the Earl of Northumberland; and his tract was addressed 
‘ To the Right Honourable the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament,’ 
whom he endeavoured to excite to patronise the undertaking, by the consideration 
of the glory which had redounded to France by the then recent publication of the 
Parisian Polyglott,, in ten folio volumes. The state, however, paid no regard to 
this address, and the design which Torshel had ably sketched, was never accom¬ 
plished. He proposed “ to lay the whole story together in a continued connection, 
the books, or parts of books, and all the several! parcels disposed and placed in 
their proper order, as the continuance and chronicall method of the Scripture- 


^ Walchius has described a great number of works reconciling the seeming dis¬ 
crepancies in the sacred writers, as well as Harmonies of the Old Testament by 
eminent critics of former times. But as our design is to notice only those which 
are accessible to biblical students, the reader, who is desirous of seeing an account 
of their labours, is referred to his Bibliotheca Theologica Selecta, vol. iv. pp. 854 



477 


Ch. XI.] On Harmonies of Scripture. 

history requires ; so that no sentence nor word in the whole Bible be omitted , nor 
4n^ thing repeated , or any word inserted but what is necessary for transition . So 
as some whole chapters or pieces be put into other places, yea, great parts of some 
books, and some whole books, to be woven into the body of another book.” (Tor- 
shel s Designe, p. 10.) In the prosecution of this undertaking, besides reducing 
all the historical books of the Old r restament to a continued Series, the book of 
Psalms, and the sermons of the Prophets were to be inserted in their proper 
places, and the writings of Solomon incorporated according to those periods of 
his reign when they are supposed to have been written; and those parts of the 
book of Proverbs, ‘ which the men of Hezekiah copied out,’ were to be disposed 
in the body of the books of Chronicles, towards the end of the reign of Hezekiah, 
King of Judah. In harmonising the Gospels, Mr. Torshel proposed to follow the 
plan then recently adopted in the Latin Harmony, commenced by Chemnitz, con¬ 
tinued by Lyser, and finished by Gerhard ; and the apostolic epistles were to be 
distributed in the Acts of the Apostles, according to the order of time when they 
were written. The writings of Saint John were to close the proposed undertak¬ 
ing. The perusal of this modest and well written tract, several years since, sug¬ 
gested to the writer of these pages the idea of attempting a harmony of the entire 
Bible, on the completion of the present work. This laborious undertaking, how¬ 
ever, has happily been rendered unnecessary by the publication of 

3. The Old Testament, arranged in historical and chronological 
order, (on the basis of Lightfoot’s Chronicle,) in such manner, 
that the books, chapters, psalms, prophecies, &c. may be read as 
one connected history, in the very words of the authorised transla¬ 
tion. By the Rev. George Townsend, M. A. London, 1821. In 
two very large volumes, 8vo. 

This beautifully printed and carefully executed work (as its title page an¬ 
nounces,) is arranged on the basis of Dr. Lightfoot’s Chronicle, above noticed : 
from which, however, Mr. Townsend has deviated for the better in one very ma¬ 
terial respect. According to Lightfoot’s plan, the Old Testament would have 
been read as one unbroken history, without any division into chapters, or any of 
those breaks, the omission of which causes not a little weariness to the reader. 
In order to obviate this difficulty, and also with the view of making the Scripture 
narrative more attractive, as well as more easily remembered, Mr. T. has divided 
his harmony into eight suitable periods, viz. I. From the creation to the deluge; 
— 2. From the confusion of tongues, to the death of Jacob and the Patriarchs ; — 
3. From the birth to the death of Moses ; — 4. From the entrance of the Israel¬ 
ites into Canaan under the command of Joshua, to the death of David ; — 5. Tim 
reign of Solomon ; — G. From the elevation of Rehoboam to the Babylonish Cap¬ 
tivity ; — 7. The Babylonish Captivity, seventy years, from b. c. 606 to 536 ; — 
8. From the termination of the Babylonish captivity to the Reformation of worship 
by Nehemiah, and the completion of the canon of the Old Testament, by Simon 
the Just, from b. c. 536 to about 300. These eight periods are further subdivided 
into chapters and sections, the length of which is necessarily regulated by the sub¬ 
jects therein discussed : and in settling the chronology and order of some par¬ 
ticular events and prophecies, the arranger has availed himself of the labours of the 
most eminent modern biblical critics. A well written introduction developes his 
plan and design, and points out its advantages to various classes of readers, especially 
to clergymen, and those who are preparing for the sacred office, to whom this work 
is indispensably necessary. The work is terminated by six Indexes ; — the first , 
containing an account of the periods, chapters, and sections into which the work 
is divided, with the passages of Scripture comprised in each ; — the second , in 
columns, enabling the reader to discover in what part of the arrangement, any 
chapter or verse of the Bible may be found ; — the third and fourth contain tables 
of the Psalms and Prophecies, showing in what part of the arrangement, and 
after what passage of Scripture, every psalm or prophecy is inserted ; and like¬ 
wise on what occasion, and at what period they were probably written, with the 
authority for their place in the arrangement; — the fifth, containing the dates of 
the events according to Dr. Hales’s elaborate System of Chronology ; and the 
sixth , a general index to the notes, which, though not numerous, are very appro¬ 
priate, and possess the rare merit of compressing a great variety of valuable 
information into a small compass. The Rev. Mr. Archdeacon Nares has justly 
characterised this work, as being u digested with such skill, and illustrated with 
such notes, as prove the author to have studied his task with deep attention and 


478 


On Harmonies of Scripture . [Part I 

distinguished judgment.” (Visitation Sermon, p. 24. London, 1823.) — Mr 
Townsend is about to render biblical students a further service by publishing a 
new and improved harmony of the entire New Testament, in which the four gos¬ 
pels will be harmonised by themselves, and the Apostolical Epistles will be inter¬ 
woven with the book of the Acts of the Apostles, in the order of time when 
they were respectively written. 

IV. We now come to those works which profess to harmonise the 
memoirs or narratives concerning Jesus Christ, written by the four 
evangelists ; which (as we have already observed) having been writ¬ 
ten with different designs, and for the use of particular classes of 
Christians, various contradictions have been supposed to exist between 
them : although, when brought to the test of sober examination, their 
agreement becomes as clear as the noon-day sun. The importance 
and advantage of collating these relations with each other, and ob¬ 
taining the clear amount of their various narratives, has, from a very 
early period, suggested the plan of digesting the Gospels into Har¬ 
monies , exhibiting completely their parallelisms and differences, or 
into a connected history, termed respectively a Monotessaron, or Di- 
atessaron : in which the four accounts are blended into one, contain¬ 
ing the substance of them all. Works of this description are ex¬ 
tremely numerous. Mr. Pilkington has enumerated one hundred 
and four, which had come to his knowledge in 1747 j 1 and Walchius 
has given a select list of one hundred and thirty, which had been pub¬ 
lished prior to the year 1765. 2 The indefatigable bibliographer Fa- 
bricius, and his editor, professor Harles, have given a list of those 
which were known to be extant, to the year 1795, which amounts to 
one hundred and seventy-two, but it is by no means complete. 3 Our 
notice must necessarily be confined to a few of the principal compos¬ 
ers of harmonies. 4 

1. Tatian, who wrote about the middle of the second century, 
composed a digest of the evangelical history, which was called to <5ra 
that is, the Gospel of the four , or Movorstftfa^ov, Monotessa¬ 
ron , that is, one narrative composed out of the four. Tatian is the 
most antient harmonist on record : for, if Theophilus bishop of Anti¬ 
och had before written on that subject (as Jerome insinuates,) his 
work is long since lost. In the beginning of the third century, Am- 
monius, an Alexandrian, composed a harmony which was also called 
to 5ta 'Tsrfiictguv, or the Gospel of the four, of the execution of which 
Eusebius speaks with approbation. The works of Tatian and Am- 
monius have long ago perished; but attempts have been made to ob¬ 
trude spurious compilations upon the world for them in both instan¬ 
ces. Victor, who was bishop of Capua, in the sixth century, gave a 
Latin version of a harmony, which was published by Michael Memler 
at Mayence, in 1524, as a translation of Ammonias’s Harmony , in 
consequence of Victor being undetermined to which of those writers 
i t was to be ascribed, though he was disposed to refer it to Tatian. 

1 Pilkington’s Evangelical History and Harmony, Preface, pp. xviii.—xx. 

2 Walchii Bibliotheca Selecta, vol. iv. pp. 863—900. 

3 Bibliotheca Grseca, vol. iv. pp. 882—889. 

* The notices of Harmonies in the following pages are chiefly derived from the 
three works just cited, and from Michaelis’s Introduction to the New Testament, 
vol. iii. part i. pp. 31—36. and part ii. pp. 29—49. 



479 


CIi. XI.J On Harmonies of Scripture. 

And Ottomar Luscinius published one at Augsburg in 1524, which 
he called that of Ammomus, though others have ascribed it to Tatian. 
It is not a harmony in the strict sense of the term, but a mere sum¬ 
mary of the lile of Christ delivered in the author’s own words. 

2. The diligent ecclesiastical historian Eusebius, who wrote in 
the former part of the fourth century, composed a very celebrated 
harmony of the Gospels ) in which he divided the evangelical history 
into ten canons or tables, which are prefixed to many editions and 
versions of the New Testament, particularly to Dr. Mill’s critical edi¬ 
tion of it. In the first canon lie has arranged, according to the an- 
tient chapters (which are commonly called the Ammonian Sections, 
from Ammonius, who made these divisions), those parts of the history 
of Christ, which are related by all four evangelists. In the rest he 
has disposed the portions of history related by, 

2. Matthew, Mark, and Luke 

3. Matthew, Luke, and John. 

4. Matthew, Mark, and John. 

5. Matthew and Luke. 

6. Matthew and Mark. 

7. Matthew and John. 

8. Luke and Mark. 

9. Luke and John. 

10. Only one of the four evangelists. 

Though these Eusebian canons are usually considered as a har¬ 
mony, yet it is evident, from a bare inspection of them, that they are 
simply indexes to the four Gospels, and by no means form a harmony 
of the nature of those which have been written in modern times, and 
which are designed to bring the several facts recorded by the evan¬ 
gelists into chronological order, and to reconcile contradictions. On 
this account, Walchius does not allow them a place in his bibliogra¬ 
phical catalogue of harmonies. 

3. About the year 330, Juvencus, a Spaniard, wrote the evange¬ 
lical history in heroic verse. His method is said to be confused, and 
his verse is not of a description to ensure him that immortality which 
he promised himself. His work has fallen into oblivion. 

4. The four books of Augustine, bishop of Hippo, in Africa, de 
Consensu Quatuor Evangeliorum , are too valuable to be omitted. 
They were written about the year 400, and are honourable to his in¬ 
dustry and learning. Augustine wrote this work, with the express 
design of vindicating the truth and authority of the Gospels from the 
cavils of objectors. 

From the middle ages until the close of the fifteenth century, vari¬ 
ous harmonies were compiled by Peter Comestor, Guido de Perpi- 
niano, Simon de Cassia, Ludolphus the Saxon (a German Carthu¬ 
sian monk, whose work was held in such high estimation that it pass¬ 
ed through not fewer than thirty editions, besides being translated 
into French and Italian), Jean Charlier de Gerson, chancellor of the 
university of Paris, Peter Lombard, Thomas Aquinas, and many 
others. But, as their harmonies are of comparatively little value, 


480 


On Harmonies of Scripture . [Part l 

we proceed briefly to notice those which have appeared in modern 
times , that is, since the Reformation, and the discovery of the art of 
printing. 

1. Andre® Osiandri Harmoni* Evangelic* Libri Quatuor, Graece 
et Latine. In quibus Evangelica Historia ex quatuor Evangelistis 
ita in unum est contexta, ut nullius verbum ullum omissum, nihil 
alienum immixtum, nullius ordo turbatus, nihil non suo loco positum : 
Omnia vero litteris et notis ita distincta sint, ut quid cujusque evan¬ 
gelist* proprium, quid cum aliis et cum quibus commune sit, primo 
statim adspectu deprehendere queas: item Elenchus Harmoni*. 
Adnotationum liber unus. Basile*, 1537, folio ; Gr*ce et Latine, 
Basile*, 1567, folio ; Latine, Luteti* Parisiorum ex Officina Roberti 
Stephani, 1545, 12mo. 

Osiander’s Harmony is not of very frequent occurrence. It is highly estimated 
by Walchius, though Michaelis rather harshly observes, that he undesignedly ren¬ 
ders the gospel history not only suspicious, but incredible, by adopting the princi¬ 
ple that the evangelists constantly wrote in chronological order, and that the 
same transactions and discourses took place twice or thrice in the life of Christ. 
He acknowledges, however, that Osiander did not go so far as his successors, and 
that he sometimes deviates from his general principle. 

2. Cornelii Jansenii, Gandavensis, Concordia Evangelica, in qua, 
pr*terquam quod suo loco ponitur, qu® evangelist® non servato re- 
censent ordine, etiam nullius verbum aliquod omittitur. Litteris au- 
tem omnia sic distinguuntur, ut quid cujusque proprium, quid cum 
aliis et cum quibus commune, etiam ad singulas dictiones mox de- 
prehendatur. Lovanii, 1549, 8vo. Antverpi®, 1558. 12mo. 

Jansenius partially followed Osiander. He subsequently wrote a Commentary 
on his Harmony, which was published together with it at Louvain, in 1571. The 
number of editions through which this work passed ( thirteen others are enume¬ 
rated by Walchius, between the years 1577 and 1G24) sufficiently attests the fa¬ 
vourable opinion entertained of its value. Walchius extols Jansenius’s learning, 
ingenuity, and modesty. 

3. Martini Chemnitii Harmonia Quatuor Evangeliorum, quam ab 
eodem feliciter inchoatam Polycarpus Lyserus et Joannes Gerhardus, 
is quidem continuavit, hie perfecit. Hamburgi, 1704, folio. 

The best edition of a most valuable Harmony. Chemnitz compiled only the 
two first books, and part of a third, which were published after his death at Frank¬ 
fort, in 1593, by Polycarp Lyser ; who wrote the remainder of the third book, and 
added the fourth and part of the fifth book. These were published at different 
times at Leipsic and Frankfort between the years 1604 and 1611 ; and on Lyser’g 
death Gerhard completed the undertaking, with learning and industry not inferior 
to those of his predecessors. The entire work, with the several continuations, 
was first published at Geneva, in 1628. This elaborate work is not only a har¬ 
mony but a learned commentary on the four Gospels. 

4. The Harmony, Chronicle and Order of the New Testament. 
The text of the four Evangelists methodised. Story of the Acts of 
the Apostles analyzed. Order of the Epistles manifested. Times 
of the Revelation observed, and illustrated with variety of observa¬ 
tions upon the chiefest difficulties Textual and Talmudical, for clear¬ 
ing of their sense and language. By John Lightfoot, D. D. London, 
1654, folio. Also in the first volume of his works, London, 1682, folio. 

In this valuable work Dr. Lightfoot has pursued the same method which he had 
adopted in his Chronicle of the Old Testament. He further published, at London, 
in 1644 and 1650, three parts of The Harmony of the Four Evangelists , among 
themselves, and with the Old Testament. The fourth and fifth parts, which were 
to have completed his design, never appeared. This harmony is enriched with 
numerous philological and explanatory remarks, of which many subsequent critics 
and harmonists have availed themselves. 


481 


Ch. XL] On Harmonies of Scripture . 

5. The Harmony of the Four Evangelists, and their text metho¬ 
dised, according to the order and series of times in which the seve¬ 
ral things by them mentioned were transacted. By Samuel Cradock, 
B. D. London, 1668, folio, and again in 1684 and 1685. 

This work was revised by the learned Dr. Tillotson (afterwards Archbishop of 
Canterbury,)! by whom it was preserved from destruction during the memorable 
fire of London, in 1GG6. In the seventeenth century it was deservedly held in the 
highest estimation; though it is now superseded by later and more critical 
works. Mr. Cradock has drawn up the Gospel history, in an explanatory para¬ 
phrase, in English, which is followed by the text of the evangelists. In the mar¬ 
gin he has given short but useful notes in Latin, which are very judiciously ex¬ 
tracted from Grotius, Drs. Lightfoot and Hammond, and other critics. The book 
is by no means dear ; which to students (who may not be able to procure recent 
and more expensive harmonies) is a great advantage. This harmonist did not 
adopt the principle of Osiander. 

6. Bernardi Lamy Historia, sive Concordia Evangelistarum. Pa- 
risiis, 1689, 12mo.— Commentarius in Harmoriiam sive Concordiam 
Quatuor Evangelistarum. Parisiis, 1699. 4to. in two volumes. 

Lamy’s Commentary is held in much higher estimation than his Harmony. It 
is justly characterised by Michaelis as a learned work. The chronological and 
geographical apparatus is peculiarly valuable. 

7. Joannis Clerici Harmonia Evangelica, cui subjecta est historia 
Christi ex quatuor evangeliis concinnata. Accesserunt tres Disser- 
tationes, de annis Christi, deque concordia et auctoritate evangelio- 
rum. Amstelodami, 1699. folio. 

All critics unite in commendation of Le Clerc’s Harmony. He has arranged 
the history of the four evangelists, according to chronological order, in columns 
parallel to each other, in Greek and Latin ; and under the text he has given a 
Latin paraphrase, the design of which is to remove apparent contradictions. Le 
Clerc promised to publish Annotations on his Harmony, which have never ap¬ 
peared. A Latin edition of it was printed at Altorf in 1700, in 4to.; and an En¬ 
glish translation of it, is said by Walchius, to have been published at London in the 
same year, also in 4to. 

8. Nicolai Toinardi Harmonia Grseco-Latina, Parisiis, 1707, folio. 

M. Toinard drew up this Harmony for his own private use, of which only five 
or six copies were taken for the use of his friends. After his decease they pub 
lished it (as he had desired they would), at the time and place above mentioned. 
It has long been held in the highest estimation, for the care and diligence which 
its author bestowed, in ordejr to settle the several circumstances mentioned bv the 
different evangelists. Bishop Marsh pronounces it to be of particular use to those 
who wish to examine the verbal agreement of the evangelists ; as M. Toinard has 
not only placed in adjacent columns the parallel passages, but has also parallelised 
even single words. 

9. Jo. Reinhardi Rus, Harmonia Evangelistarum, ita adornata, 
ut, investigate sedulo textus cohserentia, nullus versus, sive trajiciatur, 
sive praetereatur sine brevi ac succincta explicatione, quo justi com¬ 
mentary loco esse queat. Jenae, 1727—1730. 4 vols. 12mo. 

Walchius pronounces this to be an elaborate and learned work. This harmonist 
follows the plan of those who vindicate the chronological order of the history re¬ 
lated by each evangelist. The text of the sacred writers is also explained in the 
copious notes of M. Rus. — Walchii Bibliotheca, vol. iv. p. 881. 

10. In the year 1739 and 1740, Dr. Doddridge published the two 
first volumes of his Family Expositor, of which an account will be 
found in the Appendix to this volume. They are noticed here, be¬ 
cause they contain a harmony of the four Gospels, which is acknow¬ 
ledged to be executed with great judgment, independently of the very 
valuable exposition, and notes that accompany it. 


1 Chalmers’s Biographical Dictionary, vol. x. p. 447. 

61 


VOL. II. 





482 On Harmonies of Scripture. [Part L 

11. The Evangelical History and Harmony. By Matthew Pilking- 
ton, LL. B. London,' 1747. folio. 

This harmonist professes not to adhere to any of the schemes laid down by his 
predecessors for arranging the evangelical history. It is not disposed in columns, 
like the works of Le Clerc, Toinard, and others ; but the text is exhibited in such 
a manner as to relate the various discourses and facts recorded by the sacred wri¬ 
ters in their identical words, and in the fullest manner possible, yet so as to avoid 
tautology. The history is divided into chapters, and these are subdivided into sec¬ 
tions of moderate length. Two Chronological Dissertations are prefixed : 1. On 
the time of Herod’s death, of the birth of Jesus Christ, the duration of his minis¬ 
try, and the year of his crucifixion, &c. &c. 2. On the time and place of the 
adoration of the wise men. Notes are subjoined for the elucidation of particular 
passages. The work is executed with great care, and may frequently be pur¬ 
chased at a low price. 

12. The Harmony of the Four Gospels; in which the natural or¬ 
der of each is preserved, with a paraphrase and notes. By J. Mac- 
knight, D. D. 4to. 2 vols. 1756 ; 2d edit. 1763 ; 3d edit. 8vo. 2 vols. 
Edinburgh, 1804. 

Dr. Macknight closely adheres to the principle of Osiander ; but his paraphrase 
and commentary contain so much useful information, that his Harmony has long 
been regarded as a standard book among divines; it is in the lists of Bishops Wat¬ 
son and Tomline. The preliminary disquisitions greatly enhance its value. Dr. 
Macknight’s work was translated into Latin by Professor Ruckersfelder, and pub¬ 
lished in 3 vols. 8vo. at Bremen and Deventer, 1772. Bishop Marsh says, that 
whoever makes use of this harmony should compare with it Dr. Lardner’s obser¬ 
vations on it, which were first published in 1764, and are reprinted in the eleventh 
volume of the octavo edition, and in the fifth volume of the quarto edition of his works. 

13. An Harmony of the Gospels, in which the original text is dis¬ 
posed after Le Clerc’s general manner, with such various readings 
at the foot of the page as have received Wetstein’s sanction in his 
folio edition of the Greek Testament. Observations are subjoined 
tending to settle the time and place of every transaction, to establish 
the series of facts, and to reconcile seeming inconsistencies. By 
William Newcome, D. D. Bishop of Ossory, (afterwards Archbishop 
of Armagh,) London, 1778. folio. 

Archbishop Newcome’s Harmony contains all that its title-page professes, and 
is consequently held in the highest estimation. This circumstance induced an 
anonymous editor to render to the English reader the same service which the 
learned prelate had conferred on Biblical Scholars, by publishing An English Har¬ 
mony of the Four Evangelists, generally disposed after the manner of the Greek 
of William JYewcome, Archbishop of Armagh ; with a map of Palestine , divided 
according to the twelve tribes ; explanatory notes , and indexes. London, 1802, 
8vo. “ The form in which this work is printed, is extremely convenient; so much 
so, that they who can use the Greek, may be glad occasionally to consult the En¬ 
glish octavo rather than the unwieldly folio of the Archbishop.” (British Critic, 
(old series,) vol. xxii. p. 437.) The notes, though brief, are judiciously selected ; 
and the authorised English translation is used throughout. 

14. A Harmony of the Evangelists in Greek ; to which are pre¬ 
fixed Critical Dissertations in English. By Joseph Priestley, LL. D. 
London, 1778. 4to. 

15. A Harmony of the Evangelists in English ; with Critical Dis¬ 
sertations, an occasional Paraphrase, and notes for the use of the 
unlearned. By Joseph Priestley, LL. D. London, 1780. 4to. 

The same method of arrangement is followed in both these Harmonies. Dr. 
Priestley adopted the opinion of some antient writers (which is noticed in a subse¬ 
quent page.) that the ministry of Jesus Christ lasted only one year, or a year 
and a few months. For an account of these two publications see the Monthly Re¬ 
view (old series), vol. lviii. pp. 89—94., and vol. lxiv. pp. 81—90. 161—173. 

16. Diatessaron, sive integra I4istoria Domini nostri Jesu Christi, 
Graece. Ex quatuor Evangeliis inter se collatis, ipsisque Evange 


483 


Ch. XI.] On Harmonies of Scripture. 

% 

listarum verbis apte et ordinate dispositis confecta. Subjungitur 
Evangeliorum brevis Harmonia. Edidit J. White, S. T. P. Ling. 
Arab. Prof. Yersionis Syriaca? Philoxenianae Nov. Test. Interpres. 
Oxonii, e Typographeo Clarendoniano. 1799. small 8vo. 

A Diatessaron is the result and summary of a Harmony. In the latter the 
whole text of the four evangelists is given, only so arranged in columns that their 
parallelisms and differences may be exactly seen ; whereas, in a diatessaron, 
one continued narrative is selected from the four, avoiding all repetitions of the 
aame or similar words. Professor White founded his beautifully and correctly 
printed volume on the excellent Harmony of Archbishop Newcome, except in the 
part relating to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, in which he has followed the 
arrangement of facts proposed by Mr. West and Dr. Townson, in their works on 
this subject, which are noticed in p. 484. infra. The time and place in which each 
event happened, are judiciously noticed in the margins ; a map of Palestine is 
prefixed; and a very useful, though concise, Evangeliorum Harmonia, which is 
added at the end, connects the whole with peculiar clearness. In 1802, Dr. White’s 
work was translated into Latin by the Rev. T. Thirlwall, who retained the chief part 
of the professor’s title, and adopted principally the Latin version of Castellio ; al¬ 
though, where the editor regarded his phrases as forced and affected (as they 
sometimes are), he has had recourse to the versions of Beza, Tremellius, and the 
Vulgate. This publication may be of use to those, who, in reading the Greek, 
are occasionally induced to consult a translation ; Mr. Thirlwall also published, in 
1803, an English Diatessaron , or History of our Lord Jesus Christ, compiled 
from the four Gospels according to the authorised Version. 8vo. and 12mo. Some 
brief notes, and a concise but useful introc|,uction are annexed, together with a 
map of Palestine. 

17. Diatessaron; or the Gospel History, from the Text of the 
fbur Evangelists, in a connected Series. With Notes critical and ex¬ 
planatory, by Robert Thompson. Edinburgh and London, 1808. Svo. 

18. The United Gospel; or Ministry of our Lord and Saviour Je¬ 
sus Christ, combined from the Narrations of the Four Evangelists. 
By R. and M. Willan. London, 180(3. 8vo. 

This is the third edition of a very useful Diatessaron , for such the work in ef¬ 
fect is. The first impression appeared in 1782, and the second in 1786, under the 
name of the late eminent physician Dr. Robert Willan. It professes to exhibit the 
events of the Gospel history in a connected chain or order of succession; and, by 
combining the accounts of ea,ch evangelist, to relate in their own words every in¬ 
cident, with all its circumstances, at full length. The notes, which accompany 
the work, are judiciously selected ; they relate chiefly to the manners, customs, 
opinions, and expressions, proverbial or allegorical, among the eastern nations, 
with which the generality of readers cannot be familiarly acquainted. 

19. A synopsis of the Four Evangelists ; or a regular history of 
the conception, birth, doctrine, miracles, death, resurrection, and 
ascension of Jesus Christ, in the words of the Evangelists. By- 
Charles Thomson, 8vo. Philadelphia, 1815. 

The venerable author of this Harmony, whose translation of the Old Testament 
is noticed in a subsequent page of this volume, considering the Gospels as me¬ 
moirs of remarkable things said and done by Jesus Christ, has here arranged them 
according to the dates, places, and circumstances, which he found expressly men¬ 
tioned in the several Gospels. Pie has employed a literal translation of the very 
words of the evangelists, without any omission or addition, excepting that he has 
inserted explanations of peculiar phrases and technical terms between brackets 
[ ]. It is very respectably executed ; and at the end there are fifty pages of 
notes, chiefly explanatory of the manners and customs of the Jews. 

20. An Harmony of the Four Gospels; or a series of the Narra¬ 
tives of the Evangelists, so collected and disposed as to bring the 
whole into one regular relation ; having the references brought un¬ 
der the verses, witli many historical and doctrinal notes, selected 
from various authors. By r John Chambers. London, 1813. 8vo. 

21. A Chronological History of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 
from the compounded texts of the Four Holy Evangelists; or the 


484 


On Harmonies of Scripture. [Part I. 

English Diatessaron ; with a map of the Holy Land, explanatory 
notes, and illustrations from late oriental travellers and rabbinical wri¬ 
ters, &c. &c. By the Rev. R. Warner, Bath and London, 1819. 8vo. 

V. Besides the above harmonies of the four Gospels, there have 
been published harmonies of particular parts of them, and also 
harmonies of the Acts of the Apostles and of the Apostolic Epistles, 
which throw considerable light upon those portions of the sacred 
writings. Of the former class the works of Mr. West, the Rev. 
Dr. Townson, and Mr. Cranfield ; and of the latter, those of Mi*. 
Cradock, Dr. Benson, Mr. Bevan, and the Rev. P. Roberts, are 
particularly worthy of notice. 

(1.) Harmonies of particular parts of the four Gospels. 

1. Observations on the History of the Evidences of the Resurrec¬ 
tion of Jesus Christ. By Gilbert West, Esq. London, 1747. 8vo. 

The multiplied editions of this most valuable treatise, which places the history 
of the resurrection on impregnable ground, sufficiently attest its value, and the 
high estimation in which it is deservedly held. Mr. West had for a time listened 
to the blandishments of infidelity ; and the treatise in question was written in con¬ 
sequence of the inquiries which he conscientiously instituted into the evidences 
of Christianity, of which he lived and died a bright ornament. His work is no¬ 
ticed here, on account of the luminous and satisfactory manner in which he has 
harmonised the several accounts of the evangelical history of the resurrection. 

2. A Discourse on the Evangelical History, from the Interment to 
the Ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. By the late 
Rev. Thomas Townson, D. D. Archdeacon of Richmond. Oxford 
and London, 1793. 8vo. 

In this very judicious work (which was edited, after the learned author’s de¬ 
cease, by Dr. John Loveday), the harmony of the four evangelical accounts of the 
resurrection is exhibited in four parallel columns, with a collateral paraphrase, the 
order of which is illustrated and confirmed by various observations. Dr. Town- 
son professes to tread nearly in the footsteps of Mr. West, whose reasonings he 
enforces by new considerations; and he has illustrated his accounts by a new ar¬ 
rangement, and by the introduction of some explanatory particulars. He “ accu¬ 
rately discriminates the respective particulars of the three days of our Saviour’s 
crucifixion and resurrection, minutely considers every circumstance in the different 
relations, reconciles apparent inconsistencies, accounts for particular omissions, 
and furnishes a clear and consistent history, confirmed by considerations and repre¬ 
sentations, in which much learning is displayed, without any parade.” (British 
Critic, O. S., vol. i. p. 73.) These 1 Observations,’ of Dr. Townson are also ex¬ 
tant in the second volume of the collective edition of his works, published at 
London, in 1810, in two volumes, 8vo. 

3. An Harmony of the Gospels, from the Resurrection to the As¬ 
cension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; in which the English 
Narrations of the Four Evangelists are orderly exhibited in appro¬ 
priate columns. Observations are subjoined tending to investigate 
the true evangelical sense, reconcile seeming discrepancies, and de¬ 
fend the order of the facts laid down in the Harmony. By Thomas 
Cranfield, A. B. Dublin, 1795. folio. 

This publication was originally an academical exercise, undertaken in pursu¬ 
ance of a theological subject, given by the Rev. Dr. Graves (at present Dean of 
Ardagh), to the gentlemen attending his divinity class. The author professes to 
follow Dr. Townson’s scheme, with some few variations. His work was published 
with a recommendatory character given by the Drs. Graves and Barrett (at that 
time the Divinity Lecturers in the University of Dublin) ; who state that, in 
their opinion u it contains much accurate research, and much useful information ; 
and. therefore,” that they u shall not hesitate to recommend it to the attention of 
the students in divinity, attending their lectures.” 

(2.) Harmonies of the Acts of the Apostles and of the Apostolic Epistles. 

1. The Apostolical History, containing the Acts, Labours, Tra- 


On Harmonies of Scripture. 


485 


<Jh. XI.] 


vels, Sermons, Discourses, Mirdcles, Successes, and Sufferings of 
the Holy Apostles from Christ’s Ascension to the Destruction of 
Jerusalem. Also a narration ot the particular times and occasions 
upon which the Apostolical Epistles were written, together with a 
brief analytical Paraphrase of them. By Samuel Cradock, B. D. 
London, 1672. folio. 

This author, an eminent non-conformist divine, also wrote “ A plain and brief 
Exposition of the Revelation,” now superseded by later and better works ; “ The 
Old Testament History methodised,” folio, now also superseded by the valuable 
work of Mr. Townsend, noticed in page 477. supra,; and the “ Harmony of the 
Four Evangelists,” likewise noticed in page 481. “ Cradock’s three volumes are 
very valuable : the two last on the New Testament are much better than the first 
on the Old. His extracts in the margin from Hammond, Lightfoot, and Grotius, 
are vtry judicious ; and I think, on the whole, 1 never read any one author, that 
assisted me more in what relates to the New Testament.” (l)r. Doddridge.) The 
book is by no means dear, which to students is a great advantage. 

2. A History of the First Planting of Christianity, taken from the 
Acts of the Apostles and their Epistles. Together with the remarka¬ 
ble Facts of the Jewish and Roman History, within this period. By 
George Benson, D. D., 4to. London, 1735 ; 2d, and best edition, 
1756. 3 vols. usually bound in one. 

Though this work does not profess to be a harmony of the Acts of the Apostles 
and of their Epistles, it may justly be considered as one. Besides illustrating the 
history of the Acts throughout, and most of the Epistles, by a view of the history 
of the times, the occasions of the several Epistles, and the state of the churches 
to which they were addressed, the learned author has incorporated a paraphrastic 
abstract of those epistles in the order of time when they were written ; and has 
also established the truth of the Christian religion on a number of facts, the most 
public, important, and incontestable. It is indeed a most valuable help to the 
study of the Epistles ; but it is to be regretted that its scarcity renders it accessi¬ 
ble to few. A new edition, with corrections and additions, such as the present 
advanced state of biblical knowledge will supply, is a desideratum in sacred li¬ 
terature. 

3. The Life of the Apostle Paul as related in Scripture ; but in 
which his Epistles are inserted in that part of the History, to which 
they are supposed respectively to belong ; with select Notes, critical 
and explanatory, and relating to persons and places, and a Map of 
the countries in which the Apostle travelled. By Joseph Gurney 
Bevan. London, 1S07. 8vo. 

The narrative of Saint Paul’s life, is studiously related in the very words of 
Scripture, having only such additional matter as is necessary to introduce or con¬ 
nect the several parts. Attention, however, has been paid to the task of selecting, 
from different parts of the New Testament, such passages as belong to the regular 
chain of the history. The notes are principally selected from the best critics and 
commentators, and those which are geographical are the most conspicuous, and 
stamp a real value on the work ; wdiich (though designed for young persons of his 
own religious communion,)! may be studied with advantage by those of every 
other class of Christians, especially those who have not many commentators within 
their reach, “ without danger of finding any thing introduced which can give the 
smallest bias towards any principle that is not really and truly Christian.” (Bri¬ 
tish Critic, O. S., vol. xxxiii. p. 477.) 

4. A Harmony of the Epistles of the Holy Apostles, to which is 
added, a Summary of the Entire. By the Rev. Peter Roberts, M. 
A. Cambridge, 1800. 4to. 

This harmony of the apostolic Epistles differs, in its form and structure, from 
the three publications last noticed. It “ consists of two columns, in the first of 
which a kind of continued Epistle is formed, principally, but not entirely, from 
the Epistle to the Romans ; which the author considers as intended more particu¬ 
larly for a delineation of the scheme of Christianity, as to the speculative part.” 


1 The Society of Friends. 





48b On Harmonies of Scripture. [Part L 

This continued text or clue is printed in a-narrow column and a large letter, which 
gives room for the introduction of all the parallel passages in the second column, 
which is much broader, and printed in a closer form and smaller type. The 
whole is digested under four principal divisions. 1. Introductory address. 2. Doc¬ 
trinal instruction. 3. Practical precepts. 4. Conclusion. In this way the whole 
substance of the apostolical Epistles is arranged ; and any particular passages are 
found by means of a table at the end of the book. Subjoined to this Harmony is 
the “ Summary of the Epistles ; in which the view of the contents is designed to 
be completely conveyed, according to the author’s system.” This part is followed 
by a very useful selection of notes. u Mr. Roberts deserves the highest commen¬ 
dation for his zeal and diligence in thus illustrating the epistles, and for the atten¬ 
tion and acuteness manifested in digesting their very various contents.” (British 
Critic, O. S., vol. xz. pp. 41D—421.) 

VI. The design of an Evangelical Harmony, we have already 
remarked, is to bring together the several evangelical narratives in 
a lucid order, and thus to avoid the seeming discrepancies between 
them. In the accomplishment of this design, two questions have 
presented themselves to the consideration of harmonists, viz. first, 
what evangelist has preserved the true order of circumstances, to 
which all the others are to be reduced ? And secondly, what was 
the duration of the public ministry of Jesus Christ ? 

1. On the first of these topics, we may remark that all the modern 
harmonies of the Gospels (of which more than one hundred are 
extant in various languages) may be divided into two classes, viz. 
I. Harmonies, of which the authors have taken for granted, that all 
the facts recorded in all the four Gospels are arranged in chronologi¬ 
cal order; and 2. Harmonies, of which the authors have admitted, 
that in one or more of the four Gospels the chronological order has 
been more or less neglected. At the head of the first class is An¬ 
drew Osiander, one of Luther’s fellow labourers, in promoting the 
reformation in Germany : his method is followed by Calovius, Sand- 
hagen, and others, on the continent, and in this country by Dr. Mac- 
knight. Chemnitz stands at the head of the other class, and also has 
many followers of his method of arrangement. “ The harmonies of 
die former kind are very similar to each other, because though the 
authors of them had to interweave the facts recorded in one Gospel 
with the facts recorded in another, yet, as they invariably retained the 
order which was observed in each Gospel, and consequently repeated 
whatever facts occurred in different places in different Gospels, as 
often as those facts presented themselves to the harmonists in their 
progress through the Gospels, there was less room for material devia¬ 
tions in their plan and method. But in the harmonies of the latter 
kind we meet with considerable variations, because, though the au¬ 
thors of them are unanimous in their principle, they are at variance 
in the application of it: and, though they agree in making transposi¬ 
tions, by which they distinguish themselves from the harmonists of the 
first class, yet they do not anvays make the same transpositions. 
Some, for instance, have supposed, as Chemnitz, archbishop New- 
come, and other harmonists of this class have done, that St. Matthew 
has mostly neglected chronological order, while others, as Bengel and 
Bertling, have supposed, that he has in general retained it. Hence, 
though they have all the same object in view, namely, to make a 


487 


Ch. XI.] On Harmonies of Scripture. 

chronological harmony, or to arrange the events, which are recorded 
in the Gospels, as nearly as possible according to the order of the 
time in which the events happened, they have adopted different 
modes of producing this effect, h or in some harmonies the order of 
St. Matthew is inverted, and made subservient to that of St. Mark, 
while in other harmonies St. Mark’s order is inverted, and made sub¬ 
servient to that of St. Matthew. Some harmonists again suppose, 
diat all the Evangelists have neglected chronological order, while 
others make an exception in favour of one or more of them, though 
the question, which of the Evangelists should be excepted, likewise 
affords matter of debate. And even those harmonists, who agree as 
to the Gospel or Gospels, in which transpositions should be made, 
differ in respect to the particular parts where these transpositions 
ought to take place .” * 1 

A late excellent writer on the evidences and criticism of the New 
Testament, 2 however, is of opinion that the Evangelists did not de¬ 
sign to adhere to the order of time in writing their respective 
memoirs of the life of Jesus Christ. The purpose with which the 
four gospels were written, he remarks, appears to have been, not a 
regular chronologically disposed history of the life, ministry, and 
sufferings of Jesus Christ, but the collection of such a body of well- 
authenticated facts, as might disclose the nature, and form sufficient 
proof of the truth of Christianity. This, he thinks, is obvious from 
the manner in which the Evangelists generally place together the 
facts narrated. “ That manner is such as completely to effect the 
latter, but not the former purpose. There are no marks of an in¬ 
tention, on the part of any of the Evangelists, to give to their narra¬ 
tives a regular chronological order. While, in general, there are no 
indications of the succession, and proximity of the events narrated, 
but from their being prior, or posterior, and contiguous in the nar¬ 
rative, or from such indefinite expressions as to re, tfaXiv, sv reus fungous 
exeivoug, sxe»vw tw xai£w, sv ru xatizgys, f*£Ta ravra ; on the other hand, 
it sometimes occurs, that the events which one Evangelist relates as 
in immediate succession, are noticed by himself to be not contiguous 
in time, and are put down by another, with some of the intervening 
transactions interposed. Than evidence of this kind, as to the pur¬ 
pose of a history, no declaration by the writer can be more satisfac¬ 
tory. Such declaration, unless perfectly explicit, may require to be 
modified, by what his work bears within itself of its purpose. But 
there can be no ambiguity in the evidence, deduced from such facts 
as we have noticed, in the gospel narratives. 

Against this evidence too, there is no contrary declaration to be 
weighed. The Evangelist, John (xx. 30, 31.), expressly asserts that 
the purpose of his writing, was to make such a selection of facts as 
might be good ground of faith in the divine mission of Jesus Christ; 
but he no where affirms the chronological order of the selection. 
Luke, also, thus declares the purpose of his writing to Theophilus, 
*Iva sr'iyvus wv xa.rnyr\6r\s Xoywv rry cafcpaXentv, (Luke i. 4.) and the 
expression in the preceding verse, E<Jo|s xdfxoi, r'agyxoXov6r}xon ccvutov 

\ *' , 

1 Michaelis’s Introduction, vol. iii. part ii. p. 45. 

2 The Rev. Dr. Cook, in his Inquiry into the Books of the New Testament. 



488 


On Harmonies of Scripture. [Part I. 

ax£»/3wg, xotAsgris tfoi ygcc-^cu, is to be interpreted according to that 
purpose. For this purpose, thus distinctly expressed by two of the 
Evangelists, and evident from the manner of writing common to 
them all, it was assuredly necessary that, either directly or indirect¬ 
ly, they should furnish us with such information, as might enable us 
to refer the facts in the Gospel history to a certain country, and a 
certain period in the history of the world. Without this, the gospels 
would not have afforded the proper means for distinguishing them 
from fictitious histories; and hence, could not have answered the 
purpose of furnishing evidence to the truth of Christianity. This it 
was possible to do, either formally by dates, such as are found in 
the beginning of the 2d and 3d chapters of Luke’s Gospel; or by al¬ 
lusions to known places, persons, and circumstances, to be learnt 
from other histories. Of these two modes, the Evangelists, with a 
few exceptions, follow the latter ; natural to men writing immediate¬ 
ly for contemporaries, upon or near the scene of the events ; and 
conformable to the usual simplicity by which their whole style is 
pervaded. But for this purpose, it was not in the least necessary to 
frame regular chronological narratives; and accordingly what was 
not necessary, has not been effected ; the connections carrying for¬ 
ward the arrangement of events in the Gospels, being not merely 
those of time, but of the various associations, such as similarity in 
the facts themselves, vicinity of place, &c. by which it is possible 
that the human mind may be guided, in recollecting and classifying 
things that are past. And such, perhaps, upon the whole, is the im¬ 
pression made on most readers by the narratives of the Evangelists. 
As we read them, we .have a general feeling that they are carrying 
us ultimately forward, from preceding to subsequent events, yet, oc¬ 
casionally, over intervals of time concerning which nothing has been 
recorded, or with deviations from the chronological order; thus ren¬ 
dering it difficult, or impossible, to make one harmonious arrange¬ 
ment of the whole gospel history, in which each event shall obtain, 
in perfect consistency with the account of each Evangelist, its pro¬ 
per chronological place.” 1 

Amid this diversity of opinions, supported as each is by the most 
ingenious arguments which its author could produce, it is extremely 
difficult to decide. By the adoption of the very probable hypothesis 
last stated, concerning the purpose for which the evangelists wrote, 
we certainly get rid, and in the fairest way, of all the difficulties with 
which the two classes of authors of Harmonies of the Gospels above 
noticed have to combat. As the evidence laid before the reader will 
enable him to determine for himself, which of these hypotheses to 
adopt, we shall only remark, that Bishop Marsh recommends Gries- 
bach’s Synopsis of the three first Gospels as preferable to every other 
harmony extant. The title of this work is, 

Synopsis Evangeliorum Matthaei, Marci, et Lucre, una cum iis Jo- 
annis Pericopis, quae historiam passionis et resurrectionis historiam 
complectuntur. Textum recensuit, et selectam lectionis varietatem 
adjecit J. J. Griesbach. Editio secunda, emendatior et auctior. 
Halae Saxonum, 1797. 8vo. 

The chief purport of this synopsis, Bishop Marsh remarks, is, not to give a 


1 Dr. Cook’s Inquiry, pp. 211—214. 





489 


Ch. XI.J On Harmonies of Scripture. 

4* | 

chronological series of events, but to represent in parallel columns all those sec¬ 
tions which are common to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke ; the Gos 
pel of John (except the last part) being omitted, because the rest of it has so verj 
little matter in common with the other three. In order to make as few transposi 
tions as possible, Mark’s order is generally retained, because it is the stfme with 
that of Luke, as far as relates to tne facts which are common to all three. Those 
parts which each evangelist has peculiar to himself, are inserted in intermediate 
sections. The learned translator of Michaelis pronounces the disposition of the 
whole work to be very commodious, and adds, that he knows of no harmony, 
which affords so much assistance in the investigation of the origin of the first 
Gospels.l Valuable as Griesbach’s synopsis confessedly is, some of his transpo¬ 
sitions have been deemed arbitrary, and some important passages were omitted by 
him. To obviate these defects, MM. De Wette and Lttcke have compiled a new 
synopsis from Griesbach’s third edition, so as to exhibit the entire passages of the 
Gospels with their parallels : at the foot of each page they have given the princi¬ 
pal various lections from Griesbach’s critical edition of the New Testament; and. 
they have supplied brief notices of the arguments or contents of each section. 
The title of this very useful publication is, Synopsis Evangeliorum Matthcei y 
Marci, et Luca, cum Parallelis Joannis Pericopis. Ex recensions Gricsbachii y 
cum selecta Lectionum varietate. Concinnaverunt, et Breves Argumentorum J\'o- 
tationes adjccerunt Guil. Mart. Leber. De Wette , et Frid. Liicke. Berolini, 1818. 
4to. 

2. The several harmonisers, of whose labours an account has 
been given in the preceding pages, have entertained very different 
opinions with regard to the duration of Christ’s public ministry’ 
whence a corresponding diversity has necessarily arisen in the dispo 
sition of their respective harmonies. During the three first centuries, 
the common opinion was, that Christ’s ministry lasted only one year, 
or at furthest one year and four months. Early in the fourth centu 
ry, Eusebius the ecclesiastical historian, maintained that it continued 
between three and four years: this opinion was generally received 4 
though the antient opinion was retained by Augustine. During the 
middle ages, no further inquiries appear to have been made on this 
subject: and, after the Reformation, all the harmonists of the six¬ 
teenth and seventeenth centuries assumed it for certain that Christ’s 
ministry lasted between three and four years. Bengel, however, in 
his German Harmony of the Gospels, published at Tubingen in 
1736, reduced it to two years; and three years before, Mr. Mann 
in his essay “ Of the true years of the Birth and Death of Christ,” 
(London, 1733, 8vo.) revived the antient opinion that it lasted only 
one year. This was also followed by Dr. Priestley in his Greek and 
English Harmonies. The hypothesis of Eusebius was adopted by 
Archbishop Newcoine, who maintained that one year was by far too 

1 Michaelis’s Introduction, vol. iii. part ii. p. 47. Michaelis has given a harmo¬ 
nised table of the four Gospels (Introd. vol. iii. part i. pp. 37—83.) ; which Bishop 
Marsh (part ii. p. 67.) pronounces to be a very useful one, considered as a general 
index to the four Gospels. Dr. A. Clarke has reprinted Michaebs’s harmonised 
table at the end of his Commentary on the Gospels ; observing that it is useful to 
the reader of them in pointing out where the same transaction is mentioned by the 
evangelists, what they have in common and what is peculiar to each. Michaelis 
has generally followed Matthew’s account, with which the narratives of the other 
evangelists are collated. In 1821, an English Harmony was compiled by, and print¬ 
ed at the expense of, Thomas Bowles, Esq. (for private distribution only), entitled 
“ Diatessaron, or the History of our Lord Jesus Christ, compiled from the Four 
Gospels, according to the Translation of Dr. Campbell, and in the order adopted 
by John David Michaelis, London,” 8vo. In this beautifully executed volume, the 
compiler has made some slight variations from the order oi time followed by Mi¬ 
chaelis in the harmonised table just mentioned. 

vol. ii. 62 



490 On Harmonies of Scripture . [Part I 

short a period for the several progresses of Jesus Christ in Galilee, 
and the transactions connected with them : and Bishop Marsh observes, 
„ that the Gospel of John presents almost insuperable obstacles to the 
opinion of those who confine Christ’s ministry to one year. For, in 
order to effect this purpose, it is necessary to make omissions and 
transpositions in St. John’s Gospel, which are not warranted by the laws 
of criticism, but are attempted merely to support a previously assum¬ 
ed hypothesis. On the other hand, he thinks that the opinion, which 
makes Christ’s ministry to have continued three years (and which 
receives no support whatever from the three first Gospels) cannot be 
satisfactorily proved even from the Gospel of Saint John, who at the 
utmost has noticed, or at least named, only three distinct passovers. 1 

Another opinion has lately been announced, with equal modesty 
and learning, in a dissertation on u The Chronology of our Saviour's 
Life; or an Inquiry into the true Time of the Birth , Baptism , and 
Crucifixion of Jesus Christ ,” by the Rev. C. Benson, M. A. (Cam¬ 
bridge and London, 1819. 8vo.) The results of his investigation 
(which depends on minute chronological and critical discussions that 
do not admit of abridgment) are, that Herod died in the year of the 
Julian period 4711; and consequently that the birth of Christ took 
place a. j, p. 4709, in the spring (probably in the month of April or 
May;) that his baptism was performed in or about the month of No¬ 
vember a. j. p. 4739, during the procuratorship of Pontius Pilate; 
that agreeably to the indications of time contained in Saint John’s 
Gospel, the ministry of Jesus Christ lasted through three passovers, or 
two years and a half ; and that he was crucified on the fifteenth day 
of the month Nisan (April 15th) a. j. p. 4742. The work, thus con¬ 
cisely noticed, appears to the writer of these pages to have laid down 
the only just basis for a harmony of the four gospels, founded upon 
certain indications; and he who should execute one upon this foun¬ 
dation would confer an essential benefit on students of the sacred 
writings. 

From the difficulty of producing a harmony, complete in all its 
parts, some eminent critics (and among them the elegant and accom¬ 
plished expositor, Gilpin) have maintained that we ought to peruse 
die four several memoirs of Jesus Christ written by the evangelists, 
separately and distinctly; and that, by explaining them separately, the 
whole becomes more uniform. Archbishop Newcome, however, has 
ably vindicated, and proved, the utility and advantage of harmonies : 
and with his observations, the present chapter shall conclude. A 
harmony, he remarks, has the following uses. 

By the juxta-position of parallel passages, it is often the best com¬ 
ment ; and it cannot but greatly alleviate the reader’s trouble, in his 
attempts to illustrate the phraseology and manner of the evangelists. 
It also shows that Mark, who inserts much new matter, did not epito¬ 
mise the Gospel of Matthew : and it affords plain indications, from 
the additions and omissions in John’s Gospel, that his was designed to 
be a supplemental history. 

1 Michaelis’s Introduction, vol. ii. part ii. p. 66. 




491 


Ch. XI.] On Harmonies of Scripture . 

Further, a harmony in many instances illustrates the propriety of 
our Lord’s conduct and works. Thus, previously to the call of the 
four apostles (Mark i. 16—20.) Andrew had been the Baptist’s dis¬ 
ciple, and had received his testimony to Jesus (John i. 35. 40.) : 
Peter had been brought to Jesus by Andrew his brother (John i. 42.); 
and Jesus had shown more than human knowledge and more than 
human power (John i. 48. ii. 11.23. iii. 2. iv. 29. 49, 50.) than 
what had probably fallen within the experience of these disciples, or 
at least must have gained their belief on the firmest grounds. So, 
the words of Christ (John v. 21. 25.) are prophetically spoken before 
he had raised any from the dead ; and his reproofs (Matt. xii. 34. 
Mark vii. 6.) are uttered after he had wrought miracles, during two 
feasts at Jerusalem. Nor was the jealousy of the Jewish rulers early 
awakened by the call of the twelve apostles to a stated attendance. 
This event took place after our Lord had celebrated his second pass- 
over at Jerusalem, and when he was about to absent himself from 
that city for so long a period as eighteen months. In like manner, 
the seventy were not sent forth to show, throughout a wide tract of 
country, with what wisdom and power their master endued them, till 
within about six months of our Lord’s crucifixion : and the scene of 
raising the dead, a kind of miracle which would have exasperated his 
enemies in proportion as it tended to exalt his prophetic character, 
was remote from Jerusalem, till the last passover approached. 

Lastly, strong presumptions of the inspiration of the evangelists 
arise from an accurate comparison of the Gospels, from their being 
so wonderfully supplemental to each other, in passages reconcileable 
only by the suggestion of a seemingly indifferent circumstance, and 
from their real agreement in the midst of a seeming disagreement . 
u Truth, like honesty, often neglects appearances: hypocrisy and 
imposture are always guarded.” 1 

On the preference due to any one of the numerous harmonies 
which have already been given to the world, it would be presump¬ 
tuous in the author of these pages to offer a positive opinion. The 
student in such cases must be guided by the superior judgment of his 
tutor, or the adviser of his studies. The harmonies of Drs. Dodd¬ 
ridge and Macknight are most generally read on account of their 
valuable expositions and commentaries. But, for exhibiting the 
parallel passages of each evangelist, perhaps the columnar form of 
Archbishop Newcome is preferable, while he, who is desirous of 
perusing one connected and continuous narrative, in which all the 
shades of circumstances are judiciously interwoven, will probably 
find Mr. Pilkington’s Evangelical History and Harmony the most 
useful. 2 


1 West on the Resurrection, p. 278. (London edit. 1807. 8vo.) 

2 For a notice of the principal writers who have treated on Scripture-Criticism, 
see the Appendix to this volume, No. IV. 



( 49 2 ) 


PART II. 


ON 

THE INTERPRETATION 

OF 

SCRIPTURE. 


CHAPTER I. 


ON THE SENSE OF SCRIPTURE. 


L Of the Lateral Sense. —II. Allegorical Sense. —III. Typical or 
Spiritual Sense. — IV. Parabolic Sense. —V. Examination and 
vindication of the Spiritual Sense. —VI. General Rules for inves¬ 
tigating the Sense of Scripture. 


MAN, being formed for society, has received from his Creator the 
faculty of communicating to his fellow-men, by means of certain 
signs, the ideas conceived in his mind. Hence, his organs of speech 
are so constructed, that he is capable of forming certain articulate 
sounds expressive of his conceptions; and these, being fitly disposed 
together, constitute discourse : which, whether it be pronounced or 
written, must necessarily possess the power of declaring to others 
what he wishes they should understand. 

The vehicles, or signs, by which men communicate their thoughts 
to each other, are termed words; the idea, or notion, attached to 
any word, is its signification ; and the ideas which are expressed by 
several words connected together, — that is, in entire sentences and 
propositions, and which ideas are produced in the minds of others, 
— are called the sense or proper meaning of words. Thus, if a 
person utter certain words, to which another individual attaches the 
same idea as the speaker, he is said to understand the latter, or to 
comprehend the sense of his words. If we transfer this to sacred 
subjects, we may define the sense of Scripture to be that conception 
of its meaning, which the Holy Spirit presents to the understanding 
of man, by means of the words of Scripture, and by means of the 
ideas comprised in those words. 

Although in every language there are very many words which 
admit of several meanings, yet in common parlance there is only 
one true sense attached to any word ; which sense is indicated by the 





Ch. I.] On the Sense of Scripture . 493 

connection and series of the discourse, by its subject matter, by the 
design of the speaker or writer, or by some other adjuncts, unless 
any ambiguity be purposely intended. That the same usage obtains 
in the sacred writings there is no doubt whatever. In fact, the per¬ 
spicuity of the Scriptures requires this unity and simplicity of sense, 
in order to render intelligible to man the design of their Great 
Author, which could never be comprehended if a multiplicity of 
senses were admitted. In all other writings, indeed, besides the 
Scriptures, before we sit down to study them, we expect to find one 
single determinate sense and meaning attached to the words; from 
which we may be satisfied that we have attained their true meaning, 
and understand what the authors intended to say. Further, in 
common life, no prudent and conscientious person, who either com¬ 
mits his sentiments to writing or utters any thing, intends that a diver¬ 
sity of meanings should be attached to what he writes or says: and, 
consequently, neither his readers, nor those who hear him, affix to it 
any other than the true and obvious sense. Now, if such be the 
practice in all fair and upright intercourse between man and man, is 
it for a moment to be supposed that God, who has graciously vouch¬ 
safed to employ the ministry of men in order to make known his will 
to mankind, should have departed from this way of simplicity and 
truth ? Few persons, we apprehend, will be found, in this enlightened 
age, sufficiently hardy to maintain the affirmative. 1 

1. The Literal Sense of Scripture is that which the words signify 
in their natural and proper acceptation, as in John x. 30, I and the 
Father are one ; in which passage the deity of Christ, and his equality 
with God the Father, are so distinctly and unequivocally asserted, 
that it is difficult to conceive how any other than its proper and literal 
meaning could ever be given to it. The literal sense has also been 
termed the grammatical sense ; the term grammatical having the 
same reference to the Greek language as the term literal to the 
Latin, both referring to the elements of a word. Words may also 
be taken properly and physically, as in John i. 6. There was a man 
whose name was John: this is called the proper literal sense. When, 
however, words are taken metaphorically and figuratively, that is, are 
diverted to a meaning which they do not naturally denote, but which 
they nevertheless intend under some figure or form of speech, — as 
when the properties of one person or thing are attributed to another, 
— this is termed the tropical or figurative sense. 2 “Thus, when 
hardness is applied to stone , the expression is used literally, in its 


1 On this subject the reader may consult M. Winterberg’s “ Prolusio de interpre- 
tatione unica, unic&, et cert® persuasionis de doctrin® religionis veritate et amic® 
consensionis causa,” in Velthusen’sand Kuinoel’s Commentationes Theological, vol. 
iv. pp. 420—438. 

2 “ The tropical sense is no other than the figurative sense. As we say, in lan¬ 
guage derived from the Greek, that a trope is used when a word is turned from 
its literal or grammatical sense ; so we say, in language derived from the Latin, 
that a figure is then used, because in such cases the meaning of the word assumes 
a new form. The same opposition, therefore, which is expressed by the terms li¬ 
teral sense and figurative sense, is expressed also by the terms grammatical sense 
and tropical sense.” Bishop Marsh’s Lect. part iii. p. 07. 



494 


On the Sense of Scripture. [Part II 

proper and natural signification : — when it is applied to the heart, it is 
used figuratively, or in an improper acceptation. Yet the sense, 
allowing for the change of subject, is virtually the same, its applica¬ 
tion being only transferred from a physical to a moral quality.” 1 An 
example of-this kind occurs in Ezek. xxxvi. 26. and xi. 19., where 
the heart of stone denotes a hard obdurate heart, regardless ol divine 
admonitions, and the heart of flesh signifies a tender heart, susceptible 
of the best and holiest impressions. In like manner, in Zech. vii. 12., 
the obdurate Jews are said to have made their hearts as an adamant 
stone. Numerous similar expressions occur in the New as well as in 
the Old Testament, as in Luke xiii. 32. John i. 29. and xv. 5.; 
where Herod, for his craftiness and cruelty, is termed a fox; the 
Saviour of the world is called the Lamb of God, because to his great 
atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, the lamb, which w T as 
offered every morning and evening, had a typical reference ; he is 
also called a vine, as all true Christians are designated the branches, 
to intimate that Christ is the support of the whole church, and of 
every particular believer,—that, in the language of the New Testa¬ 
ment, they are all implanted and grafted into him, that is, united to 
him by true faith and sincere love, and that they all derive spiritual 
life and vigour from him. It were unnecessary to multiply examples 
of this kind, as every diligent reader of the Word of God will doubt¬ 
less be able to recollect them. 

Further, the Literal Sense has been called the historical sense, 
as conveying the meaning of the words and phrases used by a writer 
at a certain time. Thus, in the more antient books of the Old Tes¬ 
tament, the word isles or islands signifies every inhabited region, 
particularly all the western coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, and the 
seats of Japhet’s posterity, viz. the northern part of Asia, Asia Minor, 
and Europe, together with some other regions. Of this sense of the 
word we have examples in Gen. x. 5. Isa. xi. 11. xx. 6. xxiii. 6. 
xxiv. 15. xlii. 15. lxvi. 19. Ezekiel xxvi. 15. 18. xxvii. 3—7. 15. 
35. But, in a later age, it denotes islands properly so called, as in 
Esther x. i., and, perhaps, Jer. xlvii. 4. (marginal rendering.) 2 
Again, the phrase, to possess or inherit the land , which is of very 
frequent occurrence in the Old Testament, if we consider it histori¬ 
cally, that is, with reference to the history of the Jewish nation, means 
simply, to hold the secure and undisturbed possession of the promised 
land; and in the New Testament, the phrase to u follow Christ ” 
must in like manner be understood historically in some passages of 
the Gospels ; implying no more than that the persons there mentioned 
followed the Lord Jesus Christ in his progresses, and were auditors 
of his public instructions, precisely as the apostles followed him from 
place to place, and heard his doctrine. 3 

1 Bishop Vanmildert’s Bamp. Lect. p. 222. 

2 Jahn, Enchiridion Hermeneuticc Generalis, p. 24. who cites Michaelis’s Spi* 
cilegium Geographic Hebreee Exterc, part i. pp. 131—143., and also his Supple- 
mentum ad Lexica Hebraica, pp. 68, 69. 

3 Many additional instances might be offered, if the limits of this work would 
permit. The reader, who is desirous of fully investigating the historic sense of 


I 



495 


Ch. 1.] Oft the Sense of Scripture. 

Where, besides the direct or immediate signification of a passage, 
whether literally or figuratively expressed, there is attached to it a 
more remote or recondite meaning, this is termed the mediate , spiritual , 
or mystical sense : * l and this sense is founded, not on a transfer of 
words from one signification to another, but on the entire application 
of the matter itself to a different subject. Thus, what is said literally 
in Exod. xxx. 10. and Levit. xvi. concerning the High Priest’s en¬ 
trance into the most holy place on the day of expiation, with the 
blood of the victim, we are taught by St. Paul to understand spiritu¬ 
ally of the entrance of Jesus Christ into the presence of God with his 
own blood. (Heb. ix. 7—20.) 

The spiritual sense of Scripture has frequently been divided into 
allegorical , typical , and parabolical. The reason of this mode of 
classifications, as well as of some other minor distinctions, does not 
sufficiently appear. Since, however, it has obtained a place in al¬ 
most every treatise on the interpretation of the Scriptures, it may 
not be irrelevant to define and illustrate these senses by a few ex¬ 
amples. 

II. The Allegorical Sense is, when the Holy Scriptures, besides 
the literal sense, signify any thing belonging to faith or spiritual 
doctrine. Such is the sense which is required rightly to understand 
Gal. iv. 24. a r»va stfnv aXX^yo^oujxsva, which things are allegorically 
spoken , or, which things are thus allegorised by me ; that is, under 
the veil of the literal sense they further contain a spiritual or mys¬ 
tical sense. 

III. The Typical Sense is, when, under external objects or pro¬ 
phetic visions, secret things, whether present or future, are repre¬ 
sented ; especially when the transactions recorded in the Old Tes¬ 
tament presignify or adumbrate those related in the New Testament. 
Thus, in Psal. xcv. 11., the words “ they should not enter into my 
restf literally understood, signify the entrance of the Israelites into 
tile promised land; but, spiritually and typically, the entering into the 
rest and enjoyment of heaven through the merits and mediation of 
Christ, as is largely shown in the epistle to the Hebrews, chapters iii. 
and iv. 

IV. The Parabolic Sense is, when, besides the plain and obvious 
meaning of the thing related, an occult or spiritual sense is intended. 
As this chiefly occurs in passages of a moral tendency, the parabolic 
lias by some writers been termed the moral or tropological sense. 
Of this description is the parable of the talents : the design of which 
is to show that the duties which men are called to perform are suited 
to their situations and the talents which they severally receive ; that 

Scripture, will derive much solid benefit from Dr. Storr’s Disquisition De Sensu 
Historico, in vol. i. (pp. 1—88.) of his “ Opuscula Academica ad Interpretationem 
Librorum Sacrorum pertinentia,” 8vo. Tubingen, 1796. 

1 u Dicitur mysticus,” says a learned and sensible Roman Catholic writer, u a 
pim, claudo ; quia licet non semper fidei mysteria comprehendat, magis tamen oc- 
cultus, et clausus est, quam literalis, qui per verba rite intellecta facilius innote- 
scit.” Adami Viser, Hermeneutica Sacra Novi Testamenti, pars ii. pp. 51, 52. 
See also Jahn’s Enchiridion Hermeneuticoe Generalis, pp. 41, 42.; and Bishop 
Vanmildert’s Bampton Lectures, p. 222. 




496 


On the Sense of Scripture. [Part II. 

whatever a good man possesses he has received from God, as well as 
the ability to improve that good ; and that the grace and temporal 
mercies of God are suited to the power which a man has of improv¬ 
ing them. Thus, also, the injunction in Deut. xxv. 4., relative to 
muzzling the ox while treading out the corn, is explained by St. Paul 
with reference to the right of maintenance of ministers of the Gospel. 
(1 Cor. ix. 9—11.) 

It were easy to multiply examples of each of the different senses 
here mentioned; but as they have all one common foundation, and 
as we shall have occasion to adduce others in the course of the fol¬ 
lowing pages, when stating the rules for interpreting the various 
senses of Scripture after they have been ascertained, the instances 
above quoted may suffice to illustrate the distinctions subsisting be¬ 
tween them. 

V. The Spiritual Interpretation of Scripture has been as much 
depreciated by some commentators and biblical critics, as it has been 
exaggerated and carried to the extreme by others : but if the argu¬ 
ment against a thing from the possibility of its being abused be inad¬ 
missible in questions of a secular nature, it is equally inadmissible in 
the exposition of the sacred writings. All our ideas are admitted 
through the medium of the senses, and consequently refer in the first 
place to external objects : but no sooner are we convinced that we 
possess an immaterial soul or spirit, than we find occasion for other 
terms, or, for want of these, another application of the same terms to 
a different class of objects; and hence arises the necessity of resorting 
to figurative and spiritual interpretation. Now, the object of revela¬ 
tion being to make known things which “ eye hath not seen nor ear 
heard, nor have entered into the heart of man to conceive,” it seems 
hardly possible that the human mind should be capable of apprehend¬ 
ing them, but through the medium of figurative language or mystical 
representations. 

“ The foundation of religion and virtue being laid in the mind and 
heart, the secret dispositions and genuine acts of which are invisible, 
and known only to a man’s self; therefore the powers and operations 
of the mind can only be expressed in figurative terms and external 
symbols. The motives also and inducements to practice are spiritual, 
such as affect men in a way of moral influence, and not of natural 
efficiency; the principal of which are drawn from the consideration 
of a future state; and consequently these likewise must be represented 
by allegories and similitudes, taken from things most known and fa¬ 
miliar here. And thus we find in Scripture the state of religion illus¬ 
trated by all the beautiful images we can conceive ; in which natural 
unity, order, and harmony consist, as regulated by the strictest and 
most exact rules of discipline, taken from those observed in the best 
ordered temporal government. In the interpretation of places, in 
which any of these images are contained, the principal regard is to be 
had to the figurative or spiritual, and not to the literal sense of the 
words. From not attending to which, have arisen absurd doctrines 
and inferences, which weak men have endeavoured to establish as 


497 


Cli. I.J On the Sense of Scripture. 

Scripture truths; whereas, in the other method of explication, the 
tilings are plain and easy to every one’s capacity, make the deepest 
and most lasting impressions upon their minds, and have the greatest 
influence upon their practice. Of this nature are all the rites and 
ceremonies prescribed to the Jews, with relation to the external form 
of religious worship ; every one of which was intended to show the 
obligation or recommend the practice of some moral duty, and was 
esteemed of no further use than as it produced that effect. And the 
same may be applied to the rewards and punishments peculiar to the 
Christian dispensation, which regard a future state. The rewards 
are set forth by those things, in which the generality of men take their 
greatest delight, and place their highest satisfaction of this life ; and 
the punishments are such as are inflicted by human laws upon the 
worst of malefactors : but they can neither of them be understood in 
the strictly literal sense, but only by way of analogy, and correspond¬ 
ing in the general nature and intention of the thing, though very dif¬ 
ferent in kind.” 1 

But independently of the able argument a priori , here cited, in 
favour of the mediate, mystical, or spiritual interpretation of the 
Scriptures, unless such interpretation be admitted, we cannot avoid 
one of two great difficulties: for, either we must assert that the 
multitude of applications, made by Christ and his apostles, are fan¬ 
ciful and unauthorised, and wholly inadequate to prove the points 
for which they are quoted ; or, on the other hand, w T e must believe 
that the obvious and natural sense of such passages was never in¬ 
tended, and that it was a mere illusion. The Christian will not assent 
to the former of these positions ; the philosopher and the critic will 
not readily assent to the latter. 2 

It has been erroneously supposed, that this mediate, or mystical 
interpretation of Scripture is confined to the New Testament exclu¬ 
sively ; we have, however, clear evidence of its adoption by some of 
the sacred writers of the Old Testament, and a few instances will 
suffice to prove its existence. In Exod. xxviii. 38. Moses says that 
the diadem or plate of gold, worn upon certain solemn festivals upon 
the high priest’s forehead, signified that he bore in a vicarious and 
typical manner the sin of the holy things, and made an atonement 
for the imperfection of the Hebrew offerings and sacrifices. In 
Levit. xxvi. 41. and Deut. x. 16. and xxx. 6. he mentions the cir¬ 
cumcision of the heart, which was signified by the circumcision of 
the flesh. (Compare Jer. iv. 4. vi. 10. and ix. 25, 26. with Exod. vi. 
12. 30.) Further, the great lawgiver of the Jews explains the his¬ 
torical and typical import of all their great festivals. Thus, in Exod. 
xiii. 13. and Numb. iii. 12, 13. 44—51. and xviii. 14—16., he 
shows the twofold meaning of the redemption of their first-born sons, 
viz. that the first-born of the Hebrews were preserved while Egypt 
groaned beneath the plague inflicted by divine vengeance, and that 


t Dr. John Clarke’s Inquiry into the Origin of Evil, in the folio collection of 
Boyle’s Lectures, vol. iii. p. 229. 

2 See Bishop Middleton on the Greek Article, p. 580. 

vol. ii. 63 




498 


On the Sense of Scripture. [Part II. 

the first-born sons were formerly consecrated to the priesthood ; 
which being afterwards transferred to the tribe of Levi, the first-born 
sons were exchanged for the Levites, and were thenceforth to be 
redeemed. The whole of the sacrificial law showed that the bloody 
sacrifices morally signified the punishment of the person for or by 
whom they were offered ; and that the other sacred rites of the He¬ 
brews should have a symbolical or spiritual import will be obvious 
to every one who recollects the frequent use of symbols which ob¬ 
tained in Egypt, from which country Moses brought out the He¬ 
brews. The precepts delivered in the New Testament concerning 
the sacraments, plainly intimate that those very sacred rites were 
then about to receive their real accomplishment, and their symbolic 
or spiritual meaning is explained : as in Rom. vi. 3—11. Col. ii. 12. 

1 Cor. vi. 11. xi. 23—27. Eph. v. 26. and Tit. iii. 5. In which last 
passage baptism (by immersion in water probably) is said to signify 
not only the moral ablution of sin, but also the death and burial of 
guilty man, and (by his emersion from the water) his resurrection 
to a pious and virtuous life ; in other words, our death unto sin, and 
our obligation to walk in newness of life. The spiritual import of 
the Lord’s supper is self-evident. 1 

Lastly, Since we learn from the New Testament that some his¬ 
tories, which in themselves convey no peculiar meaning, must be 
interpreted allegorically or mystically, (as Gal. iv. 22—24.) and 
that persons and things are there evidently types and emblems of 
the Christian dispensation, and its divine founder, as in Matt. xii. 
40. John iii. 14, 15. 1 Cor. x. 4. and Heb. vii. 2, 3. it is plain that 
the mystical sense ought to be followed in the histories and pro¬ 
phecies of the Old Testament, and especially in such passages as 
are referred to by the inspired writers of the New Testament; 
who having given us the key by which to unlock the mystical 
sense of Scripture, we not only may but ought cautiously and 
diligently to make use of it. Where the inspired writers them¬ 
selves direct us to such an interpretation, when otherwise w T e might 
not perceive its necessity, then we have an absolute authority for the 
exposition, which supersedes our own conjectures, and w r e are not 
only safe in abiding by that authority, but should be unwarranted in 
rejecting it. 2 

VI. Having thus defined, and illustrated by examples, the sense 
of Scripture, it remains that we offer a few general considerations 

1 On the Double Sense of Prophecy, see Chap. VII. Sect. II. infra of the present 
volume. 

2 Bauer, Herm. Saor. >pp. 13—44. Viser, Hermeneutica Sacra Nov. Test, pars 
ii. pp. 1—150. J. E. Pfeiffer, Institutiones Hermeneutic© Sacr©, pp. 122—132. 
Aug. Pfeiffer, Herm. Sacr. eap. iii. (Op. tom. ii. pp. G33—638.) Ernesti Institutio 
Snterpretis Novi Test. pp. 14—30. (4th edit.) Mori Acroases Academic© super 
Hermen. Nov. Test. tom. i. pp. 27—73. J. B. Carpzovii, Prim© Line© Herm. 
Sac. p. 24. Bishop Middleton on the Greek Article, pp. 580—590. Bishop Marsh’s 
Lect. part iii. sect. xv. and xvi. pp. 42—78.; and Bishop Vanmildert’s Bampton 
Lectures, Serm. vii. pp. 217-—232. and notes, pp_ 385—396. By both of whom the 
senses of Scripture are illustrated by applying them to the discussion of some im¬ 
portant controversial points between Protestants and Roman Catholics, which the 
limits of a practical work will not admit of being noticed. 




499 


Ch. I.] On the Sense of Scripture. 

and cautions, relative to its investigation ; by attending to which the 
subsequent labour of the student will be essentially facilitated, in ex¬ 
amining the signification of words and phrases. 1 2 

1. The most simple sense is always that which is the genuine meaning. 

This remark is so obvious as to require no illustrative example. Where indeed 
two meanings or senses present themselves, without doing any violence to the 
words or to their scope and connection, and to the subject matter, &c. in such 
case the different arguments for and against each meaning must be carefully dis¬ 
cussed, and that meaning which is supported by the most numerous and weighty 
arguments, and is found to be the most probable, must be preferred, as being the 
genuine sense. Yet, simple and obvious as this canon confessedly is, it is perpe¬ 
tually violated by the modern school of interpreters in Germany, at the head of 
which stand the names of Professor Bauer and Paulus, and MM. Gabler, Schus¬ 
ter, and others; and against whose impious and pantheistical tenets the unwary 
student cannot be sufficiently put upon his guard, on account of the great celebrity 
which some of those writers have justly acquired for their profound philological 
attainments. Assuming to themselves the appellation of Evangelical Divines , the 
teachers of this school assert, that there is no such thing as a divine revelation in 
the sense attached to this word by Christians ; and that the miracles recorded in 
the Scriptures are merely natural occurrences, exaggerated and embellished by 
those who have related them. According to these anti-supernaturalists, the whole 
of the doctrines of Scripture consist either of the preeepts of nature clothed in ob¬ 
scure expressions, or of absolutely false doctrines invented by the sacred writers, 
who were men subject to error like ourselves, and (what they say is still worse) 
who were deprived of that mass of knowledge which constitutes the glory of our 
age. The narrative of the fall of man is a mere mythos or philosophical fable ; and 
the gospel a mythology .2 

2. Since it is the design of interpretation to render in our own 
language the same discourse which the sacred authors originally 
wrote in Hebrew or Greek, it is evident that our interpretation or 
version, to be correct, ought not to affirm or deny more than the in¬ 
spired penmen affirmed or denied at the time they wrote, conse¬ 
quently ice should be more willing to take a sense from Scripture than 
to bring one to it. 

This is one of the most antient laws of interpretation extant, and cannot be suf¬ 
ficiently kept in mind, lest we should “ teach for doctrines the commandments of 
men,” and impose our narrow and limited conceptions instead of the broad and 
general declarations of Scripture. For want of attending to this simple rule, how 
many forced and unnatural interpretations have been put upon the sacred writ¬ 
ings ; — interpretations alike contradictory to the express meaning of other pas¬ 
sages of Scripture, as well as derogatory from every idea we are taught to con¬ 
ceive of the justice and mercy of the Most High. It will suffice to illustrate this 
remark by one single instance : In John iii. 16, 17. we read that 11 God so loved 
the world , that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life : for God sent not his son to condemn 
the world, but that the world through him might be saved.” The plain, obvious, 
and literal sense of this passage, as well as of its whole context is, that the whole 
of mankind, including both Jews and Gentiles without any exception in favour of 


1 Tiie following rules are chiefly drawn from Chladenius’s Institutiones Exege- 
tieffi, pp. 238—242.; Jahn’s Enchiridion Hermeneutic® Sacr®, pp. 34. et seq. 
Langii Hermeneutica Sacra, pp. 16. et seq. Rambachii Institutiones Hermeneuti- 
c® Sacr®, pp. 53. et seq.; and Semler’s Apparatus ad Liberalem Novi Testament! 
Interpretationem, pp. 179. et seq. See also J. E. Pfeiffer s Inst. Herm. Sacr. pp. 349. 

et seq. . 

2 On the above subject, the reader will find some painfully interesting details m 
Mr. Jacob’s Agricultural and Political Tour in Germany, (London, 1820. 4to.) pp. 
208—212.: in the Magazin Evangelique, (Geneve, 1820. 8vo.) tome iii. pp. 26— 
32.; and Dr. J. P. Smith’s Scripture Testimony to the Messiah, vol. ii. part ii. pp. 
034, 635. It is proper to add, that the system of obscurity and impiety above no¬ 
ticed has met with able refutations : and KuinoCl, whose commentary on the histo¬ 
rical books (noticed in another part of this work) was composed principally for 
Germans, has given judicious abstracts of these refutations. 




600 


On the Sense of Scripture. [Part II. 

individuals, were in a ruined state, about to perish everlastingly, and utterly with¬ 
out the power of rescuing themselves from destruction; that God provided for 
their rescue and salvation by giving his son to die for them ; and that all who be¬ 
lieve in him, that is, who believe what God has spoken concerning Christ, his 
sacrifice, the end for which it was offered, and the way in which it is to be ap¬ 
plied in order to become effectual; that all icho thus believe shall not only be ex¬ 
empted from eternal perdition, but shall also ultimately have everlasting life , in 
other words, be brought to eternal glory. Yet how are these “ good tidings of 
great joy to all people,” narrowed and restricted by certain expositors, who adopt 
the hypothesis that Jesus Christ was given for the elect alone! How, indeed, 
could God be said to love those, to whom he denies the means of salvation, and 
whom he destines by an irrevocable decree to eternal misery ? And what violence 
are such expositors compelled to do to the passage in question in order to recon¬ 
cile it to their preconceived notions ! They are obliged to interpret that compre¬ 
hensive word, the world , by a synechdoche of a part for the whole ; and thus 
say, that it means the nobler portion of the world, namely the elect, without call¬ 
ing to their aid those other parallel passages of Scripture, in which the above con¬ 
solatory truth is explicitly affirmed in other words. A similar instance occurs in 
Matt, xviii. 11., where Jesus Christ is said to have 11 come to save that which was 
lost,” to curo\u\os ; which word, as its meaning is not restricted by the Holy Spirit, 
is not to be interpreted in a restricted sense, and consequently must be taken in 
its most obvious and universal sense. In this way we are to understand Deut. 
xxvii. 26. and Isa. Ixiv. 6. 

3. Before we conclude upon the sense of a text, so as to prove any 
thing by it, we must be sure that such sense is not repugnant to natural 
reason. 

If such sense be repugnant to natural reason, it cannot be the true meaning of 
the Scriptures : for God is the original of natural truth, as well as of that which 
comes by particular revelation. No proposition, therefore, which is repugnant to 
the fundamental principles of reason, can be the sense of any part of the word of 
God ; and that which is .false and contrary to reason, can no more be true and 
agreeable to the revelations contained in the sacred writings, than God (who is 
the author of one as well as the other) can contradict himself. Whence it is evi¬ 
dent that the words of Jesus Christ, — This is my body, and This is my blood, — 
(Matt. xxvi. 26. 28.) are not to be understood in that sense, which makes for the 
doctrine of transubstantiation: because it is impossible that contradictions should 
be true \ and we cannot be more certain that any thing is true, than we are that 
that doctrine is false. 

4. Although the plain, obvious, and literal sense of a passage may 
not always exhibit the mind of the Holy Spirit, yet it is ordinarily to 
be preferred to the fgurative sense, and is not to be rashly abandoned, 
unless absolute and evident necessity require such literal sense to be given 
up. 

“ I hold it,” says the learned and venerable Hooker, “ for a most infallible rule 
in 1 expositions of sacred Scripture, that, where a literal construction will stand, 
the farthest from the letter is commonly the worst. There is nothinn- mere dan¬ 
gerous than this licentious and deluding art. which changes the meaning of words, 
as alchemy doth or would do the substance of metals, making of any thing what 
it pleases, and bringing in the end all truth to nothing.”! Hooker applies this 
rule to the discussion of some points controverted in his day, which it would be 
foreign to our plan to notice ; we shall therefore proceed briefly to show in what 
cases we may depart from the strict sense of the letter of Scripture, without in¬ 
curring the charge of rashness or presumption. 

(1.) Where words, properly taken, contain anything repugnant to 
the doctrinal or moral precepts delivered in other parts of the Scripture, 
such proper and literal sense may safely be abandoned. 

For it would be the extreme of absurdity to affirm that the Holy Spirit contra¬ 
dicts himself. Thus, the command of Jesus Christ, related in Matt, xviii. 8, 9. if 
interpreted literally, is directly at variance with the sixth commandment, (Exod. 
xx. 13.) and must consequently be understood figuratively. So, the declaration 
of Jesus Christ in John, xiv. 28. (My father is greater than I) is to be understood 


1 Ecclesiastical Polity, book v. c. 58—60., or in p. 211. of Mr. Collinsori’s Analysis. 




501 


Ch. I.] On the Sense of Scripture. 

of himself, as he is man. This is evident from the context and from the nature 
of his discourse. In John, xiv. 24. Christ tells his disciples that the father had sent 
him ; that is, in his quality of Messiah, he was sent by the father to instruct and 
to save mankind. Now as the sender is greater than he who is sent (xiii. 16.); 
so, in this sense, is the Father greater than the Son. It certainly requires very 
little argument, and no sophistry to reconcile this saying with the most orthodox 
notion of the Deity of Christ; as he is repeatedly speaking of his divine and of 
his human nature. Of the former he says (John x. 30.) J and the Father are one ; 
and of the tatter he states with the same truth, the Father is greater than I. 

(2.) If the Holy Spirit, who is the best interpreter of his own words , 
elsewhere deliver his mind concerning the same thing , in proper and 
clearer words, the latter are preferably to be adopted. 

Jerome (on Isa. xix.) has long since remarked, that in the Scriptures clear ex¬ 
pressions are ordinarily subjoined to those which are obscure, and that what is in 
one place stated in enigmatical terms, is in another passage delivered clearly and 
explicitly. In illustration of this remark, it will be sufficient to refer to and com¬ 
pare the following passages, viz. Matt. xiii. 15. with Mark iv. 12. and Luke xi. 20. 
with Matt. xii. 28. See also Ezek. xx. 37, 38. Isa. i. 22,23. xliii. 20,21. xliv. 3— 
5. and li. 1, 2. 

(3.) Where the proper signification presents a meaning that is either 
absurd, or manifestly contrary to truth, it must necessarily be given up. 
As, first, If the predicate contain any thing ivhich will in no respect 
whatever suit the subject , taken in a literal sense ; and, secondly, if 
the event does not correspond with the prediction. 

First, Matt. viii. 22. Let the dead bury their dead cannot possibly be applied to 
those who are really and naturally dead ; and consequently must be understood 
figuratively, “ Leave those who are spiritually dead to perform the rites of burial 
for such as are naturally dead.” In Psal. exxx. 1. David is said to have cried unto 
the Lord out of the depths, by which word we are metaphorically to understand 
a state of the deepest affliction; because it no where appears from Scripture, nor 
is it probable, that the Jewish monarch was ever thrown into the sea, even in his 
greatest adversity, as we read that the prophet Jonah was, who cried to the Lord 
out of the depth, or midst of the sea. (Jon. i. 15.17. ii. 2, 3. 5.) Similar ex¬ 
pressions occur in 1 Cor. iii. 13. and Rev. vi. 13. 

Secondly , In Isa. i. 25. where the prophet is foretelling the purification of the 
Jewish church by the calamities consequent on the Babylonish captivity and ex¬ 
ile, it is said, I will purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin. 
Now, here, reason teaches us that this expression cannot possibly be taken in its 
grammatical sense, because the event would not correspond with the prediction. 
(Compare also Zech. iv. 10.) But as silver may denote the sincere and pious 
worshippers of Jehovah, so tin is an apposite emblem of hypocrites; whose glar¬ 
ing profession might cause them to be taken for truly pious characters, while they 
axe intrinsically worthless. It is the removal of such persons which is foretold in 
the passage above cited, as far as human weakness and the state of the church at 
that time permitted. Similar expressions occur in Isa. i. 10. and xiii. 10. 13. 
Ezekiel xxxii. 7. and Joel ii. 31. and iii. 15. Additional instances might be cited, 
but as they would in some degree anticipate a subsequent portion of this work, they 
are here omitted. The reader will find some further hints on this topic in Chap¬ 
ter V. Section IV. infra. 

In the application of this rule, however, we must be convinced, 
after mature investigation and consideration, that an adherence to 
the proper signification does suggest a meaning that is really absurd 
or contrary to truth, before we give up the literal sense. It is not 
every apparent difficulty or absurdity which may strike our minds, 
nor a mere comparison of other passages where a single word may 
have a similar improper or figurative meaning (as Mark ix. 43, 44, 
compared with Jer. xvii. 27.), that will authorise a departure from 
the literal signification ; and still less will it be sanctioned by the 
consideration of greater utility, or the larger measure of edification 
which we hope to derive from taking words figuratively and mysti¬ 
cally. Inattention to this last-mentioned caution has led the way to 


502 


On the Sense of Scripture. 


[Part II. 


allegorical and mystical interpretations, the most far-fetched and 
contradictory that can well be imagined. Origen and many of the 
fathers have adopted this mode of interpretation, which was reduced 
into a regular method by the learned and pious professor John Coc- 
ceius, in the early part of the seventeenth century. We have already 
seen that many things related in the Old Testament are to be spi¬ 
ritually understood : but Cocceius represented the entire history of 
the Old Testament as a mirror, which held forth an accurate view 
of the transactions and events that were to happen in the church un¬ 
der the New Testament dispensation, to the end of the world. He 
further affirmed, that by far the greatest part of the antient prophe¬ 
cies foretold Christ’s ministry and mediation, together with the rise, 
progress, and revolutions of the church, not only under the figure of 
persons and transactions, but in a literal manner, and by the sense 
of the words used in these predictions. And he laid it down as a 
fundamental rule of interpretation that the xvords and phrases of 
Scripture are to be understood in every sense of ivhich they are sus¬ 
ceptible : or in other words, that they signify in effect every thing 
2 ohich they can signify. 1 These opinions have not been without their 
advocates in this country ; and if our limits permitted, we could ad¬ 
duce numerous instances of evident misinterpretations of the Scrip¬ 
tures which have been occasioned by the adoption of them : one or 
two, however, must suffice. Thus, the Ten Commandments, or Mo¬ 
ral Law as they are usually termed, which the most pious and learn¬ 
ed men in every age of the Christian church, have considered to be 
rules or precepts for regulating the manners or conduct of men, both 
towards God and towards one another, have been referred to Jesus 
Christ, under the mistaken idea that they may be read with a new 
interest by believers ! 2 In like manner the first psalm, which, it is 
generally admitted, describes the respective happiness and misery of 
the pious and the wicked, according to the Cocceian hypothesis, has 
been applied to the Saviour of the world, in whom alone all the cha¬ 
racters of goodness are made to centre, without any reference to its 
moral import! An ordinary reader, who peruses Isa. iv. 1., would 
naturally suppose that the prophet was predicting the calamities that 
should befal the impenitently wicked Jews, previously to the Baby¬ 
lonish captivity ; which calamities he represents to be so great that 
seven women should take hold of one man , that is, use importunity to 
be married, and that upon the hard and unusual conditions of main¬ 
taining themselves. But this simple and literal meaning of the pas¬ 
sage, agreeably to the rule that the words of Scripture signify every 
thing which they can signify, has been distorted beyond measure ; 
and, because in the subsequent verses of this chapter the prophet 
makes a transition to evangelical times, this first verse has been made 
to mean the rapid conversion of mankind to the Christian faith ; 
the seven women are the converted persons, and the one man is Jesus 
Christ! A simple reference to the context and subject matter of the 
prophecy would have shown that this verse properly belonged to the 
third chapter, and had no reference whatever to Gospel times. On 

1 Mosheim’s Ecclesiastical History, vol. v. pp. 3C0. et seq. edit. 1808. 

2 See an exposition of the Ten Commandments on the above principle, (if such 
a perversion of sense and reason may be so called,) in the Bible Magazine, vol. iv. 
pp. 13,14. 



On the Sense of Scripture . 


503 


Ch. I.] 


the absurdity of the exposition just noticed, it is needless to make 
any comment. It is surpassed only by the reveries of a modern 
writer 1 on the continent, who has pushed the Cocceian hypothesis to 
the utmost bounds. According to his scheme, the incest of Lot and 
his daughters was permitted, only to be a sign of the salvation which 
the world was afterwards to receive from Jesus Christ; and Joshua 
the son of Nun signifies the same thing as Jesus the son of Man! ! ! 

As the application of the spiritual sense of Scripture to the inter¬ 
pretation of the sacred writings, is discussed at some length in a 
subsequent part of this work, 2 any further observations here would 
be premature : it may therefore suffice to remark that the Cocceian 
hypothesis has been very fully exposed both in our own country and 
on the continent by the able writers referred to below. 3 And, 
although “ spiritual improvements (as they are sometimes called) of 
particular passages of Scripture, — that is, deducing from them 
spiritual instructions for the practical edification of the reader, — 
whether or not they flow directly and naturally from the subject, 
may at least be harmless yet “ when brought forward for the 
purposes of interpretation, properly so called, they are to be viewed 
with caution and even with mistrust. For scarcely is there a 
favourite opinion, which a fertile imagination may not thus extract 
from some portion of Scripture; and very different, nay, contrary, 
interpretations of this kind have often been made of the very same 
texts, according to men’s various fancies or inventions. 4 

1 M. Kanne, in his Christus im Alten Testament, that is, Christ in the Old 
Testament, or Inquiries concerning the Adumbrations and Delineations of the Mes¬ 
siah. Nurnberg, 1818, 2 vols. 8vo. Happily this tissue of absurdity is locked up 
in a language that is read by few comparatively in this country. The author’s 
knowledge of its existence is derived from the valuable periodical journal, entitled 
Melanges de Religion, de Morale, et de Critique Secree, published at Nisines, 
tome i. pp. 159, 160. 

2 See Chapter VI. infra. 

3 See particularly Dr. Whitby’s Dissertatio de Scripturarum Interpretations se¬ 
cundum patrum commentaries, 8vo. 1714, and Terretin De Sacra Scriptures inter - 
pretandee methodo, part i. c. iv. pp. 91—144. edit. 1728. 

4 Bishop Vanmildert’s Bampton Lectures, p. 247. 



[Part II 


( 504 ) 

CHAPTER II. 

ON THE SIGNIFICATION OF WORDS AND PHRASES. 

L General rules for investigating the meaning of words. — II. On 

emphatic words. — III. Rules for the investigation of emphases. 

i. Since, as we have already seen, words compose sentences, and 
these form senses, it is necessary to ascertain the individual meaning 
of words, before we proceed further to investigate the sense of 
Scripture. In the prosecution of this important work, we may 
observe, generally, that as the same method and the same principles 
of interpretation are common both to the sacred volume and to the 
productions of uninspired man, consequently the signification of words 
in the Holy Scriptures must be sought precisely in the same way in 
which the meaning of words in other works usually is or ought to be 
sought. Hence also it follows, that the method of investigating the 
signification of words in the Bible is no more arbitrary than it is in 
other books, but is in like manner regulated by certain laws, drawn 
from the nature of languages. And since no text of Scripture has 
more than one meaning, we must endeavour to find out that one true 
sense precisely in the same manner as we would investigate the sense 
of Homer or any other antient writer ; and in that sense, when so 
ascertained, we ought to acquiesce, unless, by applying the just rules 
of interpretation, it can be shown that the meaning of the passage has 
been mistaken, and that another is the only just, true, and critical 
sense of the place. This principle, duly considered, would alone be 
sufficient for investigating the sense of Scripture; but as there are not 
wanting persons who reject it altogether, and as it may perhaps appear 
too generally expressed, we shall proceed to consider it more minute¬ 
ly in the following observations. 

1. Ascertain the notion affixed to a word by the persons in general, 
by whom the language either ,is now or formerly was spoken, and espe¬ 
cially in the particular connection in which such notion is affixed. 

2. The meaning of a word used by any writer, is the meaning affixed 

to it by those for whom he immediately wrote. For there is a kind of 
natural compact between those icho write and those who speak a lan¬ 
guage ; by which they are mutually bound to use words in a certain 
sense : he , therefore, who uses such words in a different signification, in 
a manner violates that compact, and is in danger of leading men into 
error , contrary to the design of God, “ who will have all men to be sav¬ 
ed, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth .” (1 Tim. ii. 4.) 

3. The words of an author must not be so explained as to make them 
inconsistent with his known character, his known sentiments, his known 
situation, and the known circumstances under which he wrote. 

4» Although the force of particular words can only be derived from 
etymology, yet too much confidence must not be placed in that frequently 
uncertain science. 

5. The received signification of a word is to be retained, unless 
weighty ancily necessary reasons require that it should be abandoned or 
neglected. 

Thus, wc; shall be justified in rejecting the received meaning of a 
word in th(; following cases, viz. 


505 


Ch. IL] On the Signification of Words and Phrases. 

(1.) If such meaning clash with any doctrine revealed in the 
Scriptures. 

Thus, according to our authorised English version, Eli’s feeble reproaches 
of his profligate sons served only to lull them into security, because the Lord 
would slay them {1 Sam. ii. 25.), the meaning of which rendering is, to make their 
continuance in sin the effect of Jehovah’s determination to destroy them; and 
thus apparently support the horrid tenet, that God wills his creatures to commit 
crimes, because he is determined to display his justice in their destruction. It is 
true that the ordinarily received meaning of the Hebrew particle >3 (ki) is, be - 
cause ; but in this instance it ought to be rendered therefore , or though,1 which 
makes their wilful and impenitent disobedience the cause of their destruction, and 
is in unison with the whole tenor ot the sacred writings. The proper rendering 
therefore of this passage is, Nottcithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice oj 
their father. THEREFORE the LORD icould slay them. 

(2.) If a certain passage require a different explanation from that 
which it appears to present : as Mai. iv. 5, 6. compared with Luke 
i. 17. and Matt. xi. 14. 

(3.) If the thing itself will not admit of a tropical or figurative 
meaning being affixed to the word. 

G. The idea conveyed by a word, does not always contain the author’s 
true meaning: for sometimes metaphors require another sense, as in 
Matt. xvi. 6, 7. 12. Mark ix. 43—48. and John iii. 3. The nature and 
application of Metaphors are discussed infra, Chapter V. Section III. 

7. Where a word has several significations in common use, that must 
be selected ivhich best suits the passage in question. The sense of words 
and phrases ought to be ascertained, from those texts, in ivhich it is 
clear and undoubted from the connection, or from the nature of the sub¬ 
ject to which they are applied; and this should determine their signifi¬ 
cation, in places where there are no circumstances, by ivhich it can be 
ascertained with certainty. The clear meaning of a phrase, in any 
part of the Scriptures, has great authority for determining its sense in 
any other part where its signification is doubtful, x 

The word blood may be adduced as an illustration of this remark. The greai 
importance of this term, and its frequent use in the Jewish religion, rendered it 
very significant in the sacred writings. And almost all things are, by the law, 
purged with blood ; andioithout the shedding of blood is no remission. (Heb. 
ix. 22.) The reason for consecrating the blood to God, rather than any other 
part of the victim, is mentioned. (Lev. xvii. 11.) For the life of the flesh is in the 
blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar , to make an atonement for 
your souls ; for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. 

i. The term is sometimes used to denote, our natural descent, from one com¬ 
mon family. And hath made of one Blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all 
the f ace of the earth. (Acts xvii. 26.) Flesh and blood is an expression, which 
signifies the present natural state of man, unaided by divine grace. When Paul 
was converted, he did not consult with flesh and blood. (Gal. i. 16.) When Peter 
declared his belief, that his master was Christ, the Son of the living God ; Jesus 
answered, and said unto him, blessed art thou, Simon Barjona ; for flesh and 
blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my father which is in heaven. (Matt, 
xvi. 17.) We are assured that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 

ii. The term blood is used figuratively, for death. To resist unto blood, is to 
contend unto death. (Heb. xii. 4.) When I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted 
in thine own blood, I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood, live. (Ezek. 
xvi. 6.) To shed blood is to murder: hence a cruel murderer is called a bloody 
man. To give the wicked blood to drink, is to put into their hand the cup of 

1 Noldius, in his work on Hebrew particles, has shown that >3 (ki) has the mean¬ 
ing of therefore, in a great number of instances, among which he quotes this very 
passage. He has also adduced others, where it evidently means though. Purver 
adopts the latter, and thus translates the clause in question : — Notwithstanding 
they would not hearken to the voice of their father, though the Lord should slay 
them. 

VOL. II. 


64 



506 


On the Signification of Words and Phrases. [Part IL 

death. The metaphorical term is sometimes employed in personification. What 
hast thou done, said God to Cain. The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto 
me from the ground. (Gen. iv. 10.) Ye are come to the blood of sprinkling , that 
syeaketh better things than that of Abel. (Heb. xii. 24.) 

iii. The term blood, in the Scriptures, frequently means, the sufferings and 
death of Christ; considered as an atonement for the soul of sinners. Being jus¬ 
tified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath, through him. (Rom. v. 9.) 
These expressions, in the New Testament, are an allusion to the typical blood, 
which was so plentifully shed, under the Old. Christians are taught to reason ; 
that if the blood of bulls, and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the 
unclean, sanctificth to the purifying of the flesh; how much more shall the blood 
of christ, xcho, through the eternal spirit offered himself xcithout spot to God, 
purge your consciences, from dead wor/cs, to serve the living God. (Heb. ix. 13, 
14.) God hath set forth Jesus Christ to be a propitiation, that we may have 
faith in his blood; that is, that we may believe in the efficacy of his atonement. 
We have redemption through his blood ; even the forgiveness of sins, according to 
the riches of his grace. (Eph. i. 7.) We were not redeemed with corruptible things , 
as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb xoithout 
blemish, and icithout spot. (1 Pet. i. 18, 19.) 

iv. In the Scriptures, the blood of Christ is sometimes represented as the pro¬ 
curing cause of our justification. Much more being justified by his blood , ice shall 
be saved from icrath, through him. (Rom. v. 9.) The term blood, when used in 
this sense, means the merits of Christ's atonement. But in other passages, our 
sanctification is imputed to the blood of Christ. Hoio much more shall the blood 
of Christ, xoho through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, 
purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God. (Heb. ix. 14.) 
The saints are represented as walking in white ; because they had washed their 
robes in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev. vii. 14.) The term blood, when used in this 
figurative sense, evidently signifies the doctrines of the cross ; which are the great 
mean of purifying the believer’s heart. Now ye are clean, said Christ to his dis¬ 
ciples, through the word, which I have spoken unto yoxi. (John xv. 3.) 

This distinction between the blood of Christ, as the procuring cause of our jus¬ 
tification, and as the mean of our sanctification, ought to be clearly understood, by 
those who study the Scriptures. In the first sense, the term blood means Christ's 
atonement, as presented to the father; in the second, the doctrine of his suffer¬ 
ings, and crucifixion, as applied to the sinner’s conscience. The Lord Jesus 
Christ gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify 
to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good xcorks. (Tit. ii. 14.) A belief of this 
doctrine is the mean, which the Holy Spirit employs, to promote the sanctification 
of all who believe. 1 

8. The distinctions between words which are apparently synonymous , 
should be carefully examined and considered. 

In the Latin language many words are accounted perfectly synonymous; which, 
however, only partially accord together. Thus, a person whose discourse is cut 
short, is said to be silent (silerc) ; and one who has not begun to speak, is said to 
hold his tongue (tacerc .) Cicero speaking of beauty, observes, that there are two 
kinds of it; the one dignified and majestic (dignitas) ; the other soft arid graceful 
( venustas ); the latter to be considered proper to women, the former to men.2 
The same remark will apply to the language of Scripture. For instance, in the 
119th Psalm there are not fewer than ten different words, pointing out the word 
of God; viz. Law, Way, Word, Statutes, Judgments, Commandments, Precepts, 
Testimonies, Righteousness, and Truth, or Faithfulness. Now all these words, 
though usually considered as synonymous, are not literally synonymous, but refer 
to some latent and distinguishing properties of the Divine Word, whose manifold 
excellencies and perfections are thus illustrated with much elegant variety of dic¬ 
tion. In the New Testament we meet with similar instances, as in Col. ii. 22. 
svraXyara Kai di5a<jKa\ias avSpunwv, the commandments and doctrines of men. Doc¬ 
trines in this passage, include truths propounded to be believed or known ; Com¬ 
mands imply laws, which direct what is to be done or avoided : the latter depend 
upon and are derived from the former. The apostle is speaking of the traditions 
t augh t by the elders, and the load of cximbrous ceremonies commanded by them, 

1 Smith’s Essays on Christianity, pp. 214—217. 

2 Cum autem pulchritudinis duo genera sint, quorum in altero venustas sit, in 
altero dignitas ; venustatem muliebrem ducere debemus ; dignitatem virilem. Ci¬ 
cero de Officiis, lib. i. c. xxxvi. (op. tom. xii. p. 57. ed. Bipont.) 



50? 


Ch. II.] On the Signification of Words and Phrases . 

in addition to the significant rites prescribed in the law of Moses. In Rom. xiv. 
13. TtpocrKonfia, a stumbling block, means a slighter cause of offence, viz. that, which 
wounds and disturbs the conscience of another ; oicaviaXov, an occasion to fall, 
means a more weighty cause of offence, that is, such as may cause any one to 
apostatise from the Christian faith. Similar examples occur in Rom. xvi. 16. 1 

Tim. ii. 1. and 1 Pet. iv. 3. 1 

9. The epithets introduced by the sacred writers, arc also to be care¬ 
fully weighed and considered , as all of them have either a declarative or 
explanatory force, or serve to distinguish one thing from another , or 
unite these two characters together. The epithets of Scripture then are: 

(1.) Excgetical or Explanatory , that is, such as declare the nature 
and properties of a thing. 

Thus in Tit. ii. 11. the grace of God is termed saving, not indeed as if there 
were any other divine grace bestowed on man, that was not saving : but because 
the grace of God revealed in the Gospel is the primary and true source of eternal 
life. Similar epithets occur in 2 Tim. i. 9. in which our calling is styled holy; 
in 1 Pet. iv. 3. where idolatry is termed abominable; and in 1 Pet. ii. 9. where the 
Gospel is called the marvellous light of God, because it displays so many amazing 
scenes of divine wonders. 

(2.) Diacritical or Distinctive, that is, such as distinguish one 

thing from another. 

For instance, in 1 Pet. v. 4. the crown of future glory is termed a never-fading 
crown, a/iapavrivof, to distinguish it from that corruptible crown which, in the 
Grecian games, was awarded to the successful candidate. In like manner, genu 
inc faith, in 1 Tim. i. 5. is called undisscmbled, avvxoKpiros ; God, in the same chap¬ 
ter, (v. 17.) is designated the King incorruptible, BaaiXcvs cupSapros ; and in Rom. 
xii. 1. Christians’ dedicating themselves to God, is termed a reasonable service, 
Xarpua Xoywtj, in contradistinction to the Jewish worship, w T hich chiefly consisted 
in the sacrifice of irrational creatures. 

(3.) Doth Explanatory and Distinctive , as in Rom. ix. 5. 

Where Christ is called God blessed for ever. By which epithet both his divine 
nature is declared, and he is eminently distinguished from the Gentile deities. 
Similar examples occur in John xvii. 11. (compared with Luke xi. 11—13.) where 
God is termed Holy Father; in 1 John v. 20. where Christ is styled the true 
God, as also the Great God in Tit. ii. 13. and Heb. ix. 14. where the Holy Spirit 
is denominated the Eternal Spirit. 

10. General terms are used sometimes in their whole extent , and some¬ 
times in a restricted sense, and whether they are to be understood in the 
one way or in the other, must depend upon the scope, subject matter, 
context , and parallel passages. 

Thus, in 1 Thess. iii. 8. St. Paul, speaking to the Thessalonians, says, Now we 
live, if (more correctly, when) ye stand fast in the Lord. The word live, in this 
passage, is not to be understood in its whole extent, as implying that the apostle's 
physical life or existence depended on their standing fast in the Lord; but must 
be understood in a limited sense. It is as if he had said, “ Your steadfastness in 
the faith gives me new life and comfort. I now feel that I live to some purpose 
— I relish and enjoy life — since my labour in the Gospel is not in vain.” That 
this is the true meaning of the apostle, is evident both from the subject matter 
and from the context. For Saint Paul, filled with deep anxiety lest the Thessa¬ 
lonians should have been induced to depart from the faith by the afflictions which 
they had to endure, had sent Timothy to raise and comfort them. Having heard 
of their constancy in the faith, he exclaims, Now we live if ye standfast in the Lord. 

11. The preceding remarks are chiefly applicable to the investiga¬ 
tion of the ordinary signification of words ; but, besides these, it is 
well known that the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, abound 
with emphases, that is, with phrases, which import much more than 
words in their ordinary acceptation can possibly convey. 

1 On the subject of words commonly thought synonymous, see Dr. Campbell’s 
Dissertation prefixed to his translation of the Gospels, vol. i. pp. 164—240. edit. 

1807. ‘ > 




503 


On the Signification of Words and Phrases. [Part II 

Emphases are either verbal , that is, such as occur in words , both 
separately and together, or real , that is, such as appear in the magni¬ 
tude and sublimity of the thing described by words. The propriety 
of this division has been contested by Huet, Ernesti, 1 2 and some others, 
who affirm that emphases subsist in words only, and not in things, 
and that in things grandeur and sublimity alone are to be found. On 
this classification, however, there is a difference of opinion : and Lon¬ 
ginus himself, who has placed emphases among the sources of the 
sublime, seems to have admitted that they exist also in things. 
In the first instance, unquestionably, they are to be sought in 
words, sometimes in particles, and also in the Greek article f and 
when their force is fully apprehended, they enable us to enter into 
the peculiar elegances and beauties of the sacred style. A few ex¬ 
amples illustrative of this remark must suffice. 

Verbal Emphases. 

(1.) Emphases of the Greek Article. 

In Matt. xxvi. 28. our Saviour having instituted the sacrament of the Lord's? 
supper, after giving the cup to his disciples, adds : “ for this is my blood of the 
New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Almost every 
syllable of the original Greek, especially the articles, is singularly emphatic. It 
runs thus — Tovro yap e?i TO aipa yov , TO rrjs Kaivrjs 5iaSt]Krjs, TO vtpi iroXXwv tK%vva- 
yzvov us atytaiv ayapnuv. The following literal translation and paraphrase do not 
exceed its meaning : — “ For this is that blood of mine , which was pointed out 
by all the sacrifices under the Jewish law, and particularly by the shedding and 
sprinkling of the blood of the paschal lamb; that blood of the sacrifice slain 
for the ratification of the new covenant; the blood ready to be poured, out far the 
multitudes , the whole Gentile world as well as the Jews, for the taking away of 
sins; sin, whether original or actual, in all its power and guilt, in all its energy 
and pollution.” 3 In Matt. xvi. 16. the following sentence occurs: — Su us f O Xpi- 
S-o? f O vlos TOY Oeov TOY favros, “ Thou art the Christ, the son of the living 
God.” In this passage, also, every word is highly emphatic, agreeably to a 
rule of the Greek language, which is observed both by the sacred writers, as well 
as by the most elegant profane authors, viz, that when the article is placed before 
a noun, it denotes a certain and definitive object; but when it is omitted, it in 
general indicates any person or thing indefinitely. The apostle did not say r 
“ Thou art Christ, son of God,” without the article ; but, u Thou art the Christ f 
the Messiah, the son,” that very son, thus positively asserting his belief of that 
fundamental article of the Christian religion, the divinity and office of the Re¬ 
deemer of the world — “ Of the living God , or of God the living one.” Similar 
instances occur in John i. 21. f O Ttpotprirris u ; “ art thou that Prophet” whom 

1 Ernesti (Inst. Interp. Nov. Test. p. 41.) and after him Bauer (Herm. Sacra, p. 
232.) and Moras (Hermeneut. Nov. Test. Acroases, pp. 323—326.) have distin¬ 
guished emphases into temporary and permanent. The former are found in words 
at a certain time and place, and arise from the feelings of the party speaking, or 
from the importance of the thing. The latter or permanent emphases are those, 
in which a word receives from custom a greater signification than it has of itself, 
and which it retains under certain forms of speech. The knowledge of both these 
is to be derived from a consideration of the context and subject matter. But the 
examples adduced in defence of this definition concur to make it a distinction with¬ 
out a difference, when compared with the ordinary classification of emphases into 
verbal and real, which we have accordingly retained. 

2 The importance and force of the Greek Article are fully illustrated in the late 
Bishop of Calcutta’s (Dr. Middleton’s) Doctrine of the Greek Article, 8vo. 1808 ; 
in the late Mr. Granville Sharp’s Remarks on the Uses of the Definitive Article 
of the Greek Text of the New Testament, 12mo. 1803 ; in Dr. Wordsworth’s Six 
Letters to Mr. Sharp; and in the Supplementary Researches of Mr. Hugh Stuart 
Boyd, inserted in Dr. A. Clarke’s Commentary on Eph. vi. and at the end of his 
Commentary on the Epistle to Titus. In the latter, Mr. Boyd has combated and 
refuted the philosophical objections of Unitarians. 

3 Dr. A. Clarke’s Discourse on the Eucharist, pp. 61, 62. 



509 


Ch. If.] On the Signification of Words and Phrases . 


the Jewish nation had so long and so anxiously expected, and who had been pro¬ 
mised by Moses (Deut. xviii. 15-18.); and also in John x. 11. Eye etpi •0 JL V 
O am that good shepherd ox the shepherd , that good one, of whom 

Isaiah (xl. 11.) and Ezeluel (xxxiv. 23.) respectively prophesied 

“ Another very important rule in the construction of the Greek arti- 
ticle, is the following, which was first completely illustrated by the 
late eminently learned Granville Sharp; though it appears not to 
have been unknown to former critics and -commentators.” 1 

“ When two or more personal nouns of the same gender, number, and 
case, are connected by the copulative xa»(and), if the first has the defi¬ 
nitive article, and the second, third, Sfc. have not, they both relate to 
the same person. 1 ’ 

This rule Mr. S. has illustrated by the eight following examples : 

1. 'O ©S0£ xa! tfarrig Ku^iou fyxwv. 2 Cor. -i. 3. 

2. Tw 0sw xai Karp. 1 Cor. xv. 24. 

These examples are properly rendered, in the authorised translation, and ac¬ 
cording to the preceding rule ; 

1 . The God and Father of our Lord. 

2. To God even the Father. 

3. Ev rrj fiaoiXua rov Xpt^ov kcu Oeov. Eph. V. 5- 


Common Version 


Corrected Version. 


In the Kingdom of Christ and of God. | In the Kingdom of Christ, even of God 
4. Kara x a P iV T0V ® £0V fyw Kat Kvotov I rjaov XptfOv. 2 Thess. i. 12. 


Common Version. 

According to the grace of our God and 
the Lord Jesus Christ. 


Corrected Version. 

According to the grace of Jesus Christ, 
our God and Lord. 


5. Evwinov rov Oeov Kat Kvpiov 1 rjaov Xptpov. 1 Tim. V. 21. 


Common Version. 

Before God and the Lord Jesus Christ 


Corrected Version. 

Before Jesus Christ, the God and Lord ; 

or, our God and Lord. 

(For the definitive Article has sometimes 
the power of a possessive Pronoun) 

6. E iu<pavtiav TVS So^vs rov peyaXov Oeov kcu aotrrjpos fi/unv I v<rov Xptftrv. Titus ii. 13. 


Common Version 
The glorious appearing of the great 
God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. 


Corrected Version. 

The glorious appearing of our great 
God and Saviour Jesus Christ. 


7. Ev SiKaioavvv rov Oeov fiptov Kat curvpos Ivoov Xptfov. 2 Pet. i. 1 


Common Version. 

Through the righteousness of God, and 
of our Saviour Jesus Christ. 


Corrected Version. 

Through the righteousness of Jesus 
Christ, our God and Saviour. 


/ -- - — — - ■ - 

8. Kat rov povov Seororriv Oeov kcu K vpiov ffpivv I r/oovv Xptfov apvovpevot. Jude 4 


Common Version. 

And denying the only Lord God, and 
our Lord Jesus Christ. 


Corrected Version. 

And denying our only Master, God, ard 
Lord Jesus Christ .2 


The above rule and examples are further confirmed by the re¬ 
searches of Bishop Middleton ; and altogether furnish a most strik¬ 
ing body of evidence in behalf of the divinity of our Saviour. That 
fundamental and most important doctrine of the Christian faith does 
not indeed depend upon the niceties of grammatical construction: 
but when these are eagerly seized by those who deny the divinity of 
the Son of God, in order to support their interpretation, we are 
amply justified in combating them with the same weapons. On this 
account the reader will be gratified by the addition of a few exam- 


1 Venema, in an admirable-dissertation on the true reading of Acts xx. 28. has 
adverted to it. (See the passage in the British Critic (N. S., vol. xi. p. 612.); 
and also Mr. De Gols, in his valuable, though now neglected, Vindication of the 
Worship of Jesus Christ. (London, 1726. 8vo.) p. 37. 

- Sharp on the Greek Article, pp. xxxix. xl. 1—56. 








-510 


On the Signification of Words and Phrases. [Part II. 

pies, both from classic authors, as well as from two or three of the 
lathers of the Christian church, in which Mr. Sharp’s rule is com¬ 
pletely exemplified. They are selected from Mr. Boyd’s supple¬ 
mentary researches, cited in the preceding page. 

Oita rag Tvpziag 

MtiriSos oiKrpag aXo %op 

KipKTiXarov t arfows. iEschyli Supplices, v. 02—64. 

The voice of the wretched wife of Tereus, the nightingale, pursued by the falcon. 

'O Saifxwv, 6 cog Kapog. Sophoclis Electra. 

Mine and thine evil genius. 

f O zpog yzvzrag Kac cog. 

Mine and thy father. 

Ola rc irac^Ofxzv zk rijg pvaapag , 

Kai iraibocpovov rrjg hz Xzaivtjg. Euripidis Ion, V. 1389, 1403. 

What things we suffer from this execrable lioness, and slayer of children! 

Tov fiaicapiov Kac zvtiolgov UavXov. — Of the blessed and illustrious Paul. (Polycarp, 
Epist. ad Philipp.) 

A yanr/v tov Xpipov, rov Qzov fi/unv. — The love of Christ our God. (Ignatius, 
Epist. ad Romanos.) 

To* Kris^, k at Atipiovpyov. — The Creator and Maker. (Irenaeus adv. Haeres 
lib. iv. p. 48. edit. Oxon. 1702.) 

Tow Kopv<}>(uoraTov trap' bpcov Kac rpcorov toov iroir)TU)V , 'Oprjpov. — Homer the most dis¬ 
tinguished among you, and first of the poets. (Justin Martyr. Cohortatio ad 
Graecos.) 

' O Ap^tg’parrjyog Kac Hocprjv Tcov nar' ovpavov, to t avTa irana nziSovrai. — The great 
Ruler and Shepherd of them in heaven, whom all things obey. (Methodius.) 

A pipe rov avap%ov Kac avu\z$pov B aocXza. — Around the King, without beginning and 
immortal. (Ibid.) 

1 va tov B aciXza yzpaiprj xavTcov Kac TIonjTtjv. — That he may venerate the King and 
Maker of all. (Ibid.) 

'0 g’pariiyog fipwv Kac iroiprjv lijcovg, Kac ap% tov, Kai vvp<pcog .— Jesus, OUr leader, and 
shepherd, and governor, and bridegroom. (Ibid.) 

Tov Qzov povov apvzicSe, tov bzoTTOTtjv Kai Srtpiovpyov tov navTog. — Ye deny the only 
God, the lord and creator of all. (Chrysostom. Orat. de non anathem. vivis aut 
defunctis.) 

Ev bptpa zmcpavzcag Kac arroKaXvcpzwg tov pzyaXov Qzov Kai Ap%nroipzvog ftpuv, I rjcov 

Xptg'ov -In the day of the appearing and revelation of Jesus Christ, the Great 

God and Chief Shepherd of us. (Gregor. Nazianzen. Orat. 4. adv. Julian, in fine.) 

(2.) Emphases of other words. 

John i. 14. The word was made flesh, and dicelt umong us, zcktjvwczv zv f/ptv, lite¬ 
rally, tabernacled among us. The verb ckt)vocv (from ckijvt]) signifies to erect a booth, 
tabernacle, or temporary residence, and not a permanent habitation or dwelling 
place : it was therefore fitly applied to the human nature of Christ; which, like 
the antient Jewish tabernacle, was to be only for a temporary residence of the 
Eternal Divinity. 

Matt. ix. 36. When Jesus saw the multitudes , he had compassion on them, — 
ZcKXayxyio§--n (from T.i:aXayxyov, a bowel) ; the antients generally, and the Jews in 
particular, accounting the bowels to be the seat of sympathy and the tender pas¬ 
sions, applied the organ to the sense. 1 The proper meaning therefore of this 
phrase is, that our Lord was moved with the deepest sympathy and commisera¬ 
tion for the neglected Jews. 

Heb. iv. 13. Ml things are naked and opened , TzrpaxvXccpzva, to the eyes of him 
with whom we have to account. The emphasis is here derived from the manner 
in which sacrifices were antiently performed. 

(3.) Emphatic Adverbs. 

[i.j Sometimes adverbs of time are emphatic ; and a careful nota¬ 
tion of the time indicated by them will materially illustrate the force 
and meaning of the sacred icritings. 

1 Kuinoel in loc. who has given illustrations from classical writers, and also from 
the Apocrypha. 





511 


Cn. LI.] On the Signification of Words and Phrases . 

Thus, in Mai. iii. 16. we read, Then they that feared the Lord, spake often one 
to another, &c. The word then is here peculiarly emphatic, and refers to the 
time when the last of the prophets wrote, and when many bold infidels and impi¬ 
ous persons were found among the Jews, who spake “ stout words” against God, 
and vindicated them. They considered all the time spent by them in his service 
as lost; they attended his “ ordinances” with many expressions of self-denial and 
humiliation, but they derived no benefit from them ; and they concluded that those 
haughty rebels who cast off all religion, and tempted God by their presumptuous 
wickedness, were the most prosperous and happy persons (v. 13—15.) Then, 
viz. at this season of open loickcdncss, there was a remnant of pious Jews, who 
“ spake often one to another,” met together from time to time that they might 
confer on religious subjects, animate each other to their duty, and consult how to 
check the progress of impiety. Of these persons, and their pious designs and 
discourses, we are told that Jehovah took especial notice ; and that “ a book of 
remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that 
thought upon his name.” 

[ii.] A knowledge of historical circumstances , however , is requisite , 
less we ascribe the emphasis to a wrong source ; as in Acts ix. 31. 

Then had the churches rest (uprjvijv, literally, peace or prosperity). The cause 
of this peace has by some commentators been ascribed to the conversion of Saul, 
who had previously “ made havoc of the church but this is not likely, as he 
could not be a cause of universal persecution and distress, whatever activity and 
virulence lie might have shown during the time of his enmity to the Christian 
church. Besides, his own persecution (as the context shows) proves that the op¬ 
position to the Gospel continued with considerable virulence three years after his 
conversion. If we advert to the political circumstances of the Jewish nation at 
that time, we shall find the true cause of this rest. The emperor Caligula had 
ordered his statue to be erected in the temple at Jerusalem; and, in pursuance 
of his mandate, Petronius, the president of Syria, was on his march with an army 
for that purpose. Filled with consternation, the Jews met him in vast multitudes 
in the vicinity of Ptolemais or Acre, and ultimately prevailed on him to abandon 
his design. It was this persecution of the Jews by the Romans, that the sacred 
writer had in view, which diverted the Jews from persecuting the Christians : and 
“ Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria 
the terror occasioned by the imperial decree having spread itself throughout those 
regions. 1 

o _ 

Real Emphases. 

The knowledge of these can only be derived from an acquaintance 
with the manners, customs, &c. of antient nations, which are noticed 
by writers on biblical antiquities and by commentators, so far as 
they are necessary to illustrate the sacred writings. Two or three 
instances of these also will suffice to explain their nature. 

Rom. xi. 17. In this verse we have a very beautiful illustration taken from 
the ingrafting of trees; an art with which we find St. Paul was well acquainted. 
The point to be explained was, the union of the Gentiles with the Jews under the 
Gospel dispensation. The Jews were the olive tree ; the grafts were both Gen¬ 
tiles and Jews; and the act of ingrafting was, the initiation of both into the 
Christian religion. The Jews are informed that olive-branches may with greater 
ease be ingrafted into their own original stock, which is more natural and conge¬ 
nial to them. The Gentiles are again reminded, that, if the natural branches 
were not spared beeamse of their unfruitfulness, much less would they be spared 
who were aliens to the Jewish stock, if they should prove unfruitful. 

The prize flpaSuov, mentioned in 1 Cor. ix. 24. is the crown awarded to the vic¬ 
tor in the Olympic games; whence icarappaSevciv, rendered beguile you of your 
reward (Col. ii. 18.), means to deprive any one of a reward or prize, either by 
partial judgment or in any way impeding him in his Christian course. In 1 Cor 
ix. 24. the apostle illustrates the necessity of being in earnest in the Christian 
race, by a beautiful allusion to the games of the heathen. As the racers and 
wrestlers in those games fitted themselves for their different exercises, and each 

1 Dr. Lardner has collected and given at length various passages from Josephus 
(De Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 10. and Ant. Jud. lib. xviii. c. 9.) and Philo (De Legat. ad 
Gaium, p. 1024.), which confirm the Above statement. See his Credibility, book i, 
.ch. ii. § 12. 



■512 


On the Signification of Words and Phrases. [Part il. 


strove zealously for the victory, so should the Christian prepare himself for his re¬ 
ligious course, and strive for the victory in his great contest with the world. 

°1 Cor. iv. 13. We are made the filth of the earth , nt^iKa^nara, literally, a purga¬ 
tion or lustrative sacrifice : the allusion is to a custom common among heathen 
nations in times of public calamity, who selected some unhappy men of the most 
abject and despicable character. These, after being maintained a whole year at 
the public expense, were then led out crowned with flowers, as was usual in sa 
orifices, and were devoted to appease or avert the anger of their deities, being 
either precipitated into the sea, or burnt alive, after which their ashes were thrown 
into the sea. 

Eph. v. 27. That it (the church of Christ) should be holy and without ble¬ 
mish, afno/ios, i. e. so pure and spotless, so free from all censure, that even Momus 
himself (the fictitious deity of mirth and ridicule) could find nothing to carp at or 
ridicule. 

III. A consideration of the affections by which the sacred authors 
were animated, when they committed their inspired communications 
to writing, as well as the scope and context of the passage under 
consideration, together with the nature of its subject, will always 
enable us to ascertain the true emphasis of words : but, as ingenious 
and fanciful minds are apt to discover them where they do not actu¬ 
ally exist, it may not be irrelevant to offer a few leading hints respect¬ 
ing the particular investigation of emphases, selected from die great 
mass of observations, which have been collected by eminent biblical 
critics. 

1 . No emphases are to he sought in refined explanations of passages, 
or from etymology, both of them uncertain guides at the best; and ivhicli 
are too often carried to extremes by men of lively imaginations. Neither 
will prepositions always enlarge or give additional force to the meaning 
of a word, particularly in the Greek language. 

We may instance in 1 Cor. xiii. 6., where we read that true charity rejoiceth 
not in iniquity, but rejoiceth (cvyxatpei) in the truth. Some commentators have 
conceived that this word is emphatic, and have rendered the passage rejoiceth 
jointly (with true believers) in the truth. But in this instance, as Schleusner has 
remarked from Hesychius, the Greek compound verb means no more than the 
simple verb %atpw implies, viz. to be delighted or to rejoice in a thing. Our au¬ 
thorised version therefore fully expresses the apostle’s meaning. But in Heb. xii. 
2. the proposition is highly emphatic, and demands particular attention, in order 
to apprehend the full force and beauty of the passage, which is wholly agonistical , 
i. e. allusive to the antient foot races. Having in the first verse exhorted Chris¬ 
tians to divest themselves of every incumbrance, and to run with patience their 
Christian course, St. Paul adds, (v. 2.) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher 
of our faith. The original word here rendered looking (a^opwvre s), 1 literally 
means to look off from every other object to some particular object placed full in 
view; as the reward destined to the victor in the Olympic foot race was placed 
immediately in view of the candidates. It is impossible to express the full import 
of this passage without the aid of a paraphrase. The whole clause may be thus 
rendered — Wherefore , seeing we are also compassed about with so great a cloud 
of icitncsses , who (like the spectators at the antient Olympic race) surround us on 
every side in a vast innumerable assembly, the spectators of our trial, let us lay 
aside every incumbering weight , and especially the sin, w hich in present circum- 

1 This word occurs in Josephus precisely in the very same meaning as it is used 
by the apostle. The Jewish historian, relating the aggressions of the Jews which 
led to the war with the Romans, says, among other things, that those who officiated 
in the temple service, rejected the sacrifice for Caesar and the Roman people. 

“ And when many of the high priests and principal men besought them not to 
omit the sacrifice, which it was customary for them to offer for their princes, they 
would not be prevailed upon. These relied much upon their number, for the most 
flourishing part of the innovators assisted them,” A<I>OPSiNTEZ tig rov E Xea^apov “ hav¬ 
ing the chief regard to Eleazar, the governor of the temple looking to him 
exclusively, by whom they had been instigated to those offensive measures. De 
Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. xvii. § 2. 



513 


Ch. IT.] On the Signification of Words and Phrases. 

stances has the greatest advantage [against ws], or the well circumstanced sin, that 
which has every thing in its favour, time, place, and opportunity, more particu¬ 
larly, a disposition to relinquish or dissemble our profession of the Gospel for 
fear of sufferings ; a?id let us run with patience and perseverance the race lohich 
is set before us, resolutely persisting in it, however long and painful it may be : 
Looking off from every object that would interrupt us in our career, and fixing our 
eyes upon (or to) Jesus, the author (or leader) and finisher of our faith ; who called 
us out to this strenuous yet glorious enterprise ; who animates us by his example, 
and supports us by his grace, until the season arrive, when he will bestow upon 
us the promised crownJ 

2. Further: Emphases are not to he sought in versions ; which , 
however excellent they may in general he, arc yet liable to error ; conse¬ 
quently the derivation of emphases from them may lead us not merely to 
extravagant, hut even to false expositions of Scripture. 

One instance will suffice to illustrate this remark. In Col. ii. 6. according to 
the authorised English version, we read thus, As ye have therefore received Christ 
Jesus the Lord, so ivalk ye in him. From this rendering of the Greek text many 
persons have laid much stress on the words as and so, (which last is not to be 
found in the original), and have deduced a variety of inferences from them, viz. 
as ye received Jesus Christ in a spirit of faith, so walk ye in him ; as ye received 
him in a spirit of humility, so walk ye in him, &c. Now all these inferences, 
though proper enough in themselves, are derived from false emphases, and are 
contrary to the apostle’s meaning, who intended to say no such thing. His moan- 
iug, as Dr. Macknight has well translated the passage, is simply this — “ Smcc ye 
have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk ye in him in other words, as the con¬ 
text plainly shows, “ Since ye have embraced the doctrine of Christ, continue 
to hold it fast, and permit not yourselves to be turned aside by sophistical or Juda- 
ising teachers.” 2 

3. No emphases arc to he sought in the plural number of words. 

Thus ovpavos and ovpavoi simply mean heaven ; yet Origen, following the trifling 
distinctions of some Jewish writers, has attempted to distinguish between them, 
and has announced the existence of several heavens each above the other. 

4. No emphasis is to be sought in words where the abstract is put for 
the concrete, as is very frequent in the Hebrew Scriptures , 3 in which 
substantives are necessarily put in the place of adjectives, on account of 
the simplicity of the language which has few or no adjectives. 

5. Lastly, As every language abounds with idioms, 4 or expressions 
peculiar to itself, which cannot be rendered verbatim into another lan¬ 
guage without violating its native purity, we should be careful not to 
look for emphases in such expressions. 5 

1 See Braunius, Krebsius, Kypke, Ernesti, and also Drs. Doddridge, Macknight, 
and A. Clarke on Iieb. xii. 1, 2. by whom every emphatic word in these two verses 
is particularly illustrated. 

2 See Drs. Macknight and A. Clarke on Col. ii. 6. 

3 See numerous examples in which the abstract is put for the concrete, infra , 
Chap. V. Sect. II. § 4. 

4 On the Hebraisms, or Hebrew idioms peculiar to the Sacred Writings, see pp. 
24—28. supra, of the present volume. 

5 Bauer, Herm. Sacr. pp. 231—240. Ernesti Instit. Interp. Nov. Test. pp. 40— 
45. Mori Acroases in Ernesti, tom. i. pp. 321—336. Aug. Pfeiffer, Herm. Sacr. 
c. vi. § 16—23. (Op. tom. pp. 649—651.) Wetstein, Libelli ad Crisin et Interp. 
Nov. Test. pp. 120—139. Viser, Herm. Sacr. Nov. Test, pars iii. pp. 263—277. 
Bishop Marsh’s Lectures, lect. xv. pp. 43—49. where the three first rules (pp. 499, 
500. supra,) are admirably illustrated. Prof. Gerard has collected numerous valu 
able observations on the topics discussed in this chapter in his Institutes of Biblical 
Criticism, pp. 293—369. particularly in sect. iii. (pp.300—314.) on the signification 
of words. J. B. Carpzovii Prim® Line® Herm. Sacr®, pp. 23. 40—45. The sub¬ 
ject of emphases is copiously treated by Langius, in his Hermeneutica Sacra, pp. 
64—96.; by Rambach, in his Institutiones Hermeneutic® Sacr®, lib. ii. cap. 8. pp. 
1517—362.; by Jahn, in his Enchiridion Herm. Generalis, pp. 127—135.; by 
Chladenius, in his Institutiones Exegetic®, pp. 310—322.; and by J. E. Pfeiffer, 
in his Institutiones Herm. Sacr. pp 534—569. 

vol. ii. 65 



( 514 ) 


[Part II Ch. 


CHAPTER III. 

ON THE SUBSIDIARY MEANS FOR ASCERTAINING THE SENSE 

OF SCRIPTURE. 

SECTION I. 

ON THE COGNATE LANGUAGES. 

Besides the critical use to which the Cognate Languages 1 may 
be applied, they afford very considerable assistance, (as well as the 
antient versions ,) 2 in illustrating the sacred writings. They confirm 
by their own authority a Hebrew form of speech, already known to us 
from some other source : they supply the deficiencies of the Hebrew 
language, and make us fully acquainted with the force and meaning 
of obscure words and phrases, of which we must otherwise remain 
ignorant, by restoring the lost roots of words, as well as the primary 
and secondary meaning of such roots; by illustrating words the mean¬ 
ing of which has hitherto been uncertain, and by unfolding the mean¬ 
ings of other words that are of less frequent occurrence, or are only 
once found in the Scriptures. Further, the cognate languages are 
the most successful, if not the only means of leading us to understand 
the meaning of phrases, or idiomatical combinations of words found 
in the Bible, and the meaning of which cannot be determined by it, 
but which, being agreeable to the genius of the original languages, 
■are preserved in books written in them. Schultens, in his Origines 
Hebraeae , 3 has illustrated a great number of passages from the Arabic, 
from whose work Bauer 4 and Dr. Gerard 5 have given many examples 
which do not admit of abridgment. Schleusner has also availed 
himself of the cognate dialects to illustrate many important passages 
of the New Testament. Of the various modern commentators on the 
Bible, no one perhaps has more successfully applied the kindred lan¬ 
guages to its interpretation than Dr. Adam Clarke. 

In consulting the cognate languages, however, much care and at¬ 
tention are requisite, lest we should be led away by any verbal or 
literal resemblance that may strike the mind, and above all by mere 
etymologies, which, though in some instances they may be advan¬ 
tageously referred to, are often uncertain guides. The resemblance 
or analogy must be a real one. We must there compare not only 
similar words and phrases , but also similar modes of speech , which, 
though perhaps differing as to the etymology of the words , are yet 
evidently spoken of a similar thing. The following examples will 
illustrate this remark: 

1 See a notiee of the cognate languages in pp. 31,32. of the present volume. 

2 ,Qn the benefit to be derived from the use and application of antient versions, 
see pp. 212—215. of this volume. 

3 Alberti Schultens Origines Hebra^ce, sive Hebrsese Linguee antiquissima Natu¬ 
re et Indoles, ex Arabice penetralibus revocata. Lugduni Batavorum, 1761, 4to. 
In two parts or volumes. The first edition was printed at Franeker, in 1724—1738. 

4 Bauer’s Hermeneutica Sacra, pp. 90—144. 

5 Gerard’s Institutes of Biblical Criticism, pp. 58 —70. 




515 


III. Sect. I.] On the Cognate Languages. 

1. In 1 Cor. iii. 15. St. Paul, speaking of certain Christian teach¬ 
ers at Corinth, observes, that, “ if any man's work shall be burnt , he 
shall suffer loss , but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." On 
this passage, by a forced and erroneous construction, has the church 
of Rome erected the doctrine of purgatory, a place in which she 
pretends that the just, who depart out of this life, expiate certain of¬ 
fences that do not merit eternal damnation. Let us, however, con¬ 
sider the subject matter of the apostle’s discourse in his Epistle to 
the Corinthians. Reflecting on the divisions which were among 
them, and on that diversity of teachers who formed them into diffe¬ 
rent parties, he compares these to various builders some of whom 
raised an edifice upon the only foundation, Jesus Christ, composed 
of gold , silver , and precious stones; in other words, who preached the 
pure, vital, and uncorrupted doctrines of the Gospel ; while others, 
upon the same foundation, built wood, hay , stubble , that is, dissemi¬ 
nated false, vain, and corrupt doctrines ; of both these structures, 
he says, (v. 13.) Every 711011 's work shall be made manifest; for the 
day shall declare it , because it shall be revealed by fre ; and the fire 
shall try (rather prove) every mail’s icork of what sort it is. Either 
the day ot the heavy trial of persecution, or rather the final judg¬ 
ment of God, shall try every man’s work, search it as thoroughly as 
fire does things that are put into it. Then, adds the apostle, if any 
man’s ivork abide which he hath built thereupon , if the doctrines he hath 
taught bear the test, as silver, gold, and precious stones abide in the 
fire, he shall receive a reward. But if any man's work shall be burnt , 
if, on that trial, it be found that he has introduced false or unsound 
doctrines, he shall be like a man, whose building being of wood, hay, 
and stubble, is consumed by the fire ; all his pains in building are 
lost, and his works destroyed and gone. But (rather yet) if he be 
upon the whole a good man who hath built upon Christ as the foun¬ 
dation, and on the terms of the gospel committed himself to him, he 
himself shall b’e saved; yet so as by fire, ug Sia rfvgog, that is, not with¬ 
out extreme hazard and difficulty, as a man is preserved from the 
flames of his house when he escapes naked through them, and thus 
narrowly saves his life though with the loss of all his property. This 
expression is proverbial concerning persons who escape with great 
hazard out of imminent danger; and similar expressions are to be 
found in the Old Testament, as in Amos iv. II. 1 2 and Zech. iii. 2. and 
also in the Epistle of Jude v. 23. Now, let this phrase be compared 

1 Some writers have imagined that the apostle is speaking of the materials , that 
is, the persons, of which the church of God is composed, rather than of the minis¬ 
ters of the Gospel, whom he represents as architects in the heavenly building. On 
a repeated consideration of the verses in question, the author is satisfied that the 
latter are intended : and in this view of the subject he is supported by Mr. Locke, 
Dr. Doddridge, and other eminent critics. 

2 Grotius, in his note on this passage, has remarked that a similar mode of 
speaking obtained among the Greeks, lui^ea^ai « irvpos , or vc <p\oyyos, but he has not 
cited any examples. Palairet cites the following passage from one of the orations 
of Aristides; who, speaking of Apelles, says that the gods saved him out of the 
midst of the fire, EK MEEOY HYPOS tov avtpa SflZEIN. Observations Philologico- 
Criticse in Nov. Test. p. 386. Some additional instances are given in Eisner's 
Observationes Sacrae in Novi Foederis Libros, vol. ii. p. 78. See Bishop Porteus's 
Brief Confutation of the Errors of the Church of Rome, pp. 48, 49. 12mo. London, 
1796 ; and the Bishop of Lincoln’s Elements of Christian Theology, vol. ii. pp.347 
—351.; Drs. Whitby, Macknight, and A. Clarke, on 1 Cor. iii. 15. 



516 


On the Cognate Languages. [Part II. Ch. 

with the Latin words ambustus and semiustus . Livy, speaking of Lu¬ 
cius flEmilius Paulus, says, that he had very narrowly escaped being 
sentenced to punishment, prope ambustus evaserat , (lib. xxii. c. 35.;) 
and again (c. 40.) the consul is represented as saying that he had, in 
his former consulate, escaped the flames of the popular rage not 
without being scorched, se popularc incendium semiustum evasisse. 1 
Here, also, though there is no verbal resemblance between the ex¬ 
pression of Saint Paul and those of the Roman historian, yet the 
real analogy is very striking, and shows that the apostle employed a 
well known proverbial expression, referring solely to a narrow escape 
from difficulty, and not, as the Romanists erroneously assert, to the 
fire of purgatory, a doctrine which is justly characterised as “a fond 
thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of scripture, 
but rather repugnant to the word of God.” 2 

2. The sentence in Gen. xlix. 10. nor a laicgiver from between his 

feet , has greatly exercised the ingenuity of commentators. It is at 
present considered as equivalent to a teacher from his offspring. But, 
without altogether rejecting this interpretation, we may derive some 
light on the venerable patriarch’s meaning from the Greek writers, 
among whom the expression of Moses occurs in the very same terms. 
Thus, in the Theage of Plato, we have sx rwv rroo wv In 

other writers the expression is sx tfo'Swv, or sx rfoS wv yivsrfSui, which is 
equivalent to e medio discedere, e medio evadcrc , e conspectu abire , that is, 
to disappear. 3 The general meaning of Moses, therefore, may be, that 
a native lawgiver , or expounder of the law, teacher, or scribe, (inti¬ 
mating the ecclesiastical polity of the Jews) should not be wanting to 
that people, until Shiloh, or the Sent (the Apostle , as Saint Paul terms 
Jesus Christ, Heb. iii. 1.) come. How accurately this prediction has 
been accomplished it is not necessary to show in this place. 

3. In Matt. viii. 20. we read that Christ had not where to lay his 
head: which expression has been interpreted as meaning that he had 
literally no home of his own. But considerable light is thrown upon 
it by two passages from the Arabic History of Abulpharagius ; in the 
first of which, having stated that Saladin had animated his soldiers 
to the storming of Tyre, he says, that no place now remained to the 
Franks , where they could lay their head, except Tyre; and 
again, after relating that the Arabs had stormed Acca, or Ptolemais, 
he says that no place was left to the franks, on the coast of this 
(the Mediterranean) Sea, where they could lay their head . 4 

1 Cicero, (Orat. pro Milone, c. 5.) has the following passage: — u Declarant hu- 
jus ambusti tribuni plebis illoe intermortuae condones, quibus quotidie mean* po- 
tentiam invidiose criminabatur” (tom. vi. p. 91. edit. Bipont.) ; and in his second 
pleading against Verres, the following sentence, which is still more fully in point: 
“ Sic iste (Verres) multo sceleratior et nequior, quam ille Hadrianus, aliquanto 
etiam felicior fuit. Ille quod ejus avaritiam cives Romani ferre non potuerant, 
UticiB domi suae vivus exustus est; idque ita illi merito accidisse existimatum est, 
ut laetaruntur omnes neque ulla animadversio constitueretur : hie sociorum ambus¬ 
tus incendio , tavien cx ilia jlamma periculoquc evolavit,” &c. (Cont. Verr. Action 
ii. lib. 1. c. 27. tom. iii. p. 265.) 

2 Article xxii. of the Anglican Church. The antiscriptural doctrine of purgato¬ 
ry is copiously and ably exposed by Mr. Fletcher in his “ Lectures on the Princi¬ 
ples and Institutions of the Roman Catholic Religion.” pp. 236—250. 

3 Mori Acroases in Ernesti Instit. Interp. Nov. Test. vol. i. p. 181. 

4 Abulpharagii Historia, pp. 406. 591. cited by Ammon, in his notes on Ernesti’s 
Instit. Interp. Nov. Test. pp. 67,68. The subject of the preceding section is briefly 



On the Analogy of Scripture. 


517 


III. Sect II.] 


From these two passages it is evident that the evangelist’s meaning 
is, that Jesus Christ had no secure and fixed place of residence. 


SECTION II. 

ON THE ANALOGY OF SCRIPTURE, OR PARALLEL PASSAGES. 

I. Nature of Parallel Passages. — II. Verbal Parallelisms. — III. 
Real Parallelisms. — IV . Parallelisms of members , or poetical 
parallelisms. — V. Rules for investigating parallel passages .— 
Helps for the investigation of parallel passages. 

The importance of parallelisms or parallel passages to the eluci¬ 
dation of the Scriptures having already been frequently adverted to, 
it now becomes necessary to institute a particular inquiry into their 
nature, and to offer some general hints for beneficially consulting this 
very important subsidiary mean in the study of the Bible. “ When, 
in any ordinary composition, a passage occurs of doubtful meaning 
with respect to the sentiment or doctrine it conveys, the obvious 
course of proceeding is, to examine what the author himself has in 
other parts of his work delivered upon the same subject; to weigh 
well the force of any particular expressions he is accustomed to use ; 
and to inquire what there might be in the occasion or circumstances 
under which he wrote, tending to throw further light upon the imme¬ 
diate object he had in view. This is only to render common justice 
to the writer; it is necessary both for the discovery of his real mean¬ 
ing, and to secure him against any wanton charge of error or incon¬ 
sistency. Now, if this may justly be required in any ordinary work 
of uninspired composition, how much more indispensable must it be 
when we sit in judgment upon the sacred volume ; in which (if we 
acknowledge its divine original) it is impossible even to imagine a 
failure either in judgment or in integrity . * 1 

“ God has been pleased, in sundry portions and in divers manners, 
to speak unto us in his word ; but in all the books of Scripture we 
may trace an admirable unity of design, an intimate connection of 
parts, and a complete harmony of doctrines. In some instances the 
same truths are conveyed nearly in the same modes of expression ; 
in other instances the same sentiments are clothed with beautiful 
varieties of language. While we are interested in discovering some 
of the indications of mental diversity among the sacred writers, we 
clearly perceive that the whole volume of revelation is distinguished 
by a certain characteristic style and phraseology altogether its own, 
and which for simplicity, dignity, energy, and fulness, must be allowed 
to have no parallel. Now, if there be in the various parts of Scrip¬ 
ture such important coincidences of sentiment, of language, and of 

discussed by Ernesti, pp. 65—70. and more at length in his Opera Philologica, pp. 
173. et seq. and 277., as well as by Morus, in his Acroases, vol. i. pp. 168—184. and 
particularly by G. G. Zemisch, in his Disputatio Philologica De Analogia Lingua- 
rum, Interpretationis subsidio, (Lipsite, 1758.) reprinted in Pott’s and Ruperti’s 
Sylloge Commentationem Theologicarum, vol. vii. pp. 185—221. 

1 Bishop Vanmildert’s Lectures, p. 190. 






518 


On the Analogy of Scripture, [Part II. Ch. 

idiom, it is evident that we proceed on just and rational principles, in 
comparing together passages that have some degree of resemblance, 
and in applying those, the meaning of which is clear, to the illustra¬ 
tion of such as are involved in some degree of obscurity.” 1 

The passages which thus have some degree of resemblance are 
termed Parallel Passages; and the comparison of them is a most 
important help for interpreting such parts of Scripture as may appear 
to us obscure or uncertain: for, on almost every subject, there will be 
found a multitude of phrases, that, when diligently collated, will afford 
mutual illustration and support to each other; the truth which is more 
obscurely intimated in one place being expressed with greater pre¬ 
cision in others. Thus, a part of the attributes or circumstances, 
relating to both persons and things, is stated in one text or passage, 
and part in another; so that it is only by searching out several passages, 
and connecting them together, that we can obtain a just apprehension 
of them. More particularly, the types of the Old Testament must be 
compared with their antitypes in the New (as Numb. xxi. 9. with 
John iii. 14.); predictions must be compared with the history of their 
accomplishment (as Isa. liii. the latter part of v. 12. with Mark xv. 
27, 28. and Luke xxii. 37. and the former part of Isa. liii. 12. with 
Matt, xxvii. 57. Mark xv. 43. Luke xxiii. 50.) ; and the portion of 
Scripture, in which any point is specifically treated, ought to be chiefly 
attended to in the comparison, as Genesis, ch. i. on the creation, Ro¬ 
mans, ch. iii.—v. on the doctrine of justification, he. he. 2 

1 Rev. H. F. Burder’s “Sermon on the Duty and Means of ascertaining the Sense 
of Scripture, pp. 17, 18. 

2 On the importance and benefit of consulting parallel passages, Bishop Horsley 

has several fine observations in his comment on Psal. xcvii. The whole passage 
is too long to extract, but the following sentences are so appropriate to the subject 
of this section, that the author deems any apology for their insertion unnecessary 
“ It should ,” says his Lordship, “ be a rule with every one, who would read the 
Holy Scriptures with advantage and improvement, to compare every text, xchich 
may seem either important for the doctrine it may contain , or remarkable for the 
turn of the expression, with the parallel passages in other parts of Holy Writ ; 
that is, with the passages in which the subject-matter is the same, the sense equiva¬ 
lent, or the turn of the expression similar. These parallel passages are easily 
found by the marginal references in Bibles of the larger form.” .“ It is incre¬ 

dible to any one, who has not in some degree made the experiment, what a profi¬ 
ciency may be made in that knowledge which maketh wise unto salvation, by 
studying the Scriptures in this manner, without any other commentary or exposi¬ 
tion than what the different parts of the sacred volume mutually furnish for each 
other. I tcill not scruple to assert that the most illiterate Christian, if he can 
but read his English Bible, and will take the pains to read it in this manner, will 
not only attain all that practical knowledge which is necessary to his salvation ; 
but, by God's blessing, he will become learned in every thing relating to his reli¬ 
gion in such degree, that he will not be liable to be misled either by the refined ar¬ 
guments or by the false assertions of those who endeavour to ingraft their own 
opinions upon the Oracles of God. He may safely be ignorant of all philosophy, 
except what is to be learned from the sacred books ; which indeed contain the 
highest philosophy adapted to the lowest apprehensions. He may safely remain 
ignorant of all history, except so much of the history of the first ages of the Jewish 
and of the Christian church, as is to be gathered from the canonical books of the 
Old and New Testament. Let him study these in the manner 1 recommend, and 
let him never cease to pray for the illumination of that Spirit by which these 
books were dictated ; and the whole compass of abstruse philosophy, and recondite, 
history, shall furnish no argument xoith xchich the perverse will of man shall be 
able to shake this learned Christian’s faith. The Bible, thus studied, will indeed 




519 


III. Sect. II.] Or Parallel Passages. 

The foundation of the parallelisms occurring in the sacred writings 
is the perpetual harmony of Scripture itself; which, though composed 
by various writers, yet proceeding from one and the same infallible 
source, cannot but agree in words as well as in things. Parallelisms 
are either near or remote: in the former case the parallel passages 
are sought from the same writer; in the latter from different writers. 
They are further termed adequate , when they affect the whole sub¬ 
ject proposed in the text; and inadequate , when they affect it only 
in part: but the most usual division of the analogy of Scripture, or 
parallelisms, is into verbal , or parallelisms of words, and real , or pa¬ 
rallelisms of things. 

II. A Verbal Parallelism or Analogy is that in which, on com¬ 
paring two or more places together, the same words and phrases, the 
same mode of argument, the same method of construction, and the 
same rhetorical figures, are respectively to be found. Of this descrip¬ 
tion are the following instances. 

1. Parallel words and phrases. —Thus, when the Prophet Jere¬ 
miah, speaking of the human heart, says, that it is “ deceitful above 
all things, and desperately wdeked (Jer. xvii. 9.), in order to under¬ 
stand the full import of the original word there rendered desperately , 
we must compare Jer. xv. 18. and Micah i. 9. wdiere the same word 
occurs, and is rendered desperate or incurable. From which two 
passages it is obvious that the prophet’s meaning was, that the deceit- 
fulness and wickedness of the heart of man are so great, that they 
cannot be healed or removed by any human art. Compare also Isa, 
xl. 11. and Ezek. xxxiv. 23. with John x. 11. 14, 15. Heb. xiii. 20, 
and 1 Pet. ii. 25. and v. 4. 

2. Parallel modes of arguing. —Thus the apostles, Paul, James, 
and Peter, respectively support their exhortations to patience by the 
example of Jesus Christ. Compare Heb. xii. 2, 3. James v. 10, 11. 
and 1 Pet. ii. 21. On the contrary, dissuasives from sin are more 
strongly set forth in the Old and New Testaments, by urging that 
sinful courses were the way of the heathen nations. Compare Levit, 
xviii. 24. Jer. x. 2. and Matt. vi. 32. 

3. Of Parallel constructions and figures we have examples in 
Rom. viii. 3. 2 Cor. v. 21. and Heb. x. G. in which passages respec¬ 
tively, the Greek word a^a^ia, there translated sin, means sacrifices 
or offerings for sin , agreeably to the idiom of the Hebrew language, 
in which the same word elliptically signifies both sin and sin-offering, 
which the Septuagint version invariably renders by a^a^Tia in upwards 
of one hundred places. Dr. Whitby, on 2 Cor. v. 21., has pointed 
out a few instances ; but Dr. A. Clarke (on the same text) has enu¬ 
merated all the passages, which are in fact so many additional ex¬ 
amples of verbal parallelisms. To this class some biblical critics refer 
those passages in which the same sentence is expressed not precisely 
in the same words, but in similar words, more full as well as more 


prove to be what we Protestants esteem it •— a certain and sufficient rule of faith 
and practice, a helmet of salvation, which alone may quench the fiery darts of the 
wicked.” — Sermons on the Resurrection, &c. pp. 221—228. 




I 


520 On the Analogy of Scripture , [Part II. CIl 

perspicuous, and concerning the force and meaning of which there 
can be no doubt. Such are the parallelisms ol the sacred poets; 
which, from the light they throw on the poetical books of the Scrip¬ 
tures, demand a distinct consideration. 

Verbal parallelisms are of great importance for ascertaining the 
meaning of words that rarely occur in the Bible, as well as of those 
which express peculiar doctrines or terms of religion, as faith , repent¬ 
ance , new creature , &c., likewise in explaining doubtful passages, and 
also the Hebraisms appearing in the New Testament. 

III. A Real Parallelism, or Analogy is, where the same thing or 
subject is treated of, either designedly or incidentally, in the same 
words, or in others which are more clear, copious, and full, and con¬ 
cerning whose force and meaning there can be no doubt. In com¬ 
paring two passages, however, we must ascertain whether the same 
thing is really expressed more fully as well as more clearly, and also 
without any ambiguity whatever, otherwise little or no assistance can 
be obtained for illustrating obscure places. Real parallelisms are 
twofold — historical, and didactic or doctrinal. 

1. An Historical Parallelism of things is, where the same thing or 
event is related : it is of great and constant use in order to under¬ 
stand aright the Four Gospels, in which the same things are for the 
most part related more fully by one Evangelist than by the others, 
according to the design with which the Gospels were respectively 
written. 

Tims the account of our Saviour’s stilling the tempest in the sea of Gennesa- 
reth is more copiously related by Saint Mark (iv. 36—41.) and Saint Luke (viii 
22—25.) than it is by Saint Matthew, (viii. 24—26.) By comparing the several 
narratives of the Evangelists together, harmonies are constructed from their se¬ 
parate histories. In like manner, the historical books of the Old Testament are 
mutually illustrated by comparing together the books of Samuel, Kings, and 
Chronicles. For instance, many passages in the book of Genesis are parallel to 1 
Chron. i.—ix.; many parts of the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers arc- 
parallel to the book of Deuteronomy ; the books of Samuel and Kings, to the two 
books of Chronicles ; and lastly, 2 Kings xviii. 13—37. and 2 Chron. xxxii. are 
parallel with Isa. xxxvi. Dr. Lightfoot and Mr. Townsend have compiled very 
valuable harmonies of the Old Testament, in which the historical and prophetical 
passages are interwoven in the order of time, of which an account has been al¬ 
ready given.1 

2. A Didactic or Doctrinal Parallelism of things is, where the same 
thing is taught: this species of parallel is of the greatest importance 
for comprehending the doctrines inculcated in the Bible, which we 
should otherwise be liable to mistake or grossly pervert. 

We have examples of it in all those Psalms which occur twice in the Book of 
Psalms, as in Psal. xiv. compared with liii. ; xl. 13—17. with Ixx.; Ivii. 7—11. 
with cviii. 1—5.; lx. 5—12. with cviii. 6—13.; and cxv. 4—8. with cxxxv. 15— 
18. Sometimes also a hymn of David’s which occurs in the Book of Psakns, is 
to be found in some one of the historical books, as Psalm xevi. compared with 1 
Chron. xvi. 23—33).; Psalm cv. 1—15. with 1 Chron. xvi. 8—22. and Psal. cvi. 47, 
48. with 1 Chron. xvi. 35, 36. 

In like manner, in the New Testament, the same thing is taught nearly in the 
same words, as in the Epistle of Jude compared with 2 Pet. ch. ii. Frequently 
also the same doctrine is explained more fully in one place, which had been more 
concisely stated in another: such, for instance, are the superseding of the Mosaic 
dispensation by that of the Gospel, and all those passages which arc parallel as to 
the thing or subject discussed though differing in words ; so that, by comparing 


1 See pp. 476, 477. supra, of the present volume 





521 


III. Sect. II.] Or Parallel Passages. 

them, the scope of the doctrine inculcated will readily be collected. On the other 
hand, where the same subject or doctrine is delivered with more brevity, all the 
various passages must be diligently collated, and the doctrine elicited from them. 
Of this description are the numerous predictions, &c. relative to the future hap. 
piness of mankind, connected with the removal of the Jewish economy, and the 
conversion of the Gentiles to the Christian religion. 

But the use of this parallelism will more fully appear from one or two instances. 
Let us then compare Gal. vi. 15. with Gal. v. G. 1 Cor. vii. 19. 2 Cor. v. 17. and 
Rom. ii. 28, 29. In the former passage we read, In Christ Jeszis neither circum¬ 
cision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, hut a new creature, or rather [there 
is] a new creation. In Gal. v. G. the apostle had briefly delivered the same doc. 
trine in the following terms : In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any 
thing, nor uncircvmcision, hut faith that worketh by love. — 1 Cor. vii. 19. Cir¬ 
cumcision is nothing, nor uncircumcision, hut the keeping of the commandments 
of God. — 2 Cor. v. 17. Therefore if any man be in Christ , he is a new creature, 
or, more correctly, [there is] a new creation : old things are passed away; be¬ 
hold ! all things are become new. — Rom. ii. 28, 29. He is not a Jew that is one 
outwardly, i. e. he is not a genuine member of the church of God who has only 
an outward profession: neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. 
But he is a Jew, a true member of the church of God, which is one inwardly, and, 
circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter ; whose praise 
is not of men, but of God. From these passages it is evident that what Saint 
Paul in Gal. vi. 15. terms a neio creature, or creation, he in Gal.v.G. denominates 
faith that worketh by love ; and in 1 Cor. vii. J9. keeping the commandments of 
God. From this collation of passages, then, we perceive, that what the apostle in* 
tends by a netc creature or new creation, is the entire conversion of the heart from 
sin to God : and as creation is the proper work of an All-wise and Almighty Being, 
so this total change of heart, soul, and life, which takes place under the ministra¬ 
tion of the Gospel, is effected by the power and grace of God, and is evidenced 
by that faith, and obedience which are indispensably necessary to all Christians in 
order to salvation J 

Again: in 2 Cor. i.21. God is said to have anointed us: the parallel passage, 
where this expression is so explained as to give an idea of the thing intended, is 
1 John ii. 20. where true Christians are said to have an unction from the Holy 
One, and to know all things ; and in v. 27. the same anointing is said to teach all 
things. Now, if the effect of this unction be that we should know all things, the 
anointing will be whatever brings knowledge to us, and therefore teaching. From 
this comparison of passages, therefore, we learn that by unction and anointing is 
intended the Holy Spirit, whose office is to teach all things, and to guide us 
into all truth (John xiv. 26. and xvi. 13.) ; and whose gifts and graces are diffused 
throughout the church of Christ, and imparted to every living member of it. For 
his assistances are equally necessary to all, to the learned as well as the unlearn¬ 
ed. to teachers as well as to hearers : he it is that enlightens our minds, purifies 
our hearts, and inclines our wills, not only beginning but carrying on and per¬ 
fecting a new and spiritual life in our souls. The expression in v. 20. and ye 
know all things, is not to be understood in the largest sense, but must be limited 
to those things which are necessary to salvation. These every true Christian not 
only knows speculatively — that is, he not only has a notion of them in his mind 
— but he has also a practical and experimental knowledge and taste of them, 
which is productive of holy obedience. This inestimable gift was purchased by 
the sufferings and death of Christ, who is here styled the Holy One. The words 
in v. 27. and ye need not that any man should teach you, cannot be intended to set 
aside all outward teaching ; but their meaning is, either that ye need not the 
teaching of any of those antichrists and false teachers mentioned in various parts 
of this epistle, or that ye need not that any one should teach you how to judge of 
those deceivers and their doctrines. 

IV. Besides verbal and real parallelisms, there is a third species 
partaking of the nature of both, and which is of equal importance 
for understanding the Scriptures: This has been termed a paral¬ 
lelism, of members : it consists chiefly in a certain equality, resem¬ 
blance, or parallelism, between the members of each period ; so that 

l Mori Acroases Hermeneutic®, tom. i. p. 95. See also Macknigbt and Scott 
on the texts above cited. 

vol. ii. 66 






r 522 


On the Analogy of Scripture , [Part II. Ch. 

in two lines, or members of the same period, tilings shall answer to 
tilings, and words to words, as if fitted to each other by a kind of rule 
or measure. 

The nature of this kind of parallelism, which is the grand charac¬ 
teristic of the poetical style of the Hebrews, has been already con¬ 
sidered ; and its critical uses have been illustrated. 1 

It now remains that we show its application to the interpretation of 
the sacred volume, in which it will be found a very important help. 

In the poetical parts of the Old Testament, it sometimes happens 
that, in the alternate quatrain, the third line forms a continuous sense 
with the first, and the fourth with the second. Bishop Lowth has 
given a striking example of this variety of parallelism in his nineteenth 
praelection, from Deut. xxxii. 42. But as its distinguishing feature is 
not there sufficiently noted, Bishop Jebb adopts the following transla¬ 
tion of Mr. Parkhurst: 

I will mate mine arrows drunk with blood j 

And my sword shall devour flesh : 

With the blood of the slain and the captive ; 

From the hairy head of the enemy. 

That is, reducing the stanza to a simple quatrain: 

I will make mine arrows drunk with blood: 

With the blood of the slain and the captive : 

And my sword shall devour flesh ; 

From the hairy head of the enemy. 

Again, 

From without the sword shall destroy ; 

And in the inmost apartments terror ; 

Both the young man and the virgin ; 

The suckling, w'ith the man of grey hairs. 

Deut. xxxii. 25. 

“ The youths and virgins,” says Bishop Jebb, “ led out of doors 
by the vigour and buoyancy natural at their time of life, fall victims 
to the sword in the streets of the city: while infancy and old age, 
confined by helplessness and decrepitude to the inner chambers of 
the house, perish there by fear, before the sword can reach them.” 

Mr. Green, in his “ Poetical parts of the New Testament,” ob¬ 
serves that there is a similar hyperbaton in Isa. xxxiv. 6. And Dr. 
Hales reduces to a similar form that remarkable prophecy, Gen. 
xlix. 10 .: 

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah; 

Nor a scribe of his offspring ; 

Until Shiloh shall come ; 

And [until] to him a congregation of peoples. 

“ That is, according to Dr. Hales, the sceptre, or civil government, 
shall not depart, till the coming or birth of Shiloh ; and the scribe, 
or expounder of the law, intimating ecclesiastical regimen, shall not 
depart, or cease, until there shall be formed a congregation of peo¬ 
ples, a church of Christian worshippers from various nations; the 
former branch of this prophecy was fulfilled, when Augustus made 
his enrolment preparatory to the census throughout Judaea and Gali¬ 
lee ; thereby degrading Judaea to a Roman province: the latter 


1 See pp. 449—4G8. supra , of this volume 






/ 




III. Sect. II.] Or Parallel Passages . 523 

branch was fulfilled, at the sacking of Jerusalem by Titus; when 
the temple was destroyed, and the Jewish ritual abolished.” 1 

By the application of this parallelism of members, Bishop Jebb has 
thrown considerable light upon a difficult passage in the eighty-fourth 
psalm, which he considers as an introverted parallelism . 2 

Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee : 

The passengers, in whose heart are the ways, 

In the valley of Baca make it a spring, 

The rain also filleth the pools ; 

They go from strength to strength ; 

He shall appear before God in Zion. 

Psal. Ixxxiv. 5—7. 

“ The first and sixth lines are here considered, at once, as con¬ 
structively parallel, and as affording a continuous sense : the inter¬ 
mediate four lines may be accounted parenthetical; the second, con¬ 
structively parallel with the fifth ; and the third with the fourth 
The first line seems to contain the character of a confirmed pro¬ 
ficient in religion, — his strength is in God; the sixth line, to describe 
his final beatification,— he shall appear before God. in Zion. The 
intermediate quatrain may be regarded as descriptive of the inter¬ 
mediate course pursued by those who desire to be good and happy : 
they are passengers, but they know their destination, and they long 
for it; at a distance from the temple, (the mystical “ sapientum 
templa serena,”) they are anxious to arrive there ; the very high¬ 
ways to Jerusalem are in their heart. And what is the consequence ? 
Affection smooths all difficulties : the parched and sandy desert be¬ 
comes a rich well-watered valley ; and they cheerfully advance from 
strength to strength ; from one degree of virtuous proficiency to 
another.” 3 

One or two examples more will show the great importance of ap¬ 
plying the poetical parallelism to the study of the New Testament. 

toxoriopevoi Tt] Siavoia ovres' 

aTT]\Xu)Tput)[ievoi ttj; rov Qeov : 

Sect ttjv ayvoiav ttjv ovaav tv avrois‘ 
bSa ttjv iriopuxrtv rrjs xapfiias ovtcov. 

Being darkened in the understanding ; 

Being alienated from the life of God : 

Through the ignorance which is in them ; 

Through the blindness of their hearts. 

Ephes. iv. 18. 

That is, adjusting the parallelism : 


1 Jebb’s Sacred Literature, pp. 29, 30. 

2 On the nature of this particular species of parallelisms, see p. 456. supra , of 
this volume. 

3 Sacred Literature, p. 55. In p. 56. Bishop Jebb has given a passage from Eu- 
thymius’s Commentary on Psal. Ixxxiv. 7. which is so truly beautiful, that we can¬ 
not help inserting it. Ek Svvapews eis Ivvapiv' e% aperrjs tig apcrrjv. o'iov ex rarreivoippoavvijs 

rrtvSoC ex St 7TtvSovs ti( xaravu%iV xai ovtuts ex TavTTjs eis txtivrjv Tipoxonrovres , avaSrjaov 
rai irpos ttjv axpcapetaiv. Svvapiv he ttjv apeTTjv txaXtotv , w s KT^xipoiroiovcav rov penovra avTijv* 

“ From strength to strength ; from virtue to virtue : for example, from lowli¬ 
ness of mind to mourning ; from mourning to contrition ; and thus, advancing 
from one attainment to another, they shall ascend the summit of the mountain. 
The psalmist calls virtue strength, because it makes him strong who attains it. ’ — 
u Perhaps,’’ the learned prelate remarks, “ each gradation of goodness may be ac¬ 
counted, as it were, a fortress or strong-hold upon the way: a secure stage in tha 
pilgrimage of virtue.” 



[Part U. Ch. 


On the Analogy of Scripture, 

Being darkened in the understanding, 

Through the ignorance which is in them ; 

Being alienated from the life of God, 

Through the blindness of their hearts. 

Kai ttyjTOW avrov KparriaaC 
kcu c<po(3ii$rjaav tov o^Xov : 
eyvucrav yap, bn npog avTovs rtjv Tapa(3o\>}V ears' 
kcu atyevTCs avrov, antjXSov. 

And they sought to seize him ; 

And they feared the people : 

For they knew, that against them he spake the parable ; 

And having left him, they departed. 

Mark xii. 12. 

That is, adjusting the parallelism, and giving the particle xa j, the 
three different senses, which Dr. Henry Owen has observed that it 
bears in this passage : 

And they sought to seize him ; 

For they knew, that against them he spake the parable ; 

But they feared the people ; 

Therefore, having left him, they departed. 1 

As it requires particular attention and much practice in order to 
distinguish the different species of parallelisms,— especially the sen¬ 
tentious or poetical parallelism, — the following hints are offered to 
the biblical student, in the hope of enabling him to avail himself of 
them, and advantageously to apply them to the interpretation of the 
Scriptures. 

1. Ascertain the primary meaning of the passage under consideration. 

In the passage from St. Luke cited in pp.450, 451., the primary or fundamental 

meaning was, that God changes the conditions of men. In 1 Cor. iv. 5. we read. 
Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light 
the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts. 
Now here is a parallelism of members, but the fundamental meaning is, that God 
judges the counsels of men ; he therefore judges without respect of persons, and 
with unerring impartiality. The apostle’s design was to show that it is impossi¬ 
ble for men to perceive and judge the counsels of one another. Thus, again, 
words are also construed with words, and things with things, in order that an enu¬ 
meration may be made of the species, kinds, or parts of the whole ; as in the di¬ 
vine ode of the Virgin Mary already alluded to, in which the specific displays of 
divine power are enumerated. God hath put down the proud, but exalteth them 
of loio degree, &c. The diligent reader will observe, that this place describes the 
power of God, in whose hands is the distribution of prosperity and adversity ; and 
that all these parts or species are, in an exposition, to be joined together with the 
proposition exhibiting the genus or kind, viz. that prosperity and adversity are in 
the hands of the Almighty. 

2. Although the Sacred Scriptures , primarily coining from God, are 
perfectly consistent, and harmonise throughout; yet, as they were 
secondarily written by different authors, on various topics , and in dif¬ 
ferent styles, those books arc in thefrst instance to be compared, which 
were composed by the same author , in the same language, and on a paral¬ 
lel subject . 


1 Jebb’s Sacred Literature, p. 198. This elegant critic has thrown more light 
than all the commentators extant, on that very obscure passage, Matt. xv. 3—6. by 
exhibiting it in the form of an introverted parallelism (see pp. 244— 248.) ; and 
also on that very difficult portion of the New Testament, — the song of Zacharias 
(Luke i. 67—79.) — by dividing it according to the poetical parallelism. See Sa¬ 
cred Literature, pp. 403—417. 


524 


Again : 





525 


ill Sect. 11.] Or Parallel Passages. 

(1.) Thus, by comparing Psal. xxxviii. 10. with 1 Sam. xiv. 26, 27. (in 
which Jonathan having taken some honey for his refreshment, is said to have had 
his eyes enlightened), we shall readily apprehend the force of the psalmist’s com¬ 
plaint, that the light of his eyes was gone from him ; for the eyes of a person in 
good health are so strong, as to sparkle with the rays of light that fall upon them ; 
whereas, when the constitution is worn by long sickness, or broken by o-rief, the 
eyes lose their vigour and brilliancy, and in cases of incipient blindness,^the lio-ht 
gradually tails the eyes. In like manner, if we compare 1 Thess. v. 23. with Jude 
verse 19. we shall find that the spirit, mentioned in the former passage, does not 
denote any third constituent part of man, distinct from the soul and body, but that 
it means the spiritual strength bestowed, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, in 
' our regeneration and sanctification ; for the apostle Jude, speaking of false teach¬ 
ers, describes them as sensual, not having the spirit, that is, as persons aban¬ 
doned to follow their own evil ways, unrenewed and unsanctified by the Holy 
Spirit. J J 

(^•) But the propriety of this canon will particularly appear, if we compare the 
parallel passages of the same author, in preference to every other sacred writer. 
For instance, in Rom. iii. 24., Saint Paul, when treating of our justification in the 
sight of God, says, that we are justified freely by his grace : now that this is to 
be understood of the free favour of God towards us, and not of any quality wrought 
in us, is evident from Eph. ii. 4, 5. 2 Tim. i. 9. and Tit. iii. 5. 7. in which passages 
oui salvation by Jesus Christ is expressly ascribed to the great love wherewith 
rod loved us to his oivnpurpose and grace, — and to his mercy and grace. 

o. Besides the kindred dialects, much assistance will be derived, in 
studying the parallelisms of Scripture, from a diligent comparison 
the Greek Septuagint version with the New Testament; as the latter 
was very frequently cited by Jesus Christ and his apostles, and was con¬ 
stantly used in the synagogues during the apostolic age, as well as by 
the Gentile converts to Judaism. 

As the importance of cognate languages 1 in illustrating the Scrip¬ 
tures generally, and the value of the Septuagint version, 2 for ex¬ 
plaining the New Testament in particular, have already been noticed, 
it will not be necessary to adduce many examples. We shall offer 
one or two from the Septuagint, as being more readily accessible to 
biblical students. 

Thus, the force of our Saviour's expression in Luke xii. 42. (giving a portion 
of meat aiTOjitrpiov in due season) will best appear if we compare it with the Sep¬ 
tuagint version of Gen. xlvii. 12., where we are told that Joseph (when Pha¬ 
raoh had constituted him intendant-general of Egypt,) supplied his father and his 
brothers, and all his father’s household, with a certain portion of corn for each 
person ; mro//£rpei oirov, the very expression used by St. Luke. It was usual for 
the stewards of great families, in antient times to measure out to each slave his 
allotted portion of corn every month. Again, in Luke xv. 13. the younger son is 
said to have taken his journey into a far country, ancSe/xTiatv us x w P av v aK P av 5 an 
expression, Grotius remarks, which is singularly appropriate : for in the Septua¬ 
gint version of Psal. lxxiii. 27. those who have wilfully cast off the fear of God 
are said naKpwctv ano rov Qeov eavrovs, to withdraw themselves afar from God. 

4. Whenever the mind is struck with any resemblance, in the first 
place consider whether it is a true resemblance, and whether the pas¬ 
sages arc sufficiently similar ; that is, not only whether the same word, but 
also the same thing, answers together, in order to form a safe judgment 
concerning it. 

It often happens that one word has several distinct meanings, one of which ob¬ 
tains in one place, and one in another place. When, therefore, words of such va¬ 
rious meanings present themselves, all those passages where they occur are not 
to be immediately considered as parallel, unless they have a similar power. Thus, 
if any one were to compare Jonah iv. 10. (where mention is made of the gourd 
which came up in a night, and perished in a night, and which in the original He¬ 
brew is termed the son of a night.) with 1 Thess. v. 5. where Christians are called, 
not children of the night, but children of the day, it woul d be a spurious parallel. 

2 See p. 183. supra. 


1 See pp. 514—516, supra. 




526 


On the Analogy of Scripture, [Part II. Ch. 

5. Where two parallel passages present themselves, the clearer and 
more copious place must he selected to illustrate one that is more briefly 
and obscurely expressed. 

The force and meaning of a word can never be ascertained from a single pas¬ 
sage ; but if there be a second passage on the same subject, we have a criterion 
by which to ascertain the writer’s meaning. Or, if we consider the subject dis¬ 
cussed by him, we shall find that he has in one part touched very slightly on to¬ 
pics which are elsewhere more fully explained, and in which he has omitted no¬ 
thing that could more copiously illustrate the former place. In availing ourselves, 
therefore, of a parallel passage to elucidate any part of the inspired writings, it is 
evident that the clearer places, and those which treat more fully on a subject, 
are to be considered as fundamental passages, by which others are to be illustrated. 
Thus, in Hosea xii. 4. there is an allusion to the patriarch Jacob’s wrestling with an 
angel of God: now this place would be extremely obscure, if the whole history of 
that transaction were not more amply related in Gen. xxxii. 24—31. 

6. Other things being equal , a nearer parallel is preferable to one 
that is more remote. 

If a writer elsewhere repeat the same forms of speech, and also discuss in ano¬ 
ther part a subject which he has but slightly touched in one place, it is better to 
explain that place from the same writer, than from parallel passages collected from 
others. But where a writer supplies nothing by which to illustrate himself, re¬ 
course must in that case be had to such as were contemporary with him, or nearly 
so, and from their compositions similar passages are to be collected. Thus Hosea, 
Isaiah, Micah, and Amos, having been nearly contemporary with each other, and 
having uttered predictions relative to nearly the same events, mutually elucidate 
each other, as the prophecy of Ezekiel illustrates that of Jeremiah, and vice versd. 
This rule will apply generally, unless the more remote writer define obscure 
places better, or continue and adorn the subject discussed. 

7. No assistance is to be derived from similar passages, the sense of 
which is uncertain. 

For if such passages be cited to explain another that is obscure, they will be of 
no use whatever, however similar they may be, but equally obscure. It is to little 
purpose, therefore, to accumulate similar passages where the same name of a. 
tree, plant, herb, &c. is mentioned, and especially where there is no note or mark 
attached to it; for several of the birds, beasts, fishes, trees, plants, precious stones, 
and musical instruments, mentioned in the Scriptures, are either unknown to us, 
or cannot now be precisely distinguished. 1 

8. It will be of great use to collect and reduce into alphabetical 
order all those similar passages in which the same forms of speech occur , 
and the same things are proposed in a different order of narration : 
but care must be taken to avoid the accumulation of numerous passages 
that are parallel to each other informs of speech, or in things which are 
of themselves clear and certain: for such accumulations of parallel 
places savour more of a specious display of learning than real 
utility. 2 

The best and most certain help by which to find out parallel passages is, un¬ 
questionably, the diligent and attentive perusal of the Scriptures, repeated after 
short intervals of time, and accompanied by the committal of the most difficult 
passages to writing, together with such other passages as are either similar in 
words or in things, and which tend to throw any light on obscure places. But, in 
instituting such parallelisms, care must be taken not to multiply references un- 


1 See some instances of this observation in Mr. Pilkington’s u Remarks on seve¬ 
ral Passages of Scripture ,” pp. 83—90. 

2 Morus in Ernesti Inst. Interpret. Nov. Test. tom. i. pp. 97—110. Bauer, 
Herm. Sacr. pp. 163—174. J. B. Carpzov. Primae Lineae Herm. Sacr. pp. 45—47. 
Pfeiffer, Herm. Sacr. c. xi. pp. 658, 659. Frankii. Praelect. Hermeneut. pp. 95. et 
seq. 153. et seq. Rambach, Inst. Herm. Sacrae, pp. 362—384. 651, 652.: also his 
Exercit. Herm. pp. 209—219. J. E. Pfeiffer, Inst. Herm. Sacr. pp. 278—305. Jahnii 
Enchiridion Herm. Generalis, pp. 81—94.; and Chladenius’s Institutions Exege- 
ticas, pp. 399—406. Schaefer, Institutions Scripturisticae, pars ii. pp 77—84. See 
also Dr. Gerard’s Institutes of Biblical Criticism, pp. 148—157. 






III. Sect. II.] Or Parallel Passages. 527 

necessarily for mere show rather than for their practical utility, and also that they 
do not violate the analogy of faith. For instance, Rom. iii. 28. and James ii. 24. 
are not in every respect parallel to each other; because in the former passage 
Saint Paul is treating of justification in the sight of God — a doctrine which nu¬ 
merous passages of Scripture most clearly testify to be by faith alone ; whereas 
Saint James is speaking of justification in the sight of men , who form their judg¬ 
ment of a man by his works. 

The method here indicated is the only effectual way by which to 
ascertain parallel words and phrases, as well as parallelisms of things: 
it will indeed require a considerable portion of time and study, which 
every one may not perhaps be able to give; but individuals thus cir¬ 
cumstanced may advantageously facilitate their researches by having 
recourse to editions of the Bible with parallel references, and con¬ 
cordances. 

1. Of Editions of the Scriptures with Parallel References, there 
are two classes, viz. editions in the original languages, and versions. 

(1.) Among the editions of the Scriptures in the original languages, 
the best Hebrew Bible, perhaps, with parallel passages, is that edited 
by John Henry Micliaelis, at Halle, in 17*20. 4to. The Greek New 
Testament, edited by Gerard von Maastricht, at Amsterdam, in 171I T 
and again in 1735, has a most copious and valuable selection of paral¬ 
lel references. 

(2.) Among the modern versions few, if any, will be found to sur¬ 
pass our authorised English translation. Of the various editions 
published with parallel texts, those printed at Oxford (after that of 
l)r. Blayney in 1769), and that of Bishop Wilson, are among the 
best and most copious 1 of the larger editions. Canne’s 8vo. edition, 
1682. Bill and Barker’s 8vo. London, 1690, and Watson’s, Edin¬ 
burgh, 8vo. 1722, are the most valuable of the pocket editions, and 
are all scarce and dear. The Rev. Thomas Scott’s Commentary on 
the Bible, in 6 vols. 4to. has a very copious and judicious selection 
of parallel references on the plan of Canne’s Bible. The Rev. Dr. 
Adam Clarke’s Commentary also has a similar selection of parallel 
texts. But the most elegant and useful of all the pocket editions of 
the entire English Bible, with parallel references, is that published 
by Mr. Bagster in 1816, and containing a new selection of upwards 
of sixty thousand references to passages that are really parallel. 

(3.) The New Testament, with references under the text in words 
at length, so that the parallel texts may be seen at one view. By 
the Rev. Francis Fox, M. A. 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1742. 

The editor of this useful publication has given, for the most part, all the refe¬ 
rences in the then last and fullest edition of the Bible, together with a great num- 


1 The following short table will convey an accurate idea of the progressive in¬ 
crease of references to parallel texts in various editions of the Bible. 

1 -v \ . r n . r 


in the 1st. edition of 1611 
J. Hayes’s, 1677 
Dr. Scattergood’s, 1678 
Bishops Tenison and 
Lloyd’s, 1699. 

Dr. Blayney’s, 1769 
Bishop Wilson’s, 1785 


03 

A ^ 
a 

£3 ® 

•-* s 

03 ed 

| 3 ^ 

03 _ 

Ih TJ 

03 -r 


6,588 

14,629 

20,357 

24,352 > 

43,318 
45,190 


cd 
^3 
Cu 

03 

O 

03 


885 

1,409 

1,417 

1,419 

1,772 

1,772 


VI 

0) 

Eh 

£ 

* 

03 

.£3 


1,527 

9,857 

11,371 

13,717 

19,893 

19,993 


cd 

O 


9,000 

25,895 

33,145 

39,488 

64,983 

66,995 


J E- 1 t. J H l J v. 

Hewlett’s Commentary, vol. i. p. *45. 4to. edit, in which Mr. H. has adopted the 
parallel texts in Bishop Wilson’s Bible, as being the most copious, and upon the 
whole well selected. 



















52S 


On the Analogy of Scripture , [Part II. Ch. 

ber collected by himself; and has further added the chronology of Archbishop 
Usher, the marginal renderings, and several good notes on really difficult passages, 
together with a copious index. This work is now only to be procured at a very 
high price. 

(4.) Scientia Biblica; being a copious collection of Parallel Pas¬ 
sages, for the illustration of the New Testament, printed in words at 
length, the whole so arranged as to illustrate and confirm the dif¬ 
ferent clauses of each verse : together with the text at large, in 
Greek and English, the various readings and the chronology. Lon¬ 
don, 1823. 8vo. 

This work is now in course of publication, in parts or numbers; and will be 
comprised in three volumes. The different verses of the New Testament are 
neatly printed by themselves, in Greek and English ; and below them is placed 
(in words at length,) a new selection of parallel references, which is evidently the 
result of great labour and research. The typographical execution is very neat. 

For the particular study of the Epistles, the Rev. Peter Roberts’s 
Harmony of the Epistles will be found singularly valuable, on ac¬ 
count of its bringing together, in a perspicuous form, all the pas¬ 
sages which are really parallel. 

2. Of Concordances there also are two classes — concordances to 
the original Scriptures, and concordances to versions. 

(i.) Concordances to the Hebrew Bible. 

(I.) Mariae de Calasio Concordantiae Bibliorum Hebraicorum et 
Latinorum. Romae, 1021, folio, in four volumes. — Londini, 1747, 
et ann. seqq. Edente Gulielmo Romaine, folio, in four volumes. 

The original of this work was a Hebrew Concordance of Rabbi Nathan, a learn- 
od Jew, published at Venice in 1523, in folio, with great faults and defects. A 
second and much more correct edition of Nathans work was printed at Basil by 
Froben. The third edition is th c first impression of Calasio’s Concordance, who 
has extended Nathan’s work into four large volumes, by adding, 1. A Latin trans¬ 
lation of the Rabbi’s explanation of the several roots, with additions of his own } 
2. The Rabbinical, Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic words derived from, or agreeing 
with the Hebrew root in signification ; 3. A literal version of the Hebrew text; 4. 
The variations between the Vulgate and Septuagint versions; and 5. The proper 
names of men, rivers, mountains, &c. — Buxtorf’s Concordance (noticed below) 
was properly the fourth edition of Nathan’s work, as Mr. Romaine’s edition is the 
fifth. The last is a splendid and useful book, but greatly inferior to Dr. Taylor’s 
Hebrew Concordance (also noticed below), for which however it may be substituted 
where the latter cannot be procured. 

(2.) Joannis Buxtorfii Concordantiae Hebraicae et Chaldaicae. 
Basileae. 1632. folio. 

This is a work of great labour : it was abridged by Christian Ravius, under the 
title of Fans Zionis, size Concordantiarum Hebraicaruin , et Chaldaicarum, Jo. 
Buxtorfii Epitome. Berolini, 1677. 8vo. 

(3.) Cliristiani Noldii Concordantiae Particularum Ebraeo-Chaldai- 
carum, in quibus partium indeclinabilum, quae occurrunt in fontibus 
et hactenus non expositae sunt in Lexicis aut Concordantiis, natura 
et sensuum varietas ostenditur. Cum annotationibus J. G. Tympii 
et aliorum. Jenae, 1734. 4to editio secunda. 

The particles of all languages, and especially those of the Hebrew, are not only 
of great importance, but very difficult to be fully understood. The Hebrew parti¬ 
cles indeed were very imperfectly known even by the best critics, before the pub¬ 
lication oi Noldius’s work. His Concordance of them is so complete, that it has 
-feft scarcely any thing unfinished , and it is of the greatest importance to every 
biblical student and critic. The first impression appeared in 1650. The second 
is the best edition ; and, besides the valuable notes, and other additions of J. G. 
and S. B. Tympius, it contains, by way of appendix, a Lexicon of the Hebrew Par¬ 
ticles, compiled by John Michaelis and Christopher KoerberJ 


1 Bibliographical Dictionary, vol. iii. p. 45. 



529 


III. Sect. II.] Or Parallel Passages. 

(4.) The Hebrew Concordance adapted to the English Bible; dis¬ 
posed after the method of Buxtorf. By John Taylor [D. D.] of 
Norwich. London, 1754. In two volumes, folio. 

This is one of the most laborious and most useful works ever published for the 
advancement of Hebrew knowledge, and the understanding of the Old Testament 
in its original language. It is, in fact, a Grammar, Lexicon, and Concordance, 
founded on the Concordance of Buxtorf, all whose errors Dr. Taylor has cor¬ 
rected. He has also inserted the word or words, by which any Hebrew word is 
translated in the English Bible : and where the Hebrew is not literally rendered, 
a literal translation is added. In general, all change or difference in the two texts 
is diligently remarked; and Dr. T. has added all the words (about one hundred 
and twenty-one in number) which Buxtorf had omitted; together with the parti¬ 
cles out of Noldius. This invaluable work was published under the patronage of 
all the English and Irish bishops, and is a monument to their honour, as well as 
to the learning and industry of its author. The price of this Concordance varies 
from nine to twelve guineas, according to its condition. 

(ii.) Concordances to the Septuagint Greek Version. 

(1.) Conradi Kircheri Concordantiae Veteris Testamenti Grascae, 
Ebraeis vocibus respondentes Simul enim et Lexicon 

Ebraico-Latinum. Francofurti, 1607. In two volumes, 4to. 

This laborious work, which is a Hebrew Dictionary and Concordance, is strongly 
recommended by father Simon, when treating on the best methods to be adapted 
in undertaking any new translation of the Scriptures. It contains all the Hebrew 
words in the Old Testament, introduced in an alphabetical order, and underneath 
is the Greek version of them from the Septuagint, followed by a collection of the 
passages of Scripture, in which those words are differently interpreted. Consi¬ 
dered as a first essay, Kircher’s Concordance possesses considerable merit. It is, 
however, now superseded by 

(2.) Abrahami Trommii Concordantiae Graecae Versionis vulgo 
dictae lxx. Interpretum. Amstelaedami et Trajecti ad Rhenum. 1718. 
2 vols. folio. 

In this elaborate and valuable work, the order of the Greek alphabet is followed ; 
the Greek word being first given, to which are subjoined its different acceptations 
in Latin. Then follow the different Hebrew words, which are explained by the 
Greek word in the Septuagint version. These different Hebrew words are ar¬ 
ranged under the Greek in their alphabetical order, with the passages of Scrip¬ 
ture where they occur. If the word in question occurs in Aquila, Symmachus, 
Theodotion, or any of the other antient Greek interpreters of the Old Testament, 
the places where it is found are referred to at the conclusion of the quotations 
from the Scriptures ; and immediately after these all the passages in the Apocry¬ 
pha are specified, where the word occurs. The work is terminated by a useful 
Index, Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, a Greek Lexicon to Origen’s Hexapla (by 
Montfaucon), and a succinct collation (by Lambert Bos) of the Frankfort and Ro 
man editions of the Septuagint. This work is beautifully printed. 1 

(iii.) Concordances to the Greek Testament. 

(1.) Concordantiae Graecae Novi Testamenti, ab Henrico Stephano. 
Genevae, 1699. folio. 1524. folio. 

This Concordance is noticed here, to put the student on his guard, as it may 
generally be purchased at a low price. It is so carelessly executed, that some 
critics suppose Henry Stephens not to have been the editor of it; and that he lent 
his name to the work for pecuniary considerations. 

(2.) Novi Testamenti Graeci Jesu Christi Tameion, aliis Concor¬ 
dantiae ; ita concinnatum, ut et loca reperiendi, et vocum veras sig- 
nificationes, et significatiomim diversitates per collationem investi- 
gandi, ducis instar esse possit. Opera Erasmi Schmidii, Graec. Lat. 
et Mathem. Prof. Accedit nova praefatio Ernesti Salomonis Cypriani. 
Lipsiae. 1717. folio. Londini, 1819. 2 vols. 8vo. 

The best Greek Concordance to the New Testament. The London reprint is 
most beautifully executed. ^ 

_ _ i t __ - 

1 Bibliographical Dictionary, vol. iii. p. 42. 

67 


VOL. II. 




530 


On the Analogy of Scripture , [Part II. Ch. 

(3.) A Concordance to the Greek Testament, with the English 
version to each word; the principal Hebrew roots corresponding to* 
the Greek words of the Septuagint; with short critical notes, and 
an Index. By John Williams, LL. D. 4to. London, 1767. 

“ The lovers of sacred literature will find this work very useful in many re¬ 
spects : it is compiled with great pains and accuracy.” — (Monthly Rev. O. S. vol. 
xxxvi. p. 400.) 

(iv.) Concordances to the English Bible. 

These are of two kinds, Concordances of words , which are nume¬ 
rous, and Concordances of parallel passages. Of the former class 
those of Cruden and Butterworth are by far the best; and of the 
latter the Concordances of Crutwell, Bagster, Bishop Gastrell, Locke, 
Warden, Talbot, and Strutt, claim the notice of the biblical student. 

(1.) A Complete Concordance to the Holy Scriptures of the Old 
and New Testament, or a Dictionary and Alphabetical Index to the 
Bible. In two parts. By Alexander Cruden, M. A. London, 1763. 
4to. 1810. 4to. 

The first edition of this well known and most useful Concordance appeared at 
London in 1737. The edition of 1763 is the third and last of those corrected by 
the author, and is usually considered as the best, from his known diligence and ac¬ 
curacy in correcting the press. The value of Cruden’s Concordance has caused 
it to be repeatedly printed, but not always with due regard to accuracy. The 
London edition of 1810, however, is an honourable exception ; every word, with 
its references, having been most carefully examined by Mr. Deodatus Bye (for¬ 
merly a respectable printer), who voluntarily employed some years in this arduous 
task ; for which he is justly entitled to the thanks of every reader of the Holy 
Scriptures. Another very accurate edition was printed a few years since at the 
press of Messrs. Nuttall and Co. of Liverpool, who employed a person to collate 
and verify every word and reference. 

(2.) A New Concordance to the Holy Scriptures of the Old and 
New Testament: or a Dictionary and Alphabetical Index to the 
Bible, together with the various significations of the principal words, 
by which the true meaning of many passages is shown. By the Rev. 
John Butterworth. London, 1767; 1785; 1816; 8vo. 

This is in a great measure a judicious and valuable abridgment of Mr. Cruden’s 
Concordance. Singular pains were bestowed by its compiler, in order to ensure 
correctness,, by collating every word and reference in the proof sheets with the 
several texts of the Bible. The second edition of 1735 is considerably improved. 
The third impression of 1816 has some alterations in the definitions, made by Dr. 
A. Clarke ; who has reprinted the original of the passages so altered. Those who 
cannot afford to purchase Cruden’s work, will find this of Mr. Butterworth ex¬ 
tremely valuable. 

(3.) A Concordance of Parallels collected from Bibles and Com¬ 
mentaries, which have been published in Hebrew, Latin, French, 
Spanish, and other Languages, with the Authorities of each. By 
the Rev. C. Crutwell. 4to. London, 1790. 

This is a very elaborate work, and will amply repay the labour of consulting; 
though the parallelisms are not always to be traced, and are sometimes very fan¬ 
ciful. But for this the industrious author is not to be censured, as he every where 
cites his authorities, which are very numerous. 

(4.) The Scripture Harmony : or Concordance of Parallel Pas¬ 
sages, being a Commentary on the Bible from its own Resources : 
consisting of an extensive Collection of References from all the 
most esteemed Commentators, &c. &c. 4to. royal 8vo. and 18mo. 
London, 1818. 

The contents of this uselul compilation are comprised in three particulars : viz. 
1. The Chronology, in which Dr. Blayncy is followed, his being deemed the best 
fitted for general utility. 2. The various readings, in the giving of which great 


531 


ill. Sect. 11.] Or Parallel Passages. 

care has been bestowed. These various readings are stated to be 11 printed on a 
plan which to the unlearned reader will be more clear than the usual method, and 
which the narrow limits of the margin of a Bible could not admit: in this the very 
words of the text are printed at length, and the various readings are presented in 
a different type ; so that while both are at one view before the reader for his 
choice, as the connection and analogy ol faith may direct, the usefulness of the 
work is increased, because it becomes thereby adapted to every edition of the 
Bibb; : and, 3. 1 he Scripture References, a laborious compilation of half a mil¬ 
lion of Scripture references, chiefly from the Latin Vulgate, Dr. Blayney, Canne, 
Brown, Scott, and other valuable writers, who have devoted their services to this 
useful mode of illustrating the Scriptures. It is proper to remark, that in this 
compilation of references the publisher professes only to have collected a mass of 
texts from various authors of the highest character for success in this useful and 
pious labour, and then to have arranged their varied contributions into regular or¬ 
der ; the verse of the chapter under illustration is first marked ; then follow the 
parallel passages in the book itself in which the chapter stands ; afterwards the 
references are placed regularly in the order of the books of Scripture. The re¬ 
mark on Mr. Crutwell's Concordance of Parallels may be extended to the present 
work. 

(5.) Christian Institutes, or the Sincere Word of God collected 
out of the Old and New Testaments, digested under proper heads, 
and delivered in the very words of Scripture. By Francis Gastrell, 
D. D. Bishop of Chester. 

This valuable little work, which may perhaps be considered as a Concordance 
of parallel passages at full length, was first published in 1707, and has since been 
repeatedly printed in 12mo. ft may be very advantageously substituted for any 
of the subsequent larger and more expensive works. 

(6.) A Common-Place Book to the Holy Bible, or the Scripture’s 
Sufficiency practically demonstrated: wherein the substance of 
Scripture respecting doctrine, worship, and manners, is reduced to 
its proper heads. By John Locke, Esq. A new edition, revised 
and improved by the Rev. William Dodd, LL. D. 4to. London, 1805. 

Though this work is ascribed to the celebrated philosopher Mr. Locke, we have 
not been able to ascertain whether it was really compiled by him. An edition of 
it was published by the unfortunate Dr. Dodd, from which the present impression 
was made. It certainly is a very useful book. 

(7.) A System of Revealed Religion, digested under proper heads, 
and composed in the express words of Scripture ; containing all that 
the Sacred Records reveal with respect to Doctrine and Deity. By 
John Warden, M. A. London, 1769. 4to. 1819. 2 vols. 8vo. 

This work is exceedingly valuable as a common-place book, or harmony of pas¬ 
sages of Scripture. It was recommended by Dr. Robertson the historian, and 
other eminent divines of the Scottish church. In this work the author has col¬ 
lected all that the Scriptures contain relating to any one article of faith or prac¬ 
tice under each respective head, in the very words of the sacred writers, with the 
occasional insertion of a brief note at the foot of a page, and a remark or two at 
the end of some few chapters. The texts are so arranged as to add to their per¬ 
spicuity, and at the same time to illustrate the subject; and the chapters are so 
constructed and disposed, that each may form a regular and continued discourse. 
The work is executed with singular ability and fidelity, and the late reprint of it is 
trulv an acquisition to biblical students. 

(8.) An Analysis of the Holy Bible; containing the whole of the 
Old and New Testaments, collected and arranged systematically. 
By Matthew Talbot. Leeds and London, 1800. 4to_ 

This work has been justly characterised as “ a book of good arrangement and 
convenient reference, and calculated to augment, by very easy application, our 
stores of sacred knowledge.” (British Critic, O. S. vol. xviii. pp. iii. 88, 89.) It 
is divided into thirty books, which are subdivided into 285 chapters, and 4144 sec¬ 
tions. Tliis “ Analysis” is of great rarity and high price. 

(9.) Common-Place Book ; or Companion to the Old and New- 
Test aments ; being a Scripture Account of the Faith and Practice 


532 


Scholiasts and Glossographers. [Part II. Ch. 

of Christians ; consisting of an ample Collection of pertinent Texts 
on the sundry Articles of Revealed Religion. A new edition, cor¬ 
rected, compared, and enlarged, by Joseph Strutt. 8vo, London, 
1813. 

This is a reprint, with corrections and additions, of a work originally printed at 
Dublin in the year 1763. The arrangement, though not equally good with that 
of some of the works above noticed, is clear ; the selection of texts is sufficiently 
ample : and a useful index will enable the reader to find passages of Scripture 
arranged on almost every topic he can desire. The book is neatly printed : and 
as it is of s easy purchase, it may be substituted for any of the larger common-place 
books already noticed. 


SECTION III. 

* 

SCHOLIASTS AND GLOSSOGRAPHERS. 

I. JYature of Scholia. — II. And of Glossaries. — III. Rules for con¬ 
sulting them, to advantage in the interpretation of the Scriptures. 

The preceding are the more excellent and certain helps by which 
to ascertain the meaning of the original words and phrases of Scrip¬ 
ture ; and which will doubtless be resorted to by every one who is 
desirous of searching the Bible for himself. As however it is im¬ 
practicable for the generality of students to obtain and to collate all 
the versions, and to acquire a thorough knowledge of all the kindred 
languages, it becomes necessary to avail ourselves of the labours of 
learned men, who have diligently applied themselves to the study and 
illustration of the Scriptures. We have already stated that scholiasts 
and glossographers afford direct testimonies for finding out or fixing 
the meaning of w r ords : it now remains that we briefly notice the na¬ 
ture of the assistance to be derived from these helps. 

I. Scholia are short notes on antient authors, and are of two 
kinds — exegetical or explanatory, and grammatical. The former 
briefly explain the sense of passages, and are in fact a species of com¬ 
mentary ; the latter, which are here to be considered, illustrate the 
force and meaning of words by other words which are better known. 
Such scholia are extant on most of the antient classics, as Ho¬ 
mer, Thucydides, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Horace, Juvenal, Per- 
sius, &1C. &£C. 

On the Old Testament, we believe, there are no antient scholia 
extant: but on the New Testament there are several collections, 
which present themselves under three classes. 

1. Scholia taken from the ivritings of the Greek fathers, who in their 
homilies and commentaries have often briefly explained the force of 
particular words. 

The homilies of Chrysostom, in particular, abound with these scholia ; and from 
his works, as well as those of Origen and other fathers, the more modern Greeks 
have extracted what those illustrious men had concisely stated relative to the 
meaning of words. Similar grammatical expositions, omitting whatever was rhe¬ 
torical and doctrinal, have been collected from Chrysostom by Theodoret in a 
commentary on the fourteen Epistles of Saint Paul; by Theophylact, in an indif¬ 
ferent commentary on the four Evangelists ; and, to mention no more, by Euthy- 
mius in a similar commentary executed with better judgment. There are extant 
numerous collections of this kind of explanations, made from the writings of the 




533 


III. Sect. 111.] Scholiasts and Glossographers. 

fathers, and known by the appellation of Catena,l which follow the order of the 
books comprised in the New Testament. Many such scholia have been published 
by Matthaei in his edition of the New Testament. 

2. Scholia , written either in the margin , within the text , or at the end 
of manuscripts. 

Many of this description have been published separately by Father Simon,2 by 
Wetstein in the notes to his elaborate edition of the Greek Testament, and par¬ 
ticularly by Matthaei in his edition of the New Testament already noticed. 

3. Antient Scholia icliich arc also exegetical or explanatory ; these 
in fact are short commentaries, and therefore are discussed infra , in 
the Appendix to this volume, No. VI. Sect. I. 

II. A Glossary differs from a lexicon in this respect, that the 
former treats only of words that really require explanation, while the 
latter gives the general meaning of words. The authors of the most 
antient Glossaries are Ilesychius, Suidas, Phavorinus, Photius, and 
Cvril of Alexandria. The celebrated Ernesti selected from the three 
first of these writers, and also from the Etymologicon Magnum , what¬ 
ever related to the New Testament, and published the result of his 
researches in two octavo volumes, with the following titles : 

1. Gloss* Sacr* Hesychii, Greece; excerpsit emendavit, notisque 
illustravit, Joh. Christ. Ernesti. Lipsiae, 1786. 8vo. 

2. Suid* et Phavorini Gloss* Saer*, Gr*ce, cum spicilegio Gloss. 
SS. Hesychii e't Etymologici Magnm congessit, emendavit, et notis 
illustravit, J. C. G. Ernesti. Lipsi*, 1786. Svo. 

Schleusner has extracted the most valuable matter from these works, and in¬ 
serted it in his well known and excellent Greek Lexicon to the New Testament. 

III. In estimating the value of scholiasts and glossographers, and 
also the weight of their testimony, for ascertaining the force and mean¬ 
ing of words, it is of importance to consider, first, whether they wrote 
from their own knowledge of the language, and have given us the 
result of their own learning, or whether they compiled from others. 
Almost all the scholia now extant are compiled from Chrysostom, 
Origen, or some other fathers of the third and fourth centuries; if 
the scholiast have compiled from good authorities, his labours have a 
claim to our attention. 

In proportion, therefore, to the learning of a scholiast (and the 
same remark will equally apply to the glossographer), he becomes the 
more deserving of our confidence : but this point can only be deter¬ 
mined by daily and constant use. The Greek fathers, for instance, 
are admirable interpreters of the New Testament, being intimately 
acquainted with its language ; notwithstanding they are sometimes 
mistaken in the exposition of its Hebraisms. But the Latin fathers, 
many of whom were but indifferently skilled in Hebrew and Greek, 
are less to be depended on, and are in fact only wretched interpre¬ 
ters of comparatively ill executed versions. 

Again, our confidence in a scholiast, or in the author of a glossary, 
increases in proportion to his antiquity, at least in the explanation of 
every thing concerning antient history, rites, or civil life. But in in¬ 
vestigating the force and meaning of words, the antiquity of scholia 

1 See an account of the principal Catence, infra, in the Appendix, No. VI. Sect 

JIT. § 7. , 

2 Histoire Critique du Texte du Nouveau Testament. Rotterdam, 1084. 4to 



534 


Of the Subject-Matter. [Part II. Ch. 

and glossaries proves nothing; as their authors are liable to error, 
notwithstanding they lived near the time when the author flourished, 
whose writings they profess to elucidate. It not unfrequently happens 
that a more recent interpreter, availing himself of all former helps, 
perceives the force of words much better than one that is more an- 
tient, and is consequently enabled to elicit the sense more correctly. 
The result, therefore, of our inquiry into the relative value of scho¬ 
liasts and compilers of glossaries is, that in perusing their labours, we 
must examine them for ourselves, and form our judgment accordingly, 
whether they have succeeded, or failed, in their attempts to explain 
an author. 


SECTION IV. 

OF THE SUBJECT-MATTER. 

Although, in interpreting words that have various meanings, 
some degree of uncertainty may exist as to which of their different 
senses is to be preferred ; yet the ambiguity in such cases is not so 
great but that it may in general be removed, and the proper significa¬ 
tion of the passage in question may be determined: for the subject- 
matter — that is, the topic of which the author is treating—plainly 
shows the sense that is to be attached to any particular word. For 
there is a great variety of agents introduced in the Scriptures, whose 
words and actions are recorded. Some parts of the Bible are written 
in a responsive or dialogue form ; as the twenty-fourth psalm, Isa. vi. 
3. and Rom. iii. 1—9. And the sense of a text is frequently mis¬ 
taken, by not observing who is the speaker, and what is the specific 
topic of which he treats. One or two examples will illustrate the 
necessity of considering the subject-matter. 

The Hebrew word neo ( bc-shcr) literally signifies the shin; by 
a metonymy, the flesh beneath the skin ; and by a synecdoche it de¬ 
notes every animal, especially man considered as infirm or weak, as 
in Jer. xvii. 5. Cursed be the man that trustcth in man, and mahetk 
flesh his arm; there are also several other meanings derived from 
these, which it is not material now to notice. But that the word 
fcsh is to be understood of man only in Gen. vi. 12. Psal. lxv. 2. and 
Job x. 4. will be evident on the slightest inspection of the subject- 
matter. All flesh had corrupted his way — that is, all men had 
wholly departed from the rule of righteousness, or had made their 
way of life abominable throughout the world. And, in the psalm 
above cited, who can doubt but that by the word flesh men are in¬ 
tended : O thou that hcarest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh, that is, all 
mankind, come. In like manner also* in Job x. 4. it is evident that 
flesh has the same meaning; if indeed the passage were at all ob¬ 
scure, the parallelism would explain it — Hast thou the eyes of a man 
(Heb. of flesh) ? or seest thou as man seest ? 

But it is not merely with reference to the meaning of particular 
passages that a consideration of the subject-matter becomes necessary 
to the right understanding of Scripture. It is further of the greatest 




535 


III. Sect. V.] Of the Context. 

importance in order to comprehend the various dispensations of God 
to man, which are contained in the sacred writings. For although 
the Bible comprises a great number of books, written at different 
times, yet they have a mutual connection with each other, and refer, 
in the Old Testament, with various but progressively increasing de¬ 
grees of light and clearness, to a future Saviour, and in the New 
Testament to a present Saviour. With reference therefore to the 
several divine dispensations to man, the subject-matter of the whole 
Bible ought to be attentively considered : but, as each individual book 
embraces a particular subject, it will also be requisite carefully to 
weigh its subject-matter, in order to comprehend the design of the 
author. 


SECTION V. 

OF THE CONTEXT. 

J. The Context defined and illustrated. —II. Rules for investigating 

the Context. 

i. Another most important assistance, for investigating the 
meaning of words and phrases, is the consideration of the context , 
or the comparison of the preceding and subsequent parts of a dis¬ 
course. 

1. If we analyse the words of an author, and take them out of 
their proper series, they may be so distorted as to mean any thing but 
what he intended to express. Since therefore words have several 
meanings, and consequently are to be taken in various acceptations, 
a careful consideration of the 'preceding and subsequent parts will ena¬ 
ble us to determine that signification, whether literal or figurative, ivhicli 
is best adapted to the passage in question. * 

A few instances will illustrate this subject, and show not only the 

advantage, but also the necessity, of attending to the context. 

It has been questioned whether those words of the prophet Micaiah (1 Kings 
xxii. 15.) Go and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it (Ramoth) into the hand of 
the king, are to be understood affirmatively according to their apparent meaning, 
or are to be taken in an ironical and contrary sense ? That they are to be under¬ 
stood in the latter sense, the consideration of the context will plainly show, both 
from the prophet’s intention, and from the prophetic denunciation afterwards made 
by him. Hence it may be inferred that some sort of ironical gesture accompa¬ 
nied Micaiah’s prediction, which circumstance ought to be borne in mind by the 
interpreter of Scripture. 1 

Further, there is a difference of opinion whether the address of Job’s wife, (Job 

ii. 9.) is to be understood in a good sense, as Bless (or ascribe glory to) God, and 
die, or in a different signification, Curse God and die, as it is rendered in our au¬ 
thorised version. Circumstances show that the last is the proper meaning ; be¬ 
cause as yet Job had not sinned with his lips, and consequently his wife had no 
ground for charging him with indulging a vain opinion of his integrity. 

Job xli. Whether the leviathan is a whale or a’crocodile, has also divided the 
judgment of commentators. That the latter animal is intended is evident from 
the circumstances described in the context, which admirably agree with the croco¬ 
dile, but can in no respect be applied to thfe whale : for instance, ch. xli. 17. &c. re¬ 
lative to the hardness of his skin, and v. 13—16. concerning his teeth and impene¬ 
trable scales. 

Once more, it has been doubted whether our Lord’s command to his disciples, 


1 See a further illustration of this passage in Vol. I. p. 317. 






536 


Of the Context. [Part II. Ch. 

to provide neither gold nor silver in their purses (Matt. x. 9.) be a rule of per¬ 
petual observation. That it was only a temporary command is evident from the 
preceding and subsequent parts of the chapter, which prove that particular mis¬ 
sion to have been only a temporary one ; and that, as they were to go for a short 
time through Judea, and then to return to Jesus, he therefore forbade them to 
take any thing that would retard their progress. 

2. The context of a discourse or hook , in the Scriptures , may com¬ 
prise either one verse , a few verses , entire periods or sections , entire chap¬ 
ters,, or whole hooks. 

Thus if l Cor. x. 16. be the passage under examination, the preceding and sub¬ 
sequent parts of the epistle, which belong to it, are the eighth, ninth, and tenth 
chapters. If Isa. li. be the chapter in question, the reader must not stop at the 
end of it, but continue his perusal to the 12th verse of ch. lii.; for these together 
form one subject or argument of prediction, in which the prophet is announcing 
to his countrymen the certainty of their deliverance and return from the Babylo¬ 
nish captivity. This entire portion ought therefore to be read at once, in order 
to apprehend fully the prophet’s meaning. In like manner, the verses from v. 13. 
of ch. lii. to the end of ch. liii. form a new and entire section relative to the suf¬ 
ferings of the Messiah. Here then is a wrong division of chapters, to which no 
regard should be paid in examining the context of a book. Ch. li. ought to in¬ 
clude v. 12. of ch. lii. and ch. lii. ought to commence at v. 13. and be continued to 
the end of ch. liii. In like manner, the first verse of the fourth chapter of Saint 
Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians ought to be joined to the third chapter: the 
slightest attention to this point will enable a diligent student to add numerous 
other examples. 

3. Sometimes a hook of Scripture comprises only one subject or argu¬ 
ment ., in which case the whole of it must he referred to precedents and 
■subsequents-i and ought to he considered together. 

Of this description is Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, which consists of 
two parts, doctrinal and practical. The design of the doctrical portion is to show, 
that although there was a difference between Jewish and Gentile believers, inas¬ 
much as the former enjoyed a priority of time in point of expecting and acknow¬ 
ledging Christ, and through the free grace of God they were a church or congregation 
of believers before the Gentiles ; yet that, now, the latter are become partakers 
of the same grace with them, and being thus admitted to this communion of grace, 
every real distinction between them is abolished ; and therefore that both Jews 
and Gentiles together, form one body of the church under one head, even Jesus 
Christ. Other special doctrines indeed are incidentally mentioned ; but these are 
either adduced to explain and enforce the principal doctrine, or they are derived 
from it. The practical part or exhortation, which naturally flows from the doc¬ 
trine inculcated, is concord and peace between Jew and Gentile, which the apostle 
enforces with great beauty and energy.1 

To this head may also be referred the Psalms, each of which being separated 
from the other, and having no connection with the preceding or following Psalm, 
for the most part comprises a distinct and entire subject. That some of the 
Psalms have been divided, and forcibly disjoined, which ought to have remained 
united, and to have formed one ode, is evident as well from the application of sa¬ 
cred criticism as from the subject-matter. The number of the Psalms by no means 
corresponds either in manuscripts or in the antient versions. Thus, in some 
manuscripts, the first and second Psalms are not reckoned at all, while in others 
the former is considered as part of the second Psalm : that they are two distinct 
compositions, is evident from a comparison of the subject-matter of each Psalm. 
In the first Psalm the characters of the pious man and the sinner, as well as their 
respective ends, are contrasted : the second Psalm is prophetic of the Messiah’s 
exaltation. The ninth and tenth Psalms are united together in the Septuagint 
version ; while the hundred and sixteenth and hundred and forty-seventh are, each, 
divided into two. 1 he argument which pervades the forty-second and forty-third 
Psalms plainly shows that they are properly but one divine ode, and are therefore 


, 1 Moldenhaweri Introductio ad Libros Vet. et Nov. Foederis, p. 307. Professor 
I ranck s Guide to the Reading ot the Scriptures, translated by Mr. Jacques, p 
378. (1st edit.) 




537 


HI. Sect. V.j Of the Context. 

rightly joined together in many manuscripts, although they occur as separate com¬ 
positions in all our printed editions.1 

II. In examining the context of a passage, it will be desirable, 

1 . To investigate each word of every passage : and as the connection 
is formed by particles , these should always receive that signification 
which the subject-matter and context require. 

The Concordances of Noldius and Taylor already noticed, and also Glassi- 
us’s Philologia Sacra, 1 2 3 will materially assist in ascertaining the force of the He¬ 
brew particles ; as will the elaborate work of Hoogeveen on the subject of the 
Greek particles.3 Further, where particles are wanting, as they sometimes are, it 
is only by examining the argument and context that we can rightly supply them. 
For instance, the conditional conjunction is sometimes wanting, as in Gen. xlii. 
38., and [if] mischief befal him by the way ; 4 in Exod. iv. 23., and [if] thou re¬ 
fuse to let him go. Particles of comparison also are frequently wanting, as in 
Gen. xvi. 12., he trill be a wild man ; literally, he will be a wild ass man , that is, 
[like] a icild ass. How appropriately this description was given to the descend¬ 
ants of Ishmael, will readily appear by comparing the character of the wild ass 
in Job xxxix. 5—8. with the wandering, lawless, and freebooting lives of the 
Arabs of the Desert, as portrayed by all travellers. Psal. xi. 1. Flee [as] spar¬ 
rows to your mountain. Psal. xii. G. The words of the Lord are pure words, [as] 
silver tried in a furnace of earth. Isa. ix. 18. They shall mount up [as or like] 
the ascending of smoke. Similar examples occur in the New Testament; as in 
John v. 17. My father worketh hitherto, and I work ; that is, as my father worketh 
hitherto, so also do I work together with him. Sometimes particles are wanting 
both at the beginning and end of a sentence : thus Job xxiv. 19. [As] drought 
and heat consume the snow : so doth the grave those which have shined. Jer. 
xvii. 11. [As] the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth not ; [so] he that getteth 
riches, and not by right, &c. Numerous similar instances occur in the book of 
Job, and especially in the Proverbs; where, it is but justice to our admirable au¬ 
thorised version to add, that the particles omitted are properly supplied in Italic 
characters, and thus complete the sense. 

2 . If the meaning nf a single verse is to he ascertained , the five , six, 
or seven verses immediately preceding should first be read with minute 
attention. 

Sometimes a single passage will require a whole chapter, or several of the pre¬ 
ceding and following chapters, or even the entire book, to be perused, and that not 
once or twice, but several times. The advantage of this practice will be very 
great: because, as the same thing is frequently stated more briefly and obscurely 
in the former part of a book, which is more clearly and fully explained in the 
subsequent portion, such a perusal will render every thing plain to the meanest 
capacity. For instance, that otherwise difficult passage, P«.om. ix. 18. Therefore 
hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he trill he hardeneth, will 
become perfectly clear by a close examination of the context, beginning at verse 
18. of chapter viii. and reading to the end of the eleventh chapter ; this portion 
of the epistle being most intimately connected. Disregarding this simple, and all 
but self-evident canon, some expositors have explained 1 Pet. ii. 8. as meaning 
that certain persons were absolutely appointed to destruction ; a notion, not only 
contradicting the whole tenor of Scripture, but also repugnant to every idea which 
we are there taught to entertain of the mercy and justice of God. An attentive 
consideration of the context, and of the proper punctuation of the passage alluded 


1 They arc considered, and translated, as one Psalm, by Bishop Horsley. See 
his Version of the Psalms, vol. i. pp. 110—114. and the notes. 

2 See particularly, tract v.—viii. on adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions, tom. 
i. pp. 361—556. ed. Dathii. 

3 Hoogeveen, Doctrina Particularum Grcecarum, 2 vols. 4to. 1769. Though 
treating of Greek particles generally, this elaborate work incidentally illustrates a 
great number of passages in the New Testament. A valuable abridgment of it, 
with the notes of various literati, was published by Professor Schutz at Leipsic in 
1806, which has been handsomely reprinted at Glasgow, 1813. See also Dr 
Macknight on the Epistles, vol. i. essay 4. § 74., to the end of that essay. 

4 Purver rightly supplies it, and renders the passage thus, and should death be. 
fal him in the way: in the authorised English version the conjunction and is 
omitted, and the conditional if is properly supplied. 

vol. ii. 68 




•538 


Of the, Context. [Part II. Cli 

to (for the most antient manuscripts have scarcely any points), would have pre 
vented them from giving so repulsive an interpretation. The first epistle of Peter 
(it should be recollected) was addressed to believing Jews. 1 2 3 After congratulating 
them on their happiness in being called to the glorious privileges and hopes of the 
Gospel, lie takes occasion to expatiate upon the sublime manner in which it was 
introduced, both by the prophets and apostles; and, having enforced his general 
exhortation to watchfulness, *fcc. by an affecting representation of our relation to 
God, our redemption by the precious blood of Christ, the vanity of all worldly en¬ 
joyments, and the excellence and perpetuity of the Gospel dispensation (ch. i. 
throughout) ; — he proceeds (ii. 1—12.) to urge them by a representation of their 
Christian privileges, to receive the word of God with meekness, to continue in 
the exercise of faith in Christ as the great foundation of their eternal hopes, and 
to maintain such an exemplary conduct, as might adorn his Gospel among the 
unconverted Gentiles. Wherefore, says he, in consideration of the everlasting 
permanency and invariable certainty of the word of God, laying aside all malice, 
and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, which are so 
contrary to its benevolent design, with all simplicity, as ncto born babes 2 (or in¬ 
fants), who are regenerated by divine grace, desire the sincere milk of the word, 
that ye may groio thereby [unto salvation ]3 since (or seeing that) you have tasted 
that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming , as unto a living stone, disallowed 
indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also (who believe,) as living 
stones are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sa¬ 
crifices by Jesus Christ. (Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold I 
lay in Sion a chief corner-stone, elect, precious ; and he that believeth on it (confid- 
eth in it) shall not be confounded (or ashamed). Unto you, therefore, who be¬ 
lieve he is precious ; but unto them that disbelieve, a7r£iSou<n, 4 the stone which 
the builders disallowed, the same is become the head of the corner, and a stone of 

1 See this proved, infra, Vol. IV. Part II. Chap. IV. Sect. III. § III. 

2 This expression very emphatically denotes those who are newly converted or 
regenerated, as the apostle had said (1 Pet. i. 23.) the believing Jews were, through 
the incorruptible word of God. It is well known that the antient Jewish rabbies 
styled new proselytes to their religion, little children and new-born babes ; and 
Peter, who was a Jew, very naturally adopts the same phraseology, when writing 
to Jewish converts to the Gospel. 

3 These words [unto salvation, us cuTripiav], though omitted in the common 
printed editions, are, by Griesbach, inserted in the text, of which they form an in¬ 
tegral part. They are found in the Codices Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, and Ephre- 
mi (the three oldest manuscripts extant) ; in thirty-nine others of good authority, 
though of less antiquity ; and also in the Old Syriac, the Philoxenian (or later^ 
Syriac, the Arabic edited by Erpenius, the Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Sclavonic, 
and Vulgate versions, and are quoted by Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen, Cyril, 
Joannes Damascenus, and Theophylact, among the Greek Fathers; and by the 
Latin Fathers, Jerome, Rufinus, Augustine, Gildas, Cassiodorus, and the venerable 
Bede. This reading is, therefore, undoubtedly genuine, and is of great importance. 
It shows the reason why the believing Jews were regenerated, and also why they 
were to desire the unadulterated doctrines of the Gospel, viz. that they might 
thereby increase, or groio up, unto salvation. This was the end they should always 
have in view ; and nothing could so effectually promote this end, as continually 
receiving the pure truth of God, praying for the fulfilment of its promises, and 
acting under its dictates. 

4 The verb anuSed) (whence the participle anuSowres) and its derivative substan¬ 
tive aireiSua, signify such a disbelief, as constitutes the party guilty of obstinacy, 
or wilful refusal to credit a doctrine or narrative. In the New Testament, it is 
specially used concerning those who obstinately persist in rejecting the doctrine 
of the Gospel, regardless of all the evidences that accompanied it. Thus, in John 
iii. 3(5. cnuibuv via vto), he that disbelieveth the Son, is opposed to him that believeth 
on the Son, rw tusivovtl as rov vtov. So, in Acts xiv. 2. those Jews who stirred up 
the Gentiles, and made them evil affected towards the brethren, are termed o’t 
airuSowTts lovScuoi, the disbelieving (or, as it is not ill-rendered in our authorised ver¬ 
sion), the unbelieving or wilfully incredulous Jews, who are opposed to the great 
multitude both oj the .Tews and also of the Greeks, who believed, ms-tvaai (verse 1.) 
The same verb is found in Acts xvii. 5. and xix. 9. Rom. xi. 30, 31. and 1 Pet. iii. 
1. (Gr.) in which last place Saint Peter exhorts wives, who believed the Gospel, 
to be in subjection to their husbands, that, if any, aruSovm no \oyio, disbelieve the 
word, they may also without the word be won over to the Gospel, by the exemplary 
conversation of the wives. The lexicographer, Suidas, (as cited by Schleusner, in 



539 


HI. Sect.V.] Of the Context. 

stumbling, and a rock of offence. They disbelieving the word (rw Aoyw anciSuv- 
res), that is, the word of the Gospel, which contains this testimony, stumble at 
this corner-stone, whereunto they were appointed: But ye (believers, who rest 
your salvation on it), are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar peo¬ 
ple, &c. &c. Hence, it is evident that the meaning of 1 Pet. ii. 8. is not, that 
God had ordained them to disobedience (for in that case their obedience would 
have been impossible, and their disobedience would have been no sin): but that 
God, the righteous judge of all the earth, had appointed or decreed, that destruc¬ 
tion and eternal perdition should be the punishment of such disbelieving persons, 
who wilfully rejected all the evidences that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, the Sa¬ 
viour of the world. The mode of pointing above adopted, is that proposed by 
Drs. John Taylor, Doddridge, and Macknight, and recognised by Griesbach in 
his critical edition of the Greek Testament, and is manifestly required by the 
context. 

3. A verse or passage must not be connected with a remote context, 
unless the latter agree better with it than a nearer context. 

Thus Rom. ii. 16. although it makes a good sense if connected with the pre¬ 
ceding verse, makes a much better when joined with verse 12. (the intermediate 
verses being read parenthetically as in the authorised version); and this shows it 
to be the true and proper context. 

4. Examine whether the writer continues his discourse , lest we suppose 
him to make a transition to another argument , when in fact he is prose¬ 
cuting the same topic. 

Rom. v. 12. will furnish an illustration of this remark. From that verse to the 
end of the chapter Saint Paul produces a strong argument to prove, that as all 
men stood in need of the grace of God in Christ to redeem them from their sins, 
so this grace has been afforded equally to all, whether Jews or Gentiles. To per¬ 
ceive the full force, therefore, of the apostle's conclusion, we must read the con¬ 
tinuation of his argument from verse 12. to the close of the chapter. 

5. The parentheses which occur in the sacred writings should be par¬ 
ticularly regarded: but no parenthesis should be interposed without suf¬ 
ficient reason. 

Parentheses, being contrary to the genius and structure of the He¬ 
brew language, are, comparatively, of rare occurrence in the Old 
Testament. 

The prophetic writings indeed contain interruptions and interlocutions, particu¬ 
larly those of Jeremiah : but we have an example of a real parenthesis, in Zech. 
vii. 7. The Jewish captives had sent to inquire of the prophet, whether their 
fasting should be continued on account of the burning of the temple, and the as¬ 
sassination of Gedaliah: after a considerable digression, but closely connected 
with the question proposed, the prophet at length replies, in ch. viii. 19. that the 
season formerly devoted to fasting should soon be spent in joy and gladness. The 
intermediate verses, therefore, from ch. vii. 4. to ch. viii. 17. are obviously paren¬ 
thetical, though not marked as such in any of the modern versions which we have 
had an opportunity to examine. 

In the New Testament, however, parentheses are frequent, es¬ 
pecially in the writings of Saint Paul; who, after making numerous 
digressions, (all of them appropriate to, and illustrative of, his main 
subject), returns to the topic which he had begun to discuss. 

Thus in Rom. ii. verses 13, 14, and 15. are obviously parenthetical, because, as 
above remarked, the context evidently requires, verses 12. and 16. to be read to¬ 
gether. In Rom. v. verses 12.18,19. evidently form one continued sentence ; and 
all the intermediate verses are undoubtedly to be read as a parenthesis, though 
they are not marked as such in the authorised translation. 1 Cor. viii. 1. begin¬ 
ning with the words, Knowledge puffeth up, &c. to the end of the first clause in 
verse iv. is in like manner parenthetical. The connection therefore of the first, 
with the fourth verse is this : — JYow, as touching things offered unto idols, we 

voce, to whom we are chiefly indebted for this note,) considers aireiSuv as synony¬ 
mous with ant^ctv. A nuSetv SoTiKt)' am^ctv. 

For examples, in which the derivative substantive aireiScia means disbelief ", or 
contempt of the Christian doctrine, see Schleusner’s Lexicon, sub voce. 



540 


Of the Context. [Part II. Ch. 

know that we have all knowledge. — We know that an idol is nothing , &c. 1 Cor. 

x. 29. latter clause, and verse 30., are parenthetical ; as also are 2 Cor. ix. 9, 10. 
which are so printed in our version. A still more signal instance of parenthesis 
occurs in Eph. iii. where the first and fourteenth verses aj*e connected, the twelve 
intermediate verses (2 to 13) being parenthetical; as also is 1 Tim. i. verses 3. to 
17. inclusive. “ In this passage,” says Professor Franck, “ taking occasion from 
the false teachers, Saint Paul speaks of the law according to the Gospel commit¬ 
ted unto him ; and having given vent to the feelings of his heart, he returns, in 
verse 18. to the scope he had in view in the third verse, where he intimates, by 
using the comparative particle, as (icaSus), that the completion of the sense was to 
be expected in the subsequent verses. The whole of the discourse connects thus : 
— “ As I besought thee to charge some that they teach no other doctrine, but 
seek after godly edifying ; and that the end of the commandment is love out of a 
pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned, &c.: so now I com¬ 
mit the same charge unto thee, — that thou mayest hold faith and a good con¬ 
science,” &c.l 

Another instance of the parenthesis we have in Phil. i. 27. to ch. ii. 16. inclu¬ 
sive : in which the apostle discusses a subject, the proposition of which is con¬ 
tained in ch. i. 27.; and afterwards, in ch. ii. 17. he returns to the topic which he 
had been treating in the preceding chapter. u In conformity with this statement 
we find (ch. i. 23.), that Saint Paul says, he is influenced by two things — a desire 
both of life and death ; but he knows not which of these to choose Death is the 
most desirable to himself; but the welfare of the Philippians requires rather that 
he may be spared a little longer ; and, having this confidence, he is assured that 
his life will be lengthened, and that he shall see them again in person. Then, after 
the interruption which his discourse had received, he proceeds (ch. ii. 17.) as fol¬ 
lows : “ Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy 
and rejoice with you all.” The intervening charge is happily and judiciously 
introduced by the apostle, in order that the Philippians might not remit their ex 
ertions until his arrival, but contend for the faith of the Gospel with unity and 
humility ; as will be evident to those who examine the point with attention and 

candour.”2 

In 2 Tim. i. 16—18. we have a beautiful example of the parenthesis. The 
apostle, acknowledging the intrepid affection of Onesiphorus — who, when timo¬ 
rous professors deserted him, stood by him and ministered to him — begins with a 
prayer for the good man’s family ; The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesi¬ 
phorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chains, hut, being 
in Rome, very carefully sought me, and found me out. Saint Paul then stops his 
period, and suspends his sentence, to repeat his acknowledgments and prayer with 
renewed fervour and gratitude — ( The Lord grant that he may find mercy from 
the Lord in that day,) and in how many instances he ministered to me at Ephesus, 
you very well know. If we peruse the choicest authors of Greece and Rome, we 
shall scarcely find, among their many parentheses and transpositions of style, one 
expressed in so pathetic and lively a manner, nor for a reason so substantial and 
unexceptionable. 1 2 3 

Additional instances might be offered, to show the importance of 
attending to parentheses in the examination of the context; but the 
preceding will abundantly suffice for this purpose. The author has 


1 Franck’s Guide to the Scriptures, p. 188. By the judicious application of the 
parenthesis, that very difficult passage in Rom. viii. 19—21. has been rendered 
perfectly easy and intelligible by a learned divine of the present day. He proposes 
to translate and point it thus : — The earnest expectation of the creation waitetk 
for the manifestation of the sons of God: (for the creation was made subject to 
vanity, not zoillingly, but by reason of him who subjected it) in hope that the crea¬ 
tion itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious 
liberty of thc : sons of God. Those who are acquainted with the original language 
will, on consideration, easily perceive the justice of this translation. For the rea¬ 
sons on which it is founded, and for an able elucidation of the whole passage, see 
“ Sermons preached at Welbeck Chapel by the Rev. Thomas White,” sermon xx. 
pp. 363—380. Griesbach has printed in a parenthesis only the middle clause of 
verse 20. (“ not willingly, but by reason of him who subjected it”); which certain¬ 
ly does not materially contribute to clear up the difficulty of this passage. 

2 Franck’s Guide, p. 189. 

3 Blackwall’s Sacred Classics illustrated, vol. i. pp. 68, 69. 3d edit. 



541 


III. Sect. V.] Of the Context. 

been led to discuss them at greater length than may seem to have 
been requisite, from the circumstance, that less attention appears to 
be given to the parenthesis, than to any other species of punctuation, 
in the different works on the study of the Scriptures in our language, 
that have fallen under his notice. 1 

G. No explanation must be admitted, but that which suits the context. 

In direct violation of this self-evident canon of interpretation, the church of 
Rome expounds Matt, xviii. 17. if a man neglect to hear the church, let him be 
unto thee as a heathen man and as a publican, of the infallibility and final decisions 
of all doctrines by the (Roman) Catholic church. But what says the evangelist P 
Let us read the context. “ If,” says our Lord, “ thy brother shall trespass against 
thee, go, and tell him his fault between thee and him alone : if he shall hear thee, 
thou hast gained thy brother .' But if he will not hear, take toith thee one or 
tico more, that in the mouth of one or two witnesses every word may be establish¬ 
ed. And if lie shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church : but if he neglect 
to hear the church , let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican, (verse 15 
—17.) That is, if a man have done you an injury, first admonish him privately of 
it; if that avail not, tell the church ; — not the universal church dispersed through¬ 
out the world, but that particular church to which you both belong. And if he 
will not reform upon such reproof, regard him no longer as a true Christian, but 
as a wicked man with whom you are to hold no religious communion, though, as 
a fellow man, you owe him earnest and persevering good-will and acts of kind¬ 
ness. Through the whole of this context there is not one word said about diso- 
beying the determination of the Catholic church concerning a disputed doctrine, 
but about slighting the admonition of a particular church concerning known sin ; 
ajid particular churches are owned to be fallible. 2 

7. Where no connection is to be found with the preceding and subse¬ 
quent parts of a book, none should be sought. 

This observation applies solely to the Proverbs of Solomon, and chiefly to the 
tenth and following chapters, which form the second part of that book ; and are 
composed of separate proverbs or distinct sentences, having no real or verbal 
connection whatever, though each individual maxim is pregnant with the most 
weighty instruction. 3 

From the preceding remarks it will be evident, that, although the 
comparison of the context will require both labour and unremitting 
diligence, yet these will be abundantly compensated by the increased 
degree of light w T hich will thus be thrown upon otherwise obscure 
passages. The very elaborate treatise of Franzius, already referred 
to, will supply numerous examples of the Holy Scriptures which are 
rendered perfectly clear by the judicious consideration of the context. 

1 Christopher Wollius published a very valuable treatise, De Parenthesi Sacr&, 
at Leipsic, in 1726. 4to. The same subject has also been discussed in the follow¬ 
ing works, viz. Joh. Fr. Hirt, Dissertatio de Parenthesi, et generatim, et speciatim 
Sacra, 4to. Jena, 1745. Joh. Gotti. Lindneri, Commentationes Duae de Parenthe- 
sibus Johanneis, 4to. 1765. Ad. Bened. Spitzneri Commentatio Philologica de 
Parenthesi, Libris Sacris V. et. N. T. accommodata. 8vo. Lipsiae, 1773. 

2 Whitby on Matt, xviii. 15—17. Bishop Porteus’s Confutation of the Errors of 
the Church of Rome, pp. 13, 14. 

3 J. B. Carpzov. Prim. Lin. Herm. pp. 36, 37. Bauer, Herm. Sacr. pp. 192—200. 
Pfeiffer, Herm. Sacr. c. x. (op. tom. ii. pp. 656—658.) Franzius, Pref. pp. 8—11. 
Tract, pp. 48—51. Morus, in Ernesti, tom. i. pp. 161—163. Viser, Herm. Nov. 
Sacr. pars iii. pp. 189—194. Wetstein et Semler de Interpret. Nov. Test. pp. 116 

_120. Franckii Praelectiones Hermeneuticae, pp. 61—94. Rambach, Inst. Herm. 

pp. 197—216. Jahnii Enchirid. Herm. Generalis, pp. 51—71. Chladenii Institu- 
tiones Exegeticae, pp. 366—374. J. E. Pfeifferi Institutiones Herm. Sacr. pp. 464 
_ 46 g, 507_534. Schaefer, Institutiones Scripturisticoe, pars ii. pp. 56—62. 



542 


On Historical Circumstances. 


[Part II. Ch. 


SECTION VI. 

ON HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCES. 

Historical Circumstances defined .—I. Order .— II. Title .—III. Au~ 
thor. — IV. j Date of the several Books of Scripture. — V. The 
Place where written .—VI. Chronology .—VII. Occasion on 
which they were written. — VIII. Scope or Design. — IX. Analysis 
of each Book. — X. Biblical Antiquities , including , 1. The Politi- 
cal , Ecclesiastical , and Civil State ;— 2. Sacred and Profane 
History ; — 3. Geography ; — 4. Genealogy ; — 5. JV atural His¬ 
tory ; and 6. Philosophical Sects and Learning of the Jews and 
other nations mentioned in the Scriptures. 

HISTORICAL Circumstances are an important help to the correct 
understanding of the sacred writers. Under this term are comprised : 
— 1. The Order; 2. The Title; 3. The Author; 4. The Hate of 
each of the several books of Scripture ; 5. The Place where it was 
written ; 6. The Chronology or period of time embraced in the 
Scriptures generally, and of each book in particular; 7. The Occa¬ 
sion upon which the several books were written ; 8. Their respective 
Scopes or designs ; and 9. An Analysis of each book. 10. Biblical 
Antiquities , including the Geography, Genealogy, Sacred and Pro¬ 
fane History, Natural History and Philosophy, Learning, and Phi¬ 
losophical Sects, Manners, Customs, and private Life of the Jews 
and other nations mentioned in the Bible. How important a knowl¬ 
edge of these particulars is, and how indispensably necessary to a 
correct interpretation of the inspired volume, we are now to consider. 

I. A knowledge of the Order of the Different Books , especially 
such as are historical, will more readily assist the student to discover 
the order of the different histories and other matters discussed in 
them, as well as to trace the divine economy towards mankind, under 
the Mosaic and Christian dispensations. 

This aid, if judiciously exercised, opens the way to a deep ac¬ 
quaintance with the meaning of an author ; but, when it is neglected, 
many things necessarily remain obscure and ambiguous. 

II. The Titles are further worthy of notice, because some of them 
announce the chief subject of the book — 

As Genesis , the generation of heaven and earth — Exodus , the de¬ 
parture of the Israelites from Egypt, &c. ; while other titles denote 
the churches or particular persons for whose more immediate use 
some parts of the Scriptures were composed, and thus afford light to 
particular passages. 

III. A knowledge of the Author of each book, together with the 
age in which he lived, his peculiar character, his sect or religion, and 
also his peculiar mode of thinking and style of writing, as well as the 
testimonies which his writings may contain concerning himself, is 
equally necessary to the historical interpretation of Scripture. 

Tor instance, the consideration of the testimonies concerning him¬ 
self, which appear in the second epistle of St. Peter, will show that 
he was the author of that book: for he expressly says, 1. That he 


1 


543 


III. Sect. VI.] On Historical Circumstances . 

was present at the transfiguration of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. i. 18 .) ; 2. 
That this was his second epistle to the believing Jews (iii. 1.) ; and 
that Paul was his beloved brother (iii. 15.) ; all which circumstances 
quadrate with Peter. In like manner, the coincidence of style and 
of peculiar forms of expression, which exist between the second and 
third epistles of Saint John, and his other writings, prove that those 
epistles were written by him. Thus we shall be able to account for 
one writer’s omitting some topics, and expatiating upon others — as 
Saint Mark’s silence concerning actions honourable to Saint Peter, 
and enlarging on his faults, he being the companion of the latter, and 
writing from his information. A comparison of the style of the 
epistle to the Hebrews, with that of Saint Paul’s other epistles, will 
show that he was the author of that admirable composition. 1 

IV. Knowledge of the Time when each book was written some¬ 
times shows the reason and propriety of things said in it. 2 

Upon this principle, the solemn adjuration in 1 Thess. v. 27. 
which at first sight may seem unnecessary, may be explained. It is 
probable that, from the beginning of the Christian dispensation, the 
Scriptures of the Old Testament were read in every assembly for 
divine worship. Saint Paul, knowing the plenitude of the apostolic 
commission, now demands the same respect to be paid to his writings 
which had been given to those of the antient prophets : this, there¬ 
fore, is a proper direction to be inserted in the first epistle written 
by him ; and the manner, in which it is given, suggests an argument 
that the first epistle to the Thessalonians was the earliest of his epis¬ 
tles. An accurate knowledge of the date of a book is further of pecu¬ 
liar importance in order to understand the prophecies and epistles ; 
for not only will it illustrate several apparently obscure particulars 
in a prediction, but it will also enable us to ascertain and to confute 
a false application of such prediction. Grotius, in his preface to the 
second epistle to the Thessalonians, has endeavoured to prove that the 
Emperor Caligula was the man of sin , and Simon Magus the icickcd one , 
foretold in the second chapter of that epistle ; and has fruitlessly la¬ 
boured to show that it was written a. d. 38; but its true date, a. d. 
52, explodes that application, as also Dr. Hammond’s hypothesis that 
Simon Magus was the man of sin, and the ivieked one. 

V. Not unfrequently, the consideration of the Place , 1. Where 
any book was written ; or, 2. Where any tiling was said or done, will 
materially facilitate its historical interpretation, especially if regard be 
had, 3. To the nature of the place , and the customs which obtained 
there. 

1. For instance, it is evident that St. Paul’s second epistle to the 
Thessalonians was written, shortly after the first, at Corinth, and not 
at Athens, as its subscription would import, from this circumstance, 
viz. that Timothy and Silvanus or Silas, who joined him in his first 
letter, were still with him, and joined him in the second. (Compare 
2 Thess. i. 1. with 1 Thess. iii. 6. and Acts xviii. 1—5.) And as in 

1 This topic has been ably proved by Braunius, in his Commentarius in Episto- 
lam ad Hebraeos, pp. 10—21.; by Pritius, in his Introductio in Novum Testamen- 
turn, cap. iv. $ iii. pp. 47, 48., and by Langius in his Commentatio de Vita et Epis- 
tolis Pauli, p. 157. Le Clerc lias some pertinent remarks on the same subject, in 
his Ars Critica, pars iii. sect. ii. cap. vi. p. 372. 

2 Rambach, Inst. Herm. Sacr. p. 116. 




544 


On Historical Circumstances. [Part II. Cli. 

this epistle he desired the brethren to pray that he might he delivered 
from unreasonable and wicked men (2 Thess. iii. 2.), it is probable 
that he wrote it soon after the insurrection of the Jews at Corinth, 
in which they dragged him before Gallio the proconsul of Achaia, 
and accused him of persuading men to worship contrary to the laid. 
(Acts xviii. 13.) But this consideration of the place where a book 
was written, will supply us with one or two observations that will 
more clearly illustrate some passages in the same epistle. Thus it 
is manifest from 2 Thess. iii. 8. that Saint Paul could appeal to his 
own personal labours for his subsistence with the greater confidence, 
as he had diligently prosecuted them at Corinth (compare Acts xviii. 
3. with 1 Cor. ix. 11, 12, 13.) : and, to mention no more examples, 
it is clear from 2 Thess. iii. 1,2. that the great Apostle of the Gentiles 
experienced more difficulty in planting a Christian church at Corinth, 
and in some other places, than he did at Thessalonica. In a simi¬ 
lar manner, numerous beautiful passages in his epistles to the Ephe¬ 
sians will be more fully understood, by knowing that they were writ¬ 
ten at Rome during his first captivity. 

2. Thus our Lord’s admirable discourse, recorded in the sixth 
chapter of St. John’s Gospel, which so many disregarded, is said 
(v. 59.) to have been delivered in the synagogue at Capernaum, con¬ 
sequently in a public place, and in that very city which had witnessed 
the performance of so many of his miracles. And it is this circum¬ 
stance of place which so highly aggravated the malice and unbelief 
of his hearers. (Compare Matt. xi. 23.) 

3, The first Psalm being written in Palestine, the comparison (in 
v. 4.) of the ungodly to chaff driven away by the wind will become 
more evident, when it is recollected that the threshing-floors in that 
country were not under cover as those in our modern barns are, but 
that they were formed in the open air, without the walls of cities, 
and in lofty situations, in order that the wheat might be the more 
effectually separated from the chaff by the action of the wind. (See 
Hosea xiii. 3.) In like manner, the knowledge of the nature of the 
Arabian desert, through which the children of Israel journeyed, is 
necessary to the correct understanding of many passages in the 
Books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which were written 
in that desert. 

VI. Chronology , or the science of computing and adjusting periods 
of time, is of the greatest importance towards understanding the his¬ 
torical parts of the Bible, not only as it shows the order and con¬ 
nection of the various events therein recorded, but likewise as it 
enables us to ascertain the accomplishment of many of the prophe¬ 
cies. Chronology is further of service to the Biblical critic, as it 
sometimes leads to the discovery and correction of mistakes in num- 
hers and dates, which have crept into particular texts. As consider¬ 
able differences exist in the chronology of the Hebrew Scriptures, 
the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Septuagint version, and Josephus, dif¬ 
ferent learned men have applied themselves to the investigation of 
these difficulties, and have communicated the results of their re- 
searches in elaborate systems. Some one of these, after examining 
their various claims, it will be desirable to have constantly at hand. 


545 


III. Sect. VI.] On Historical Circumstances. 

The principal systems of Chronology are those of Cappel, Vossius, 
Archbishop Usher, Bedford, Jackson, and Dr. Hales. 1 

VII. We find it to be no small help to the understanding of antient 
profane writings, if we can discover the Occasion on which, as well 
as the time when, they were penned: and for want of such know¬ 
ledge many passages in such writings are become obscure and un¬ 
intelligible. The same may be observed in the books of the Old 
and New Testament, (especially in the Book of Psalms and the 
Apostolical Epistles,) the right understanding of the design of which, 
as well as of the phraseology is most essentially promoted by a care¬ 
ful observance of the Occasion , upon which they were written. 

To some of the Psalms, indeed, there is prefixed a notice of the 
occasion on which they were composed : and, by comparing these 
with one another, and with the sacred history, great light may he, 
and has been thrown upon the more difficult passages ; and the 
meaning, beauty, and energy of many expressions have been set in 
a clearer point of view. But where no such titles are prefixed, the 
occasion must be sought from internal evidence. This is particularly 
the case with the forty-second Psalm. 

In the title of this beautiful and affecting poem, we have no clue to ,the occasion 
that led the royal Psalmist to compose it: but if we look into the account of Da¬ 
vid’s troubles, recorded in the second book of Samuel, we may discover the occa¬ 
sion on which, nay, perhaps, the very night when it was composed. We may 
collect from many of the Psalms, that David was visited with a severe and dange¬ 
rous sickness ; and that Absalom, during his weak state, took advantage to raise 
a rebellion against him. (See Psal. vi. xxii. xxxviii. xxxix. xli.) We learn from 
the sacred history, that this wicked design was carried on with the greatest art 
and secrecy. (2 Sam. xv.) The conspiracy was strong ; the people increased con¬ 
tinually with Absalom; and Ahithophel, one of David’s chief ministers, an able 
counsellor, and crafty politician, had joined Absalom, and conducted his counsels 
The news of this revolt surprised David, and found him unprepared, and unable 
to make resistance. He found himself obliged to quit his palace, and, what he 
regretted much more, the tabernacle of God, and toilce suddenly from Jerusalem, 
with only a few faithful attendants. The good king was now in the deepest dis¬ 
tress, in a weak state of body, and an unnatural rebellion was raised against him 
by his own son, liis beloved son Absalom : He was deserted by Ahithophel, his 
counsellor, whom he esteemed (Psal. xli. 9. lv. 13., &c.); his familiar friend 
whom he trusted , who was now become his bitter and most formidable enemy : He 
knew not whom to trust; the hearts of the men of Israel were after Absalom : 
The revolt seemed general, and the danger great and imminent. (Psal. lv. 4, 5.) 
His heart ions sore pained within him ; and the terrors of death were fallen upon 
him. Fearf ulness and trembling came upon him ; and horror overwhelmed him. 
Pie was obliged to hasten his escape, and make speed to depart. And he, and the 
people that were with him, went up from Jerusalem with their heads covered, 
and bare-foot, weeping as they went up. In this calamitous state, his only re¬ 
source was in his God; and God did not forsake him. When he was told tha t 
Ahithophel w r as among the conspirators, he prayed to God to turn the counsel of 
Ahithophel into foolishness ; and God instantly heard his request. Behold Hu- 
ahai the Archite came to meet him ; and by him David found means to defeat the 
oounsel of this crafty politician. (2 Sam. xvii. 1., &c.) Ahithophel advised Ab¬ 
salom to pursue immediately that night after David , while .ho was weary , and 
weak-handed. But Hushai’s counsel was to wait till he could gather all Israel to¬ 
gether : And this counsel was approved of by Absalom and has people. And Hu- 
ahai acquainted David with their resolution, and advised him to make no delay, 
but pass over Jordan immediately. This advice he followed, and came to that 

1 For the titles of their valuable works, as well as those treating on other histo¬ 
rical circumstanoes of the Scriptures, the reader is referred to the Appendix Jts 
.this volume, No. V. 

VQL. II. 69 




546 


On Historical Circumstances. [Part II. Ch 

river by night. It was now summer time,! and Jordan overflowed its banks. The 
passage was difficult and. dangerous ; but the danger of delay was still greater. 
At this very time we suppose that David composed the Psalm before us ; and we 
shall find all parts of it answer exactly. 

The first thing that here offered itself to his observation was the thirstiness of 
the harts, who in the day-time sheltered themselves in the woods from the heat 
of the sun, and came down in the evening to the river to slake their thirst. To 
this he compares his own condition, his eager desires of worshipping God in his 
holy tabernacle, and the grief and uneasiness, which he felt on being bereft of 
that comfort — My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God : When shall 1 come, 
and appear before God ? Amidst all his distresses, nothing afflicted him so much 
as the being driven, and excluded from the place of God's public worship. He 
poured out his soul in tears and lamentations, when he remembered the days in 
which he went with the multitude into the house of God, with the voice of joy 
and praise. And greatly was he affected by the discredit done to religion by his 
sufferings, which gave these impious rebels occasion to cast a reproach upon Pro¬ 
vidence itself, which either would not, or could not, protect so zealous a servant of 
God. This pierced him like a sword to the very bones, while his enemies re¬ 
proached him, and also God himself; while they said daily unto him — Where is 
now thy God ? But yet in this deep distress he did not give himself up to de¬ 
spondency, or despair. His piety, and confidence in God, supported him in all 
his dangers and difficulties. He breaks out into this fervent exclamation — Why 
art thou cast down, O my Soul? And why art thou disquieted within me ? Hope 
thou in God ; for 1 will yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance. Our 
Psalmist proceeds in the same pious strain — 0 my God, my soul is cast down 
within me p but I will remember thee from the land of Jordan — nyxo mo 
— and of the Hermonites from the hill Mitzar. Hermon was a ridge of moun¬ 
tains at the very farthest extremity of the land of Israel, covered most part of the 
year with snow. The word — — signifies little. It might be the name of 

some hill beyond Jordan, or possibly some little hill now in view. Whatever hill 
is here meant, the general sense is plain — I will remember thee, whatever dangers 
surround me, and wheresoever I am driven. I will remember thee amidst the 
overflowings of Jordan. I will remember thee if I should be driven to the farthest 
extremity of the land, and forced to take refuge in the bleak mountains of Her¬ 
mon. Which shall we admire most, the beauty of the poetry, or the piety of the 
sentiment ? 

But to proceed : — Another thing, which struck David on this occasion, was the 
noise of the water, and waves, sounding in his ears — Deep calleth unto deep at 
the noise of thy water-spouts. Torrents of water poured down on each side of 
him ; those below seemed to answer to those above. Or perhaps the water-spouts 
may signify the clouds of heaven, wdiich poured down, and increased the flood, 
and added to the noise. A dreadful sound this must be to David in his dangerous 
condition, at the dead of night. And by this comparison he sets forth his own ca¬ 
lamities in the most beautiful strains of divine poetry — All thy waves and thy bil¬ 
lows arc gone over me. But his hope in God did not fail him by day, or by night. 
The Lord (says he) will command his loving-kindness in the day-time ; and in the 
night his song shall be icith me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. And 
after a short and humble expostulation with God, who suffered him to be thus op¬ 
pressed, he breaks out again into the like pious ejaculation. And so also, in the 
close of the next Psalm, which is evidently a continuance of this, lie concludes 
with the same. This is throughout the burthen of his song — Why art thou cast 
down, 0 my soul ? And why art thou disquieted within me ? Hope thou in God ; 
for I shall yet praise him , who is the health of my countenance and my God. 

Nor did the event deceive this pious king’s expectation. (2 Sam. xvii. 22., &c.) 
By the morning light he and all his attendants safely crossed the Jordan ; there 
lacked not one of them. Here he was placed out of the reach of those who sought 
his life. The country flocked in to him : The good Barzillai, and other loyal sub¬ 
jects, brought in provisions, and other necessaries, for the sustenance of his weary 
and weak-handed followers : Joab, and his men of war, came to his assistance : 
And he was soon able to raise an army powerful enough to engage and overcome 
his rebel son. 1 2 

As the'occasions, on which the several books of the Old and New 

1 See Josh. iii. 15. 1 Chron. xii. 15. Jer. xii. 5. Eccles. xxiv. 2G. 

2 Dr. Randolph’s Dissertation on Psal. xlii. at the end of vol. i. of his View of 
Christ’s Ministry, &c. (Oxford, 1784. 8vo.) 



547 


HI. Sect. VI.] On Historical Circumstances . 

Testaments were severally written, are stated in the analyses of them 
contained in the fourth volume of this work, it is unnecessary to ad¬ 
duce any examples from them. We must, however, be careful, when 
investigating the occasion of any book or passage, that we deduce our 
conclusions respecting it from the book or passage itself, and not from 
uncertain conjecture. 

V III. The consideration of the Scope or Design , which the in¬ 
spired authors severally had in view, will greatly illustrate the entire 
book: as its whole structure, arrangement, and principal arguments, 
are materially affected by the scope. And as the scope is either 
general or special, these two particulars must not be confounded 
together : it is to the want of due discrimination in this respect that 
we may ascribe many errors of considerable magnitude. On the in¬ 
vestigation of the Scope, see Section VII. pp. 552—555. infra. 

IX. An Analysis of each book is of equal importance with the 
preceding subjects of consideration. If judiciously executed, such 
analysis will exhibit to the reader a comprehensive view, not only of 
the chief subject-matter of every book or epistle, but will also show 
the methodical and orderly coherence of all the parts of the book with 
one another. Such an analysis the author has attempted in the fourth 
volume of this work. “ Books,” says an old writer, “ looked upon 
confusedly , are but darkly and confusedly apprehended : but consi¬ 
dered distinctly, as in these distinct analyses or resolutions into their 
principal parts, must needs be distinctly and much more clearly dis¬ 
cerned.” 1 

X. A knowledge of Biblical Antiquities, (including the Sacred 
and Profane History, Geography, Genealogy, Natural History, and 
Philosophy, Learning and Philosophical Sects, Manners, Customs, 
and private Life, of the Jews and other nations mentioned in the 
Bible) is indispensably necessary to the right understanding of the 
sacred volume. 

1 . What the peculiar rites, manners, and customs of the Hebrews 
and other nations actually were, that are either alluded to or men¬ 
tioned in the Scriptures, can only be ascertained by the study of 
their political, ecclesiastical, and civil state ; without an accurate 
knowledge of which, all interpretation must be both defective and 
imperfect. If, in order to enter fully into the meaning, or correctly . 
apprehend the various beauties of the Greek and Roman classics, it 
be necessary to be acquainted with the peculiar forms of government 
that prevailed — the powers of magistrates, — modes of executing 
the laws — the punishments of criminals — tributes or other duties 
imposed on subjects — their military affairs — sacred rites and fes¬ 
tivals— private life, manners, and amusements — commerce, mea¬ 
sures and weights, Ac. Ac. — how much greater difficulties will be 
interposed in his way, who attempts to interpret the Scriptures with¬ 
out a knowledge of these topics ! For, as the customs and manners 
of the oriental people are w idely different from those of the western 

1 Robert’s Key to the Bible, pp. (11.) (12.) folio edit. 1665. See also Rambachii 
Institutiones Hermeneuticco Sacrte, pp. 108—110. and Chla^enius’s Institutiones 
Eiegeticse, p. 532. et seq. 



548 


On Historical Circumstances. 


[Part II. Ch. 

nations; as further, their sacred rites differ most essentially from 
every thing with which we are acquainted, and as the Jews in par¬ 
ticular, from the simplicity of their language, have drawn very nu¬ 
merous metaphors from the works of nature, from the ordinary oc¬ 
cupations and arts of life, from religion and things connected with 
it, as well as from their national history; — there are many things 
recorded, both in the Old and New Testament, which must appear 
to Europeans either obscure, unintelligible, repulsive, or absurd, 
unless, forgetting our own peculiar habits and modes of thinking, 
we transport ourselves in a manner to the East, and diligently study 
the customs, whether political, sacred, or civil, which obtained there. 
In the third volume of this work, the author has attempted to com¬ 
press the most important facts relative to biblical antiquities. 

In the application, however, of this valuable aid to the interpretation of the 
sacred writings, it is of the utmost importance, that we should be guided by the 
exercise of a sober and cautious judgment, and by the influence of a correct taste ; 
lest we ascribe to the inspired authors sentiments which perhaps never entered 
their minds. From this mistake, that acute biblical critic, and most diligent in¬ 
vestigator of oriental manners and customs, Michaelis, is not exempt. In Prov. 
x. 14. we read, Wise men lay up knowledge, that is, treasure it up, and reserve it 
for a proper opportunity to make use of it: but the mouth of the foolish is near 
destruction; such an one is always talking, and seldom opens his mouth but it 
proves a present mischief to himself and others. By changing the points in the 
latter clause of this verse, Michaelis reads : the mouth of the foolish is as a censer 
near at hand ( thuribulum propinquum ); and he illustrates this expression by the 
oriental custom of offering perfumes to a guest, which (it is well known) is an in¬ 
timation to him that it is time for him to depart. The sense, which this profound 
scholar puts upon the passage, is as follows : the foolish man alienates every one 
from him by his silly and insipid discourses. Is not this torturing words, and as¬ 
cribing to the sacred penman an allusion which he never designed to make , ? 1 But, 
more particularly, 

(1.) Care must be talcen not to deduce or invent antient customs and 
ceremonies from words ill understood. 

Many persons have imagined the prevalence of customs, which not only do not 
at present exist, but which also never did obtain in the East: and others have 
supposed many things to be peculiar to the Hebrews, which are commonly prac¬ 
tised by all nations. Thus, a modern commentator on Isa. i. 22. ( thy wine is mix¬ 
ed loith water) has observed, that the Hebrews were accustomed to dilute their 
wine with water ; this practice was common to the Greeks and Romans, whereas 
the Jews mixed aromatic and invigorating drugs, in order to render their wine more 
strong and inebriating. See Psal. lxxv. 8. Prov. ix. 2. and xxiii. 30. Rev.xiv. 10. 

(2.) It is further necessary that we do not derive, from the customs or 
notions that obtained in heathen nations, Jewish rites, ceremonies, and 
notions , which neither can nor ought to be derived from them. 

Neglecting this caution, our learned countryman, Sir John Marsham, 2 and Dr. 
Spencer, 3 have attempted to deduce all the institutes of the Israelites from the 
Egyptians. That some were derived from them is highly probable ; and that se¬ 
veral of the injunctions of Moses were levelled against Egyptian manners and 
rites, from which he was anxious to guard his people, has been satisfactorily shown 
by Michaelis, in his Commentaries on the Laics of Moses. But that all the He¬ 
brew institutions were of Egyptian origin, is an hypothesis now generally aban¬ 
doned, sinefe the able refutation of it by the learned Herman Witsius. 4 In like 

1 Bauer, Herm. Sacr. p. 275. 1 

2 In his “ Chroriicus Canon. iEgyptiacus, Hebraicus, Grsecus,” folio, Londini, 
1672. The Leipsic edition (1676,) and that of Franecker (1696), both in 4to. are 
of little value. 

3 “ I)e Legibus Hebrsebrum Ritualibus, et earum Rationibus, Libri tres,” fol. 
Cambridge, 1685. Reprinted at the Hague in 1696, 4to., and also at Leipsic, 1705. 

• But the best edition is that of London, 1727, in two volumes folio, edited by Mr. 
Chappelow, with Dr. Spencer’s last corrections and additions. 

4 In his “ iEgyptiaca, sive de -^gyptiacorum sacrorum cum Hebraicis collations 



54 & 


HI. Sect. VI.] On Historical Circumstances. 

manner, Dr. Hammond finds the gnostics every where in the apostolic epistles, 
which he endeavours to explain from the peculiar notions of that sect, though it is 
well known Saint John was the only evangelical writer who expressly combated 
their errors. 

(3.) We must take care not to ascribe comparatively modern rites and 
customs to the antient Hebreios. 

From not attending to this rule, the Jewish teachers, and those Christian doctors 
who have implicitly followed them, have caused much perplexity in the antiquities 
of the Jews, having attributed to the antient Hebrews rites and ceremonies that did 
not exist till later times ; and, from not distinguishing the different ages, they 
have consequently confounded antient manners and customs with those which are 
of modern date. The Talmudists, and other Jewish writers, should not be con¬ 
sulted without the greatest caution ; for, living as they did long after the destruc¬ 
tion of the Jewish polity, they not only were imperfectly acquainted with it, but 
they likewise contradict each other, as well as Josephus and Philo, authors every 
way more worthy of confidence, as being contemporary with that event; not 
unfrequently indeed do they contradict the Scriptures themselves, and, indulging 
their own speculations, they produce commentaries which are truly ridiculous. 
The necessary consequence is, that those learned men, who have implicitly fol¬ 
lowed the Talmudists, have been precipitated into various errors. From these 
mistakes, not even Reland and Ikenius are exempt—two of the best writers, 
perhaps, who have applied themselves to the investigation of Jewish antiquities.! 

(4.) Lastly, our knowledge of Biblical Antiquities must be derived 
from pure sources. 

It is the province of the biblical antiquarian to determine and to state what such 
pure sources are. Independently of the assistance to be obtained from Jewish as 
well as from profane writers, it may suffice here to remark, that we may collect 
accounts of the modes of living among the antient Hebrews, with sufficient pre¬ 
cision, by a careful collation of the Old and New Testaments. And if to this we 
add an acquaintance with the modern customs and manners which prevail in the 
East, as they are related by travellers of approved character, we shall have a sure 
and easy access to the knowledge of sacred antiquities: for, as the orientals, from 
their tenacious adherence to old usages, are not likely to differ materially from 
their ancestors, * 1 2 we have no very great reason to be apprehensive, from comparing 
the manners, &c. of the modern Syrians, Arabs, and other inhabitants of the east, 
with those of the antient Hebrews, that we should attribute customs to them which 
never obtained among them. Where, indeed, any new usage does exist among 
the orientals, it may be discovered without much difficulty by men of learning 
and penetration. The interpretation of the Bible, therefore, is not a little facili¬ 
tated by the perusal of the voyages and travels of those who have explored the 
East. Among these valuable contributors to the promotion of biblical science, the 
names of D’Arveiux, Maundrell, Thompson, Chardin, Shaw, Hasselquist, Pococke, 
Neibuhr, Dr. E. D. Clarke, Lord Valentia, Walpole, Ouseley, Morier, Light, 
Russell, Chateaubriand, Burkhardt, Buckingham, Belzoni, Dr. Richardson, the 
Rev. Mr. Jowett, Sir R. K. Porter, and others, are justly celebrated : but as many 
of their works are voluminous and costly, various writers have judiciously applied 
themselves to selecting and arranging the most material passages of their travels, 
which are calculated to elucidate the Holy Scriptures. In this department of 
sacred literature, the compilations of Harmer, Burder, and the editor of Calmet’s 
Dictionary of the Bible, are particularly distinguished. Of these works, as well 
as of the principal writers on Jewish Antiquities, the reader will find a notice in 
No. V. of the Appendix to this volume. 

2. Sacred and Profane History. —An acquaintance with the his- 

Libri tres,” &c. Amstel. 1696, 4to.; and in his Miscellanea Sacra, tom. i. pp. 429. 
et seq. 

1 Schulzii Compendium Archaeologias Hebraicse, Prolegomena, p. xvii. Bauer, 
Herm. Sacr. p. 276. 

2 “ The manners of the East,” — it is remarked by one of the most intelligent 
of modern oriental travellers, — u amidst all the changes of government and reli¬ 
gion, are still the same. They are living impressions from an original mould ; 
and, at every step, some object, some idiom, some dress, or some custom of com¬ 
mon life, reminds the traveller of antient times ; and confirms, above all, the beau¬ 
ty, the accuracy, and the propriety of the language and history of the Bible.” Mo- 
rier’s Second Journey through Persia. Pref. p. viii. 



550 


On Historical Circumstances. [Part II. Ch. 

tory of the Israelites, as well as of the Moabites, Ammonites, Philis¬ 
tines, Egyptians, Assyrians, Medes, Babylonians, Persians, Arabians, 
Greeks, Romans, and other antient nations, is of the greatest impor¬ 
tance to the historical interpretation of the Bible : for, as the Jewish 
people were connected with those nations, either in a hostile or in a 
pacific manner, the knowledge of their history, as well as of their 
customs, arts, and literature, becomes the more interesting ; as it is 
well known that the Israelites, notwithstanding they were forbidden to 
have intercourse with the heathen, did nevertheless borrow” and adopt 
some of their institutions. More particularly, regardless of the severe 1 ' 
prohibitions against idolatry, how many idols did they borrow from 
the Gentiles at different times, previously to the great Babylonish 
captivity, and associate them in the worship of Jehovah ! Their com¬ 
mercial intercourse with the Egyptians and Arabs, and especially with 
die Phoenicians, v r as very considerable : and, at the same time, they 
were almost incessantly at war with the Philistines, Moabites, and 
other neighbouring nations, and afterwards with the Assyrians and 
Egyptians, until they were finally conquered, and carried into cap¬ 
tivity by the Assyrians and Babylonians. Further, the prophets, in 
their denunciations or predictions, not only address their admonitions 
and threatenings to the Israelites and Jews, but also frequently accost 
foreign nations, whom diey menace with destruction. The writings 
of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, contain very numerous predictions 
relative to the heathen nations, which would be utterly unintelligible 
without the aid of profane history. The same remark will apply to 
die divisions of time and forms of government that obtained at different 
periods, which cannot be ascertained from the perusal of the sacred 
writings merely. 

In proportion, however, as the history of the antient nations of Asia 
becomes necessary to the interpretation of the Bible, it is to be re¬ 
gretted that it is for the most part involved in so much obscurity and 
confusion as to require no small labour before we can extricate it 
from the trammels of fable, and arrive at any thing like certainty. 
As the histories of antient Egypt have perished, with the exception 
of a few fragments preserved in the writings of Josephus, Eusebius, 
and other authors, our knowledge of the earliest state of that country 
(which is sufficiently confused and intricate) can only be derived from 
Herodotus, Diodorus, and some other Greek writers, who cannot 
always be depended on. The writings of Sanchoniatho, with the ex¬ 
ception of a few fragments, as well as the works of Histiams, and 
other Phoenician historians, have long since perished: and, for our 
accounts of the Assyrians, recourse must chiefly be had to the Scrip¬ 
tures themselves., as no confidence whatever can be placed in the 
narrations of Ctesias, whose fidelity and veracity have justly been 
questioned by Aristotle, Strabo, and Plutarch. The history of the 
Ammonites, Moabites, Idumseans, Philistines, and other petty neigh¬ 
bouring nations, who had no historians of their own, is involved in 
equal obscurity : for the little that is known of them, with certainty, 
we are exclusively indebted to the Holy Scriptures. 


551 


III. Sect. VI.] On Historical Circumstances. 

The sources, therefore, of that historical knowledge, which is so 
essential to an interpreter of the sacred writings, are, in the first 
place, the Old and New Testaments, and next the works of Josephus 
and profane authors. It is however to be observed, that where the 
latter speak of the Jews, they wilfully misrepresent them, as is done 
by Justin and Tacitus. With a view to reconcile these various con¬ 
tradictions, and to overcome the difficulties thus interposed by the 
uncertainty of antient profane history, various learned men have at 
different times employed themselves in digesting the remains of an¬ 
tient history, and comparing it with the Scriptures, in order to illus¬ 
trate them as much as possible : and the Connections of Sacred and 
Profane History, by Drs. Shuckford and Prideaux, Stackhouse’s His¬ 
tory of the Bible, and Dr. Lardner’s Credibility of the Gospel His¬ 
tory, are particularly worthy of notice. 1 

3. Intimately connected with history and chronology is antient 
Geography , especially that of Palestine and the neighbouring coun¬ 
tries ; the knowledge of which, it is universally confessed, tends to 
illustrate almost innumerable passages of Scripture. The principal 
sources of sacred geography are the Scriptures themselves, and the 
antient Greek and other writers, who have treated on the different 
countries mentioned in the Bible ; and to these may be added the 
voyages and travels of Chardin, Seetzen, 2 and others, mentioned in 
p. 549. who have explored the East, and whose narratives contain 
many very happy elucidations of the physical and political geography 
of the Bible. 3 These sources have been diligently consulted by most 
of the learned men who have applied themselves to the illustration of 
this important topic. The principal works on sacred geography are 
those of Bochart, Michaelis, Reland, and Wells. 

4. Next to History and Geography, Genealogy holds an important 
place in the study of the sacred writings. The evidences of Chris¬ 
tianity cannot be correctly, if at all, understood, unless the genealogy 
of the Messiah, and his descent from Abraham and David, be dis¬ 
tinctly traced. This is obvious from the prophecies, which, ages 
before his advent, determined the line of his descent; and left nothing 
to chance or imposture on tlje important subject of the promised seed, 
that, in the fulness of time, was to “ bruise the serpent’s head,” and by 
his one oblation of himself, once offered, was to make a full and per¬ 
fect atonement for the sins of the whole world. Many neat genea¬ 
logical tables are to be found in some of the earlier and larger editions 
of the Bible ; but it was not until lately that an attempt was made to 
bring together the various genealogies of Scripture in one comprehen- 

1 See an account of their valuable works infra , in the Appendix, No. V. 

2 The result of M. Scetzen’s Researches, which were undertaken under the pa¬ 
tronage of the Palestine Association for investigating the present state of the Holy- 
Land, was published in a thin quarto tract, intituled “ A brief Account of tho 
Countries adjoining the Lake of Tiberias, the Jordan, and the Dead Sea.” Bath 
and London, 1810. Many places in Palestine, particularly beyond the Jordan, 
which are in a great degree unknown, are satisfactorily described in this little tract. 

3 The writings of most of the above noticed travellers have been consulted for 
the Summary ol"biblical Geography and Antiquities, forming the third volume of 
this work. 



552 Of the Scope. [Part II. Ch 

sive view. This has been done in an elegantly executed work,' 
entitled 

Scripture Genealogy from Adam to Christ; exhibiting, in a series 
of thirty-six engraved tables, a distinct view of the nation, tribe, fami¬ 
ly, lineal descent, and posterity of every person mentioned in the 
Bible, so far as they can be traced from sacred or profane history. 
London, 1817. royal 4to. 

The plan of this work is excellent; and so far as we can judge from an exami¬ 
nation of several of the descents contained in it, we believe it is very correctly 
executed. To the name of each person mentioned in every table, chronological 
dates are affixed on the very respectable authorities of Usher and Blair, and like¬ 
wise references to passages of Scripture where the respective names are to be found. 
Altogether, this is a very useful and agreeable companion to the biblical student. 

5. Of equal importance with either of the preceding branches of 
knowledge is Natural History; by which alone many, otherwise 
obscure, passages of Scripture can be explained. Thus, frequent 
direct mention is made of animals, trees, plants, and precious stones; 
sometimes the Scripture expresses sentiments either in allusion to, 
or by metaphors taken from, some fact in natural history ; and some¬ 
times characters are described in allusion to natural objects; and 
without the knowledge of these, we cannot perceive the nature of the 
characters intended. Much information concerning this important 
topic, may be derived from the labours of the oriental travellers al¬ 
ready mentioned, and especially those of Shaw, Russel, Hasselquist, 
Forskal, and Niebuhr. The most successful investigations of this 
interesting topic are to be found in the writings of Bochart, Celsius, 
Scheuchzer, and Professor Paxton. 

6. Lastly, in perusing the sacred volume, the attentive reader 
cannot fail to be struck with allusions to Philosophical Notions and 
Sects , as well as to certain branches of learning, which were culti¬ 
vated by the nations or people therein mentioned : it is impossible 
fully to apprehend the force, propriety, and beauty of these allusions, 
without a knowledge of the notions, &lc. referred to. A short sketch 
of the principal Jewish sects occurs in the third volume of this work ; 
but the only writer, to the best of the author’s recollection, who has 
discussed this subject in a separate treatise, is the learned and inde¬ 
fatigable Professor Ruddeus, in his Introductio ad Historiam Philo¬ 
sophies Hebraorum, Halce , 1720, 8vo.; of whose labours he has 
availed himself. The philosophical notions which obtained among 
the Jews are also incidentally treated in most of the larger commen¬ 
taries, as well as in most of those works, which profess to be Intro¬ 
ductions to the Bible. 1 


SECTION VII. 

OF THE SCOPE. 

I. The Scope defined. — Importance of investigating the Scope of a 
Hook or Passage of Scripture. — II. Rules for investigating it. 

!• -A. CONSIDERATION of the Scope , or Design which the 
inspired author of any of the books of Scripture had in view, essen- 
1 See a notice of these compilations, infra , in the Appendix, No. V. 







553 


Lll. Sect. VII.] Of the Scope. 

tially facilitates the study of the Bible : because, as every writer had 
some design which he proposed to unfold, and as it is not to be sup¬ 
posed that he would express himself in terms foreign to that design, 
it therefore is but reasonable to admit, that he made use of such 
words and phrases as were every way suited to his purpose. To be 
acquainted, therefore, with the scope of an author, is to understand 
the chief part of his book. The scope, it has been well observed, is 
the soul or spirit ol a book; and, that being once ascertained, every 
argument and every word appears in its right place, and is perfectly 
intelligible : but, it the scope be not duly considered, every thing 
becomes obscure, however clear and obvious its meaning may real¬ 
ly be. 1 

The scope of an author is either general or special ; by the former 
we understand the design which he proposed to himself in writing his 
book ; by the latter, we mean that design which he had in view, 
when writing particular sections, or even smaller portions, of his book 
or treatise. 

The means, by which to ascertain the scope of a particular sec¬ 
tion or passage, being nearly the same with those which must be 
applied to the investigation of the general scope of a book, we shall 
briefly consider them together in the following observations. 

II. The Scope of a book of Scripture, as well as of any particular 
section or passage, is to be collected from the writer’s express men¬ 
tion of it, from its known occasion, from some conclusion expressly 
added at the end of an argument; from history, from attention to its 
general tenor, to the main subject and tendency of the several topics, 
and to the force of the leading expressions; and especially from 
repeated, studious, and connected perusals of the book itself. 

1. When the scope of a whole book , or of any particular portion of 
it , is expressly mentioned by the sacred writer , it should be carefully 
observed . 

Of all criteria this is the most certain, by which to ascertain the scope of a 
book. Sometimes it is mentioned at its commencement, or towards its close, and 
sometimes it is intimated in other parts of the same book, rather obscurely per¬ 
haps, yet in such a manner that a diligent and attentive reader may readily ascer¬ 
tain it. Thus the scope and end of the whole Bible, collectively, is contained in 
its manifold utility, which St. Paul expressly states in 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. and also 
in Rom. xv. 4. In like manner, the royal author of Ecclesiastes announces pretty 
clearly, at the beginning of his book, the subject he intends to discuss, viz. to show 
that all human affairs are vain, uncertain, frail, and imperfect; and, such being 
the case, he proceeds to inquire, What “profit hath a man of all his labour ichic/t 

1 “ How unfair, how irrational, how arbitrary, is the mode of interpretation which 
many apply to the word of God ? They insulate a passage ; they fix on a sen¬ 
tence ; they detach it from the paragraph to which it belongs, and explain it in a 
sense dictated only by the combination of the syllables or the words, in themselves 
considered. If the word of God be thus dissected or tortured, what language may 
it not seem to speak, what sentiments may it not appear to countenance, what fan¬ 
cy may it not be made to gratify ? But would such a mode of interpretation be 
tolerated by any living author ? Would such a method be endured in commenting 
on any of the admired productions of classical antiquity ? Yet in this case it would 
be comparatively harmless, although utterly indefensible : but who can calculate 
the amount of injury which may be sustained by the cause of revealed truth, if its 
pure streams be thus defiled, and if it be contaminated even at the very fountain¬ 
head.” Rev. H. F. Burder’s Sermon on the Duty and Means of ascertaining the 
genuine Sense of the Scriptures, p. 21. 

vol. ii. 70 



554 


[Part II. Ch. 


Of the Scope. 

he taketh under the sun ? (Eccl. i. 2, 3.) And towards the close of the same book 
(ch. xii. 8.) lie repeats the same subject, the truth of which he had proved by ex¬ 
perience. So, in the commencement of the book of Proverbs, Solomon distinctly 
announces their scope, (ch. i. 1—4. 6.) — “ The Proverbs of Solomon , the son of 
David king of Israel; — to know icisdom and instruction , to perceive the words 
of understanding : to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice , judgment, and 
equity ; to give subtilty to the simple , to the young man knowledge and discretion; 
to understand a proverb, and the interpretation ; the icords of the wise, and their 
dark sayings .”— Saint John also, towards the close of his Gospel, announces his 
object in writing it to be, “ That ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 
of God ; and that, believing, ye might have life through his name.” Therefore, all 
those discourses of our Lord, which are recorded almost exclusively by this evan¬ 
gelist and apostle, are to be read and considered with reference to this particular 
design : and, if this circumstance be kept in view, they will derive much additional 
force and beauty. 

Of the application of this rule to the illustration of a particular section, or the 
ascertaining of a special scope, the seventh chapter of Saint Paul’s first epistle to 
the Corinthians will supply an example. — In that chapter, the object of which is 
to show that it was not good to marry, the apostle is replying to the queries which 
had been proposed to him by the Corinthian converts ; and it is evident that his 
reply is continued through the whole chapter. But did he mean to insinuate 
absolutely that matrimony in itself was not good ? By no means : on the contrary, 
it is clear from the scope of this section, given by Saint Paul in express words, 
that his design was not, in general, to prefer a state of celibacy to that of marriage ; 
much less was it to teach that the living unmarried was either more holy or more 
acceptable to God ; or that those who vow to lead a single life shall certainly ob¬ 
tain eternal salvation, as the church of Rome erroneously teaches from this place. 
But we perceive that he answered the question proposed to him with reference to 
the then existing circumstances of the Christian church. The apostle thought 
that a single life was preferable on account of the present distress — that is, the 
sufferings to which they were then liable. The persecutions to which they were 
exposed, when they came upon them, would be more grievous and afflictive to 
such as had a wife and children who were dear to them, than to those who were 
single : and therefore, under such circumstances, the apostle recommends celibacy 
to those who had the gift of living chastely without marriage. 

2. The scope of the sacred icriter may he ascertained from the known 
occasion on which his book was written. 

Thus, in the time of the apostles, there were many who disseminated errors, 
and defended Judaism : hence it became necessary that the apostles should fre¬ 
quently write against these errors, and oppose the defenders of Judaism. Such 
was the occasion of Saint Peter’s second epistle: and this circumstance will also 
afford a key by which to ascertain the scope of many of the other epistolary writ¬ 
ings. Of the same description also were many of the parables delivered by Jesus 
Christ. When any question was proposed to him, or he was reproached for hold¬ 
ing intercourse with publicans and sinners, he availed himself of the occasion to 
reply, or to defend himself by a parable. Sometimes, also, when his disciples 
laboured under any mistakes, he kindly corrected their erroneous notions by 
parables. 

The inscriptions prefixed to many of the Psalms, though some of them are evi¬ 
dently spurious, and consequently to be rejected, frequently indicate the occasion 
on which they were composed, and thus reflect considerable light upon their scope. 
Thus the scope of the 18th, 34th, and 3d Psalms is illustrated from their respective 
inscriptions, which distinctly assert upon what occasions they were composed by 
David. In like manner, many of the prophecies, which would otherwise be obscure, 
become perfectly clear when we understand the circumstances on account of 
which the predictions were uttered. 

3. The express conclusion , added hy the writer at the end of an ar¬ 
gument , demonstrates his general scope. 

Thus, in Rom. iii. 28. after a long discussion, Saint Paul adds this conclusion: 
— Therefore we conclude, that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the 
law : Hence we perceive with what design the whole passage was written, and 
to which all the rest is to be referred. The conclusions interspersed through the 
epistles may easily be ascertained by means of the particles , 11 wherefore,” “seeing 
that,” “ therefore,” “ then,” &c. as well as by the circumstances directly men¬ 
tioned or referred to. The principal conclusions, however, must be separated from 


555 


III. Sect. VII.] Of the Scope. 

those which are of comparatively less importance, and subordinate to the former. 
Thus, in the epistle to Philemon, our attention must chiefly be directed to verses 
8 . and 17., whence we collect that Saint Paul’s design or scope was to reconcile 
Onesimus (who had been a runaway slave) to his master, and to restore him to 
the latter, a better person than he had before been. In the epistle to the Ephe¬ 
sians, the principal conclusions are, ch. ii. 11, 12. and ch. iv. 1. 3. The subordi¬ 
nate or less principal conclusions are ch. i. 15. iii. 13. iv. 17.25. v. 1. 7. 15. 17. and 
vi. 13, 14.1 

4. The scope of a passage may further he known from history. 

For instance, we learn from history, that during the time of the apostles there 
were numerous errors disseminated ; and therefore they wrote many passages in 
their epistle with the express design of refuting such errors. An acquaintance 
with these historical particulars will enable us to determine with accuracy the 
scope of entire books as well as of detached passages. 

5. A knowledge of the time when a book teas written, and also of the 
state oj the church at that time, will indicate the scope or intention of 
the author in writing such book. 

Thus, the epistle of Saint James was written about the year of Christ 61. at 
which time the Christians were suffering persecution, and probably (as appears 
from ch. ii. 6. and ch. v. 6.) not long before the apostle’s martyrdom ; which, Pishop 
Pearson thinks 1 2 3 happened a. d. 62. in the eighth year of Nero’s reign, when the 
destruction of the Jewish temple and polity was impending. (James v. 1.8.) At 
the period referred to, there were in the church certain professing Christians, who, 
in consequence of the sanguinary persecution then carried on against them both 
by Jews and Gentiles, were not only declining in faith and love, and indulging 
various sinful practices — for instance, undue respect of persons, (chapter ii. verse 
i. et seq.) contempt of their poor brethren, (chapter ii. verse 9. et seq.) and unbridled 
freedom of speech, (chapter iii. verse 3. et seq.) ; but who also most shamefully 
abused to licentiousness the grace of God, which in the Gospel is promised to the 
penitent; and, disregarding holiness, boasted of a faith destitute of its appropriate 
fruits, viz. of a bare assent to the doctrines of the Gospel, and boldly affirmed that 
this inoperative and dead faith was alone sufficient to obtain salvation, (chapter ii. 
verse 17. et seq.) Hence we may easily perceive that the apostle’s scope was not to 
treat of the doctrine of justification; but, the state of the church requiring it, to 
correct those errors in doctrine , and those sinful practices , which had crept into 
the church, and particularly to expose that fundamental error of a dead faith 
unproductive of good works. This observation further shows the true way of 
reconciling the supposed contradiction between the apostles Paul and James, con¬ 
cerning the doctrine of salvation by faith.3 

6. If, however, none of these subsidiary aids present themselves, it 
only remains that we repeatedlyand diligentlystudy the extire 

BOOK, AS WELL AS THE WHOLE SUBJECT, AJYD CAREFULLY ASCERTAIN 

the scope from them, before ice attempt an examination of any par¬ 
ticular text. 

Thus we shall be enabled to understand the mind of its author, and to ascertain 
the main subject and tendency of the book or epistle which may be under conside¬ 
ration : or if it have several views and purposes in it, not mutually dependent upon 
each other, nor in subordination to one chief end, we shall be enabled to discover 
what those different matters were, as also in what part the author concluded one 
and began another ; and, if it be necessary to divide such book or epistle into parts, 
to ascertain their exact boundaries. 

But in this investigation of the scope, there is not always that 
clearness which leads to a certain interpretation : for sometimes there 
are several interpretations which sufficiently agree with the writer’s 
design. In those places, for instance, where the coming of Christ is 
mentioned, it is not always determined whether it is his last advent 

1 Franckii Manuductio, cap. iii. pp. 87, 88. 292. or English edition, pp. 61. et seq. 
177. et seq. Franckii Prrelect. Herm. p. 38. et seq. 

2 Annales Paulinee, p. 31. 

3 Jo. Henr. Michaelis Introductio Historico-Theologica in Jacobi Minoris Epis- 
tolam Catholicam, § viii. xi. 



556 


Of the Scope. [Part H. Ch. 

to judge the world, or his coming to inflict punishment on the unbe¬ 
lieving Jews. In such cases the interpreter must be content with some 
degree of probability. There are, however, two or three cautions, in 
the consideration of the scope, to which it will be desirable to attend. 

1. Where, of two explanations , one is evidently contrary to the series 
of the discourse, the other must necessarily he preferred. 

In Psal. xlii. 2. the royal psalmist pathetically exclaims — When shall I come 
ctnd appear before God ? —This verse has, by some writers, been expounded 
thus ; that a man may wish for death, in order that he may the sooner enjoy that 
state of future blessedness which is sometimes intended by the phrase seeing God. 
Now this exposition is manifestly contrary to the design of the Psalm ; in which 
David, exiled from Jerusalem, and consequently from the house of God, through 
Absalom’s unnatural rebellion, expresses his fervent desire of returning to Jeru¬ 
salem, and beholding that happy day when he should again present himself before 
God in his holy tabernacle. In the fourth verse he mentions the sacred pleasure 
with which he had gone (or would repair, for some of the versions render the verb 
in the future tense) with the multitude to the house of God. There is therefore 
in this second sense a necessary and evident connection with the scope and series 
of the discourse. 

In 1 Cor. iii. 17. we read, If any man defile (more correctly destroy) the temple 
of God, him shall God destroy. The phrase temple of God, in this passage, is 
usually interpreted of the human body, and by its defilement is understood libidi¬ 
nous unchastity, which God will destroy by inflicting corresponding punishment 
on the libidinous man. This sense is certainly a good one, and is confirmed by a 
similar expression at the close of the sixth chapter. But, in the former part of 
the third chapter, the apostle had been giving the teachers of the Corinthian 
Christians an important caution to teach pure and salutary doctrines, together 
with that momentous doctrine — Other foundation can no man lay than that is 
laid, which is Jesus Christ, (v. 11.) —and that they should not add false doctrines 
to it. After largely discussing this topic, he subsequently returns to it, and the 
passage above cited occurs intermediately. From this view of the scope it will 
be evident, that by the temple of God is to be understood the Christian church ; 
which if any man defile, corrupt, or destroy, by disseminating false doctrines, God 
will destroy him also. 

2. Where a parallel passage plainly shows that another passage is 
to be understood in one particular sense, this must he adopted to the ex - 
elusion of every other sense, although it should he supported hy the 
grammatical interpretation as well as by the scope. 

Thus, in Matt. v. 25. we read — “ Agree with thine adversary quickly, whilst 
thou art in the way with him ; lest at any time the, adversary deliver thee to the 
judge, and the judge deliver thee to the ofiicer, and thou be cast into qjrison.” This 
passage has been interpreted to refer either to a future state of existence, or to the 
present life. In the former sense, the adversary is God; the judge, Christ; the 
ofiicer, death ; and the prison, hell and eternal punishments. In the latter sense, 
the meaning of this passage simply is, “ If thou hast a lawsuit, compromise it 
with the plaintiff, and thus prevent the necessity of prosecuting it before a judge : 
but if thou art headstrong, and wilt not compromise the affair, when it comes to 
be argued before the judge, he will be severe, and will decree that thou shalt pay 
the uttermost farthing.” Now, both those expositions y T ield good senses, agreeing 
with the scope, and both contain a cogent argument that we should be easily ap¬ 
peased : but if we compare the parallel passage in Luke xii. 58, 59. we shall find 
the case thus stated — When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as 
thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him, lest he 
hale thee to the judge , and the jiidge deliver thee to the ofiicer (rw itpaKTopi, whose 
duty it was to levy fines imposed for violation of the law); and the ofiicer on non¬ 
payment cast thee into prison. I tell thee thozi shalt not depart thence till thou 
hast paid the very last mite. — In this passage there is no reference whatever to a 
future state, nor to any punishments which will hereafter be inflicted on the im¬ 
placable : and thus a. single parallel text shows which of the two senses best agrees 
with the scope of the discourse, and consequently which of them is preferably to 
be adopted. 1 


1 Bauer, Herm. Sacr. pp. 201—-204, J, B. Carpzov. Herm. Sacr. pp. 33—35 




III. Sect. VIII.] 


Of the Analogy of Faith. 


557 


SECTION VIII. 

OF THE ANALOGY OF FAITH. 

I. The Analogy of Faith defined and illustrated. — II. Its importance 
in studying the Sacred Writings. — III. Rules for investigating 
the Analogy of Faith. 

i. Of all the various aids that can be employed for investigating 
and ascertaining the sense of Scripture, the analogy of faith is 
one of the most important. We may define it to be the constant and 
perpetual harmony of Scripture in the fundamental points of faith 
and practice , deduced from those passages, in which they are dis¬ 
cussed by the inspired penmen, either directly or expressly, and in 
clear, plain, and intelligible language. Or, more briefly, the analogy 
of faith may be defined to be that proportion which the doctrines of 
the Gospel bear to each other, or the close connection between the 
truths of revealed religion. 

The Analogy of Faith is an expression borrowed from Saint Paul’s 
Epistle to the Romans, (xii. 6.) where he exhorts those who pro¬ 
phesy in the church (that is, those who exercise the office of authori¬ 
tatively expounding the Scriptures) to prophesy according to the pro¬ 
portion , or, as the word is in the original, the analogy of faith. To 
the same effect many commentators interpret Saint Peter’s maxim, 
(2 Pet. i. 20.) that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private , or 
seK-interpretation ; implying that the sense of any prophecy is not to 
be determined by an abstract consideration of the passage itself, but 
by taking it in conjunction with other portions of Scripture relating to 
the subject, “comparing things spiritual with spiritual” (1 Cor. ii. 
13.); — a rule, which though it be especially applicable to the pro¬ 
phetic writings, is also of general importance in the exposition of the 
sacred volume. * 1 

II. It is evident that God does not act without a design in the 
system of religion taught in the Gospel, any more than he does in 
the works of nature. Now this design must be uniform: for, as in 
the system of the universe every part is proportioned to the whole, 
and is made subservient to it, so, in the system of the Gospel, all 
the various truths, doctrines, declarations, precepts, and promises, 
must correspond with and tend to the end designed. For instance, 
if any one interpret those texts of Scripture, which maintain our jus- 

Ernesti, Institutio Interp. Nov. Test. pp. 61, 62. Mori Acroases in Ernesti,tom. i. 
pp. 150—160. Franckii Prselect. Ilerm. pp. 29—61. Franckii Commentatio de 
Scopo Veteris et Novi Testamenti, Hal* 1724, 8vo. Jahnii Enchiridion, pp. 69— 
71. Rambach, Inst. Herm. pp. 145—197. 234. 238—240. Chladenii Instit. Exeget. 
pp. 375—387. J. E. Pfeifferi, Inst. Herm. Sacr. pp. 147—151. 267—276. Schaefer, 
Institutiones Scripturisticce, pars ii. pp. 62—68. 

1 Bishop Van Mildert’s Bampton Lect. p. 181. Pfeiffer, Herm. Sacr. c. xii. (Op. 
t ii. p. 659.) Carpzov. Prim. Lin. Herm. Sacr. p. 28. It may here be remarked, 
that the New Testament presents three terms, which appear to be synonymous 
with the analogy of faith, viz. 1. Rom. ii. 20. M op<pu>oi( ttk yvcxrtwf, kcu rrjs aXySuai iv 
t(j) i ’Ofxtj), the form of knowledge , the grand scheme and draught of all true science, 
and the system of eternal truth in the law. — 2. Rom. vi. 17. Tvxos the form 

or mould of doctrine into which the Christians were cast. — 3. 2 Tim. ii. 17. Yirorv- 
rutrt s vyiaivovrwv A oyuv, the form of sound words. 



558 


Of the Analogy of Faith. [Part II. Ch, 

tification by faith only, or our salvation by free grace, in such a sense 
as to exclude the necessity of good works, this interpretation is to be 
rejected, because it contradicts the main design of Christianity, which 
is to save us from our sins (Matt. i. 21.), to make us holy as God is 
holy (1 Pet. i. 15.), and to cleanse us from all filthiness both of flesh 
and spirit. (2 Cor. vii. 1.) In the application, however, of the 
analogy of faith to the interpretation of the Scriptures, it is indispensa¬ 
bly necessary that the inquirer previously understand the whole scheme 
of divine revelation ; and that he do not entertain a predilection for a 
part only; without attention to this, he will be liable to error. If we 
come to the Scriptures with any pre-conceived opinions, and are more 
desirous to put that sense upon the text which coincides with our own 
sentiments rather than the truth, it then becomes the analogy of our 
faith rather than that of the whole system. This, Dr. Campbell 
remarks, was the very source of the blindness of the Jews in our 
Saviour’s time : they searched the Scriptures very assiduously ; but, 
in the disposition they entertained, they would never believe what that 
sacred volume testifies of Christ. The reason is obvious; their great 
rule of interpretation was the analogy of faith , or, in other words, the 
system of the Pharisean Scribes, the doctrine then in vogue, and in 
the profound veneration of which they had been educated. This is 
that veil by which the understandings of the Jews were darkened, 
even in reading the law, and of which Saint Paul observed that it 
remained unremoved in his day; and we cannot but remark that it 
remains unremoved in our own time. 1 There is, perhaps, scarcely a 
sect or denomination of Christians, whether of the Greek, Romish, or 
Protestant churches, but has some particular system or digest of 
tenets, by them termed the analogy of faith, which they individually 
hold in the greatest reverence ; and all whose doctrines terminate in 
some assumed position, so that its partisans may not contradict them¬ 
selves. When persons of this description, it has been well remarked, 
meet with passages in Scripture which they cannot readily explain, 
consistently with their hypothesis, they strive to solve the difficulty by 
the analogy of faith which they have themselves invented. But al¬ 
lowing all their assumptions to be founded in truth, it is by no means 
consonant with the principles of sound divinity, to interpret Scripture 
by the hypothesis of a church ; because the sacred records are the 
only proper media of ascertaining theological truth. 2 

III. Such, then, being the importance of attending to the analogy 
of faith, it remains to state a few observations which may enable the 
student to apply it to the clearing up of obscure or difficult passages 
of Scripture. 

1* Wherever any doctrine is manifest , either from the whole tenor of 
divine revelation or from its scope , it must not he weakened or set aside 
by a few obscure passages. 

As the observance of this canon is necessary to every student of the inspired 
volume, so it ought especially to be regarded by those who are apt to interpret 

* 1 ■ r ■—~ n - — , — - - - , —-—. .. — - ■ v 

1 Bn Campbell’s translation ot the Four Gospels, vol. i. dissert, iv. § 14. p. 116. 
lid edit. 

* Franck’s Guide to tire Scriptures, p. 79. Franckii Praelect. Herrn. p. 185. 




559 


HI. Sect. VIII.] Of the Analogy of Faith. 

passages, which are not of themselves plain, by those opinions, of the belief of 
which they are already possessed; but for which they have little ground besides 
the mere sound of some texts, that appear, when first heard, to be favourable to 
their preconceived notions. Whereas, if such texts were compared with the scope 
of the sacred writers, they would be found to bear quite a different meaning. For 
instance, no truth is asserted moro frequently in the Bible, and consequently is 
more certain in religion, than that God is good, not only to some individuals, but 
also toward all men. Thus, David says, (Psal. cxlv. 9.) The Lord is good to 
Kith, and his tender mercies are over all his icorks; and Ezekiel, (xviii. 23.) 
Have / any pleasure at all in the xoicked that he should die ? saith the Lord : and 
not that he should turn from his ways and live? Frequently also does the Al¬ 
mighty declare, both in the books of the law as well as in the prophets, and also 
in the New Testament, how earnestly he desires the sinner’s return to him. See, 
among other passages, Deut. v. 29. Ezek. xviii. 32. and xxxiii. 11. Matt, xxiii. 37. 
John iii. 16. 1 Tim. ii. 4. Titus ii. 11. and 2 Pet. iii. 9. If, therefore, any passages 
occur which at first sight appear to contradict the goodness of God, as, for in¬ 
stance, that He has created some persons that he might damn them (as some have 
insinuated); in such case the very clear and certain doctrine relative to the good¬ 
ness of God is not to be impugned, much less set aside, by these obscure places, 
which, on the contrary, ought to be illustrated by such passages as are more clear. 
Thus, in Prov. xvi. 4. according to most modern versions, we read, that The Lord 
hath made all things for himself, yea even the wicked for the day of evil. This 
passage has, by several eminent writers, been supposed to refer to the predestina¬ 
tion of the elect and the reprobation of the wicked, but without any foundation. 
Junius, Cocceius, Michaelis, Glassius, Pfeiffer, Turretin, Ostervald, Dr. Whitby, 
Dr. S. Clarke, and other critics, have shown that this verse may be more correctly 
rendered, The Lord hath made all things to answer to themselves , or aptly to refer 
to one another, yea even the ioicked,for the evil day , that is, to be the executioner of 
evil to others : on which account they are in Scripture termed the rod of Jehovah 
(Isa. x.5.), and his sword. (Psal. xvii. 13.) But there is no necessity for rejecting the 
received version, the plain and obvious sense of which is that there is nothing in 
the world which does not contribute to the glory of God, and promote the accom¬ 
plishment of his adorable designs. The pious and the wicked alike conduce to this 
end ; the wicked, whom God has destined to punishment on account of their impi¬ 
ety, serve to display his justice (see Job xxi. 30.), and consequently to manifest 
his glory. 11 God,” says Dr. Gill (who was a strenuous advocate for the doctrines 
of election and reprobation) “ made man neither to damn him nor to save him, but 
for his own glory, and that is secured whether in his salvation or damnation; nor 
did or does God make men wicked: He made man upright, and man has made 
himself wicked ; and being so, God may justly appoint him to damnation for his 
wickedness, in doing which he glorifies his justice.” 1 2 

2. No doctrine can belong to the analogy of faith, which is founded 
on a single text: for every essential principle of religion is delivered 
in more than one place. Besides , single sentences are not to be detached 
from the places where they stand , but must be taken in connection with 
the whole discourse. 

From disregard of this rule, the temporary direction of the apostle James (v. 14, 
15.) has been perverted by the church of Rome, and rendered a permanent insti¬ 
tution, from a mean of recovery, to a charm, when recovery is desperate, for the 
salvation of the soul. The mistake of the church of Rome, in founding what she calls 
the sacrament of extreme unction upon this place, is very obvious ; for the anoint¬ 
ing here mentioned was applied to those whose recovery was expected, as appears 
from verse 16. where it is said that the Lord in answer to the prayer of faith shall 
raise up and restore the sick: whereas in the Roman Catholic church, extreme 
unction is used where there is little, or no hope of recovery, and is called the sa¬ 
crament of the dying2 The same remark is applicable to the popish system of 
auricular confession to a priest; which is attempted to be supported by James v. 16. 
and l John i. 9. neither of which passages has any reference whatever to the minis¬ 
terial office. In the former, confessions of our faults is represented as the duty of the 
faithful to each other ; and in the latter, as the duty of the penitent to God alone. 

1 Gill in loc. See also J. E. Pfeiffer’s Instit. Herm. Sacr. p. 134—136. 

2 See Bishop Burnet on the 25th Article ; Whitby, Benson, Mackmght, and 
other commentators on this text; and Mr. Fletcher’s Lectures on the Principles 
and Institutions of the Roman Catholic Religion, p. 198. et seq . 





560 


Of the Analogy of Faith, [Part II. Ch. 

3. The whole system of revelation must he explained, so as to he 
consistent icith itself.—When two passages appear to he contradictory , 
if the sense of the one can he clearly ascertained, in such case that must 

regulate our interpretation of the other. 

Thus, in one passage, the apostle John says ; If wc say that we have no sin, we 
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful 
and just to forgive us our sins : if we say we have not sinned, we make him a 
liar, and his icord is not in us. (1 John i. 8—10.) In another passage the same 
apostle affirms : Whoever abideth in him, sinneth not. Whosoever is born of God, 
doth not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in him : and he cannot sin, because 
he is born of God. (1 John iii. 6. 9.) 

This is an apparent contradiction ; but the texts must be explained, so as to 
agree with one another. Now, from Scripture and experience we are certain, that 
the first passage must be literally understood. At the dedication of the temple, 
Solomon said : If they sin against thee, and thou be angry, (for there is no man 
that sinneth not) 1 Kings viii. 46. And in Eccl. vii. 20. For there is not a just 
man upon the earth, that doeth good and sinneth not. The explanation of the se¬ 
cond passage, therefore, must be regulated by the established signification of the 
first; that both may agree. When it is affirmed, that even good men cannot say, 
they have no sin ; the apostle speaks of occasional acts, from which none are free. 
When Saint John says, that he who is born of God doth not commit sin, he evi¬ 
dently means, habitually as the slave of sin ; and this is incompatible with a state 
of grace. Both passages, therefore, agree, as the one refers to particular deeds, 
and the other to general practice : and in this manner, must every seeming con¬ 
tradiction be removed. The passage, of which the literal sense can be establish¬ 
ed, must always regulate the interpretation of a different expression, so as to make 
it agree with fixed principles. 

4. No interpretation of Scripture can belong to the analogy of faith y 
that contradicts any of those f undamental points of doctrine or mo¬ 
rality, which are frequently repeated in the Scriptures, and which we 
every where find most urgently enforced. 

To this purpose Saint John (1 John iv. 2, 3.) has laid down the following axiom 
as a test by which to try the spirits, or teachers pretending to be inspired by the 
Holy Spirit: — Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, 
is of God. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the 
flesh, is not of God. This was a fundamental doctrine, or principle of Christianity 
by which other doctrines were to be tried. Nearly to the same purpose is the fol¬ 
lowing rule of Saint Paul (1 Tim. vi. 3. 5.) : — If any man teach otherwise and 
consent not to wholesome words, and to the doctrine which is according to godli¬ 
ness, . from such withdraw thyself. The obvious meaning of which is, that if 

any man teach such doctrines as contradict the main design of Christianity, which 
is to promote true holiness, he is not to be attended to ; nor is the sense which 
such a one gives of any particular text of Scripture to be received, because it 
militates against the grand design of the Christian scheme, which explicitly states 
(to use the language of Saint Paul himself,) that Christ came into the icorld to 
destroy the works of the Devil, and gave himself for us, that he might redeem us 
from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
works. (Tit. ii. 14.) 

5. An obscure, doubtf ul, ambiguous, or figurative text must never be 
interpreted in such a sense as to make it contradict a plain one : for, in 
explaining the Scriptures, consistency of sense and principles ought to be 
supported in all their several parts ; and if any one part be so interpret¬ 
ed as to clash ivith another, such interpretation cannot be justified. Nor 
can it be otherwise corrected than by considering every doubtf ul or diffi¬ 
cult text, first by itself, then with its context, and then by comparing it 
with other passages of Scripture ; and thus bringing what may seem ob¬ 
scure into a consistency ivith what is plain and evident. 

The doctrine of transubstantiation, inculcated by the church of Rome, is found¬ 
ed on a strictly literal interpretation of figurative expressions, this is my body, 
&c. (Matt. xxvi. 26, &c.) and (which has no relation to the supper,) eat my flesh, 
drink my blood. (John vi. 51—58.) But independently of this, we may further 
conclude that the sense put upon the words “ this is my body,” by the church of 



561 


III. Sect. VIII.] Of the Analogy of Faith. 

Rome, cannot be the true one, being contrary to the express declaration of the 
New Testament history, from which it is evident that our Lord is ascended into 
Heaven, where he is to continue “ till the, time of the restitution of all things 
(Acts iii. 21.) that is, till his second coming to judgment. How then can his body 
be in ten thousand several places on earth at one^and the same time ? We may 
further add that, if the doctrine ot transubstantiation be true, it will follow that 
our Saviour, when he instituted the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, did actually 
eat his own flesh and drink his own blood; a conclusion this, so obviously contra¬ 
dictory both to reason and to Scripture, that it is astonishing how any sensible and 
religious man can credit such a tenet. 

Upon a similar literal interpretation of Matt. xvi. 18. Thou art Peter, and upon 
this rock will / build my church , the church of Rome has erected the claim of su¬ 
premacy for Peter and his successors. Hence building on Peter is explained away 
by some commentators, as being contrary to the faith that Christ is the only foun¬ 
dation. (1 Cor. iii. 11.) The most eminent of the antient fathers, as well as some 
of the early bishops or popes of Rome, particularly Gregory the Great, and like¬ 
wise several of the most judicious modern commentators, respectively take this 
rock to be the profession of faith, which Peter had just made that Christ was tlu 
Son of God. The connection however shows that Peter is here plainly meant. 
Thou art Peter , says Christ; and upon this rockj that is, Peter, pointing to him ; 
for thus it connects with the reason which follows for the name, in the same 
manner as the reason is given for that of Abraham in Gen. xvii. 5. and of Israel 
in Gen. xxxii. 28. The Apostles are also called, in other parts of the New Tes¬ 
tament, the foundation on which the church is built, as in Eph. ii. 20. and Rev. 
xxi. 14. as being the persons employed in erecting the church, by preaching. It 
is here promised that Peter should commence the building of it by his preaching, 
which was fulfilled by his first converting the Jews (Acts ii. 14—42.), and also 
the Gentiles. (Acts x. xv. 7.) This passage therefore gives no countenance to 
the papal supremacy, but the contrary, for this prerogative was personal and in¬ 
communicable. 1 2 

6. Such passages as are expressed with brevity are to be expounded by 
those where the same doctrines or duties arc expressed more largely and 
fully. 

Even light variations will oftentimes serve for the purpose of reciprocal illus¬ 
tration. Thus the beatitudes related in the sixth chapter of Saint Luke’s Gospel, 
though delivered at another time and in a different place, are the same with those 
delivered by our Lord in his sermon on the mount, and recorded in the fifth chap¬ 
ter of Saint Matthew’s Gospel. Being however epitomised by the former Evan¬ 
gelist, they may be explained by the latter. Further, the quotation from Isaiah 
vi. 0, 10. Hear ye indeed, but understand not, &c. is contracted in Mark iv. 12. 
Luke viii. 10. and John xii. 40., but it is given at large in Matt. xiii. 14, 15.; and 
accordingly from this last cited Gospel, the sense of the prophet is most evident. 
Again, nothing is more certain than that God hath no pleasure in wickedness, or 
sin (Psal. v. 4.), and consequently cannot be the cause of sin. When, therefore, 
any passages occur which appear to intimate the contrary, they must be so under¬ 
stood as not to impugn this important truth. The hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, 
therefore, is not to be taken as the act of God, but that he permitted him to go on, 
following his own cruel schemes, regardless of the divine judgments.2 

7. In ascertaining the analogy of faith, the seat of a subject must 
be consulted and considered. 

By the seat of a subject we mean any place or passage in Scripture where any 
subject is treated, either professedly, or in subordination to another subject, or in 
which more especially it is regularly discussed and grounded by the special ap¬ 
pointment of the Holy Spirit. This last has been termed its proper and principal 
scat, and is that which must chiefly be regarded : for there is no article of faith, 
necessary to be believed unto salvation, which is not clearly and explicitly propos¬ 
ed in some part or other of the Scripture. Such texts therefore as treat profess- 

1 Barrow’s Works, vol. i. p. 581. Grotius in loc. Elsley’s Annotations, vol. i. 
pp. 273—275. Gerard’s Institutes, p. 103. See also the commencement of Bishop 
Burgess’s Letter to his Clergy, entitled Christ, and not St. Peter, the Pock, of the 
Christian Church, and especially Dr. A. Clarke’s Commentary on Matt. xvi. 18. 

2 See this text more fully considered, sitpra, Vol. I. Appendix, No. III. Sect. V. 
pp. 558, 559. J. E. Pfeiffer has given some additional examples, illustrating the 
preceding rule, in his Inst. Herm. Sacr. pp. 142—144. 

VOL. II. 71 



562 


Of the Analogy of Faith. [Part II. Ch. 

edly on a subject, have greater weight than those which only touch upon it inci¬ 
dentally : and texts that express it absolutely, and as it is in itself, are clearer and 
more decisive than such as have a reference to particular occasions, without a 
perfect knowledge of which they cannot be understood, but may be totally misap¬ 
prehended. 

Thus the Lord’s Supper is treated of, professedly, and in its proper and princi¬ 
pal seat, in the icords of its institution related in Matt. xxvi. 26—28. Mark xiv. 
22—24. Luke xxii. 19, 20. and 1 Cor. xi. 23—26. Now, should any question arise 
relative to this point, these passages are to be exclusively consulted, and not un¬ 
certain or dubious places, as Luke xxiv. 30. in which there appears no vestige of 
the Lord’s Supper, or John vi. 51—58. where indeed mention is made of the eat¬ 
ing of Christ’s flesh and drinking his blood, but not sacramentally, as it is done in 
the Lord’s Supper. Further, The doctrine of justification is considered in the 
third chapter of Saint Paul’s epistle to the Philippians, as in its proper seat: and 
the epistle to the Galatians, and especially that to the Romans, are the principal 
seats of that momentous doctrine ; and according to the tenor of these, particu¬ 
larly Rom. iii., all the other passages of Scripture that treat of justification, should 
be explained.! 

8. “ Where several doctrines of equal importance are proposed, and 
revealed with great clearness , we must be careful to give to each its full 
and equal weight .” 

“ Thus, that we are saved by the free grace of God, and through faith in Christ, 
is a doctrine too plainly affirmed by the sacred writers to be set aside by any con¬ 
travening position for it is said, By grace ye are saved through faith , and that 
not of yourselves ; it is the gift of God. (Eph. ii. 8.) But so, on the other hand, 
are the doctrines of repentance unto life, and of obedience unto salvation ; for, 
again it is said, Repent and he converted , that your sins may he blotted out, (Acts 
iii. 19.) and, If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. (Matt. xix. 17.) 
To set either of these truths at variance with the others, would be to frustrate 
the declared purpose of the Gospel, and to make it of none effect. Points thus 
clearly established, and from their very nature indispensable, must be made to 
correspond with each other ; and the exposition, which best preserves them unim¬ 
paired and undiminished, will in any case be a safe interpretation, and most pro¬ 
bably the true one. The analogy of faith will thus be kept entire, and will ap¬ 
prove itself, in every respect, as becoming its divine author, and icortliy of all 
acceptation .” 1 2 

Some farther remarks might be offered in addition to the above 
rules; but as they fall more properly under consideration in the 
subsequent part of this work, the preceding observations on the inter¬ 
pretations of Scripture by the analogy of faith will perhaps be found 
abundantly sufficient. It only remains to state, that valuable as this 
aid is for ascertaining the sense of Scripture, it must be used in eon - 
currence with those which have been illustrated in the foregoing sec¬ 
tions, and to subjoin a few cautions respecting the application of the 
analogy of faith, attention to which will enable us successfully to 
u compare things spiritual with spiritual A 

1. “ Care,” then, “ must be taken, not to confound seeming with real 
analogies;—-not to rely upon merely verbal resemblances when the 
sense may require a different application ; not to interpret what is 
parallel in one respect, as if it were so in all; not to give to any 
parallel passages so absolute a sway in our decisions as to over-rule 
the clear and evident meaning of the text under consideration ; and, 
above all, not to suffer an eagerness in multiplying proofs of this 
kind, to betray us into a neglect of the immediate context of the passage 
in question, upon which its signification must principally depend.” 3 

1 Franck’s Guide, p. 41. Pfeiffer, Herm. Sacr. c. xii. p. 659. and Critica Sacra, 
C. v. § 15. pp. 719, 720. Gerard’s Institutes, p. 161. 

2 Bishop Vanmildert’s Bampton Lectures, 204. 

3 Ibid. p. 215. 




On Commentaries . 


563 


HI. Sect. IX.] 

The occasion, coherence, and connection of the writing, the argu¬ 
ment carrying on, as well as the scope and intent of the paragraph, 
and the correspondence of the type with its antitype, are all to be 
carefully remarked. 

*2. Further, “ In forming the analogy of faith, all the plain texts 
relating to one subject or article, ought to be taken together, im¬ 
partially compared, the expressions of one of them restricted by those 
of another, and explained in mutual consistency ; and that article 
deduced from them all in conjunction : not, as has been most com¬ 
monly the practice, one set of texts selected, which have the same 
aspect, explained in their greatest possible rigour ; and all others, 
which look another way, neglected or explained away, and tortured 
into a compatibility with the opinion in that manner partially deduced. 

3. Lastly, the analogy of faith, as applicable to the examination 
of particular passages, ought to be very short, simple, and purely 
scriptural; but most sects conceive it, as taking in all the complex 
peculiarities, and scholastic refinements, of their own favourite 
systems.” 1 

Thus, as it has been remarked with equal truth and elegance, 2 
“ by due attention to these principles, accompanied with the great 
moral requisites already shown to be indispensable, and with humble 
supplication to the throne of grace for a blessing on his labours, the 
diligent inquirer after Scripture truth may confidently hope for suc¬ 
cess. The design of every portion of holy writ, its harmony with 
the rest, and the divine perfection of the whole, will more and more 
fully be displayed. And thus will he be led, with increasing vene¬ 
ration and gratitude, to adore him, to whom every sacred book bears 
witness, and every divine dispensation led the way ; even him who 
is Alpha and Omega , the first and the last , Jesus Christ , the same 
yesterday , to-day and for ever.”' 3 


SECTION IX. 

ON COMMENTARIES. 

I. Different Classes of Commentaries. — II. Nature of Scholia .— 
III. Of Commentaries strictly so called. — IV. Paraphrases. — 
V. Collections of Observations on Holy Writ. — VI. The Utility 
and Advantage of Commentaries. —VII. Design to be kept in 
view , when consulting them. —VIII. Rides for consulting Commen¬ 
taries to the best advantage. 

The labours of expositors and commentators have been divided 
into various classes, according to the nature of their different works ; 
for, although few confine themselves to one method of interpretation, 
exclusively, yet each generally has some predominant character, by 
which he is peculiarly distinguished. Thus, some are, 

1 Gerard’s Institutes, p. 161. The analogy of faith is copiously illustrated, in 
addition to the authorities already cited, by Franck, in his rnelect. Herm. positio 
v. pp. 166—192.; by Rambach, in his Instit. Herm. Sacrse, lib. ii. c. i. pp. 87—106.; 
by Jahn in his Enchiridion Herm. Generalis, § 32. pp. 96—100.; by J. E. Pfeiffer, 
in his Instit. Herm. Sacrae, pp. 706—740.; and by Chladenius, in his Institutiones 
Exegeticse, pp. 406—430. 

2 By Bishop Vanmildert, Bampt. Lect. p. 216. 3 Rev. i. 11. Heb. xiii. 8. 





564 


On Commentaries . 


[Part II. Ch. 

1. Wholly spiritual or figurative ; as Cocceius, and those foreign 
commentators who have followed his system, viz. that the Scripture 
is every where to be taken in the fullest sense it will admit; and in 
our own country, Dr. Gill, Dr. Hawker, and some minor writers. 

2. Literal and Critical: such as Ainsworth, Wetstein, Dr. Blayney, 
Bishop Patrick, Lowth, and Whitby, Calmet, Chais, Bishop Lowth, 
Archbishop Newcome, Wall, Dr. Campbell, Dr. Priestley, and others. 

3. Wholly practiced: as Musculus, Zuingle, Baxter, Henry, Os- 
tervald, Dr. Fawcett, the “ Reformer’s Bible,” See. Sec. 

4. Those who unite critical, philological, and practical observa¬ 
tions : such are the commentaries of Dr. Dodd, Bishop Mant and Dr. 
D’Oyly, Poole, Scott, M. Martin, Dr. A. Clarke, Mr. Benson, Sec. 
on the entire Bible ; and the paraphrases of Pyle, and of Mr. Orton, 
on the Old Testament; on the New Testament, Dr. S. Clarke and 
Pyle, Dr. Doddridge, Mr. Locke, Dr. Benson, Dr. Mackriight; Mr. 
Gilpin on the New Testament, Sec. Sec. 

A more correct classification of expository writings may be into 
scholiasts , commentators and paraphrasts : whose united design is, to 
lead their readers to the right understanding of the author whom 
they undertake to explain. Hence their province is, to illustrate 
obscure passages, to reconcile apparent contradictions, to obviate 
difficulties, whether verbal or real , and, in short, to remove every 
thing that may tend to excite doubts in the minds of the readers of 
the Bible. 

II. Scholia, are short explanatory notes on the sacred writers ; 
whose authors, termed scholiasts , particularly aim at brevity. In this 
kind of expository writings, obscure words and phrases are explained 
by such as are more clear; figurative, by such as are proper ; and 
the genuine force of each word and phrase is pointed out. Further, 
the allusions to antient manners and customs are illustrated, and 
whatever light may be thrown upon the sacred writer from history or 
geography, is carefully concentrated, and concisely expressed : nor 
does the scholiast fail to select and introduce the principal and most 
valuable various readings, whose excellence, antiquity, and genuine¬ 
ness, to the best of his judgment, give them a claim to be noticed. 
The discordant interpretations of difficult passages are stated and ex¬ 
amined, and the most probable one is pointed out. These various 
topics, however, are rather touched upon, than treated at length : 
though no material passages are (or at least ought to be) left unno¬ 
ticed, yet some very obscure and difficult passages are left to be 
discussed and expounded by more learned men. Such was the 
method, according to which the antient scholiasts composed their 
scholia, for illustrating Homer, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Horace, Vir¬ 
gil, and other Greek and Latin classics : and the same mode has 
been adopted by those Christian writers who have written scholia on 
the Bible . 1 

l Somewhat similar to Scholia are the questions or inquiries concerning particular 
books of Scripture, which were composed by antient ecclesiastical writers : they 
differ from Scholia in this respect, that questions are exclusively confined to the 
consideration of some difficult, passages only, whose meaning was at that time an 
cUject of discussion while it is the design of Scholia to notice every difficult or 



On Commentaries . 


565 


III. Sect. IX.] 

III. The various topics, which engage the attention of the scho¬ 
liast, are also discussed, but more at length, by Commentators ; whose 
observations form a series of perpetual annotations on the sacred 
writers, and who point out more clearly the train of their thoughts, as 
well as the coherence of their expressions. The commentator there¬ 
fore not only furnishes summaries of the argument, but also resolves 
the expressions of his author into their several parts, and shows in 
what respects they agree, as well as where they are apparently at 
variance. He further weighs and examines different passages, that 
admit of different interpretations; and while he offers his own views, 
he confirms them by proper arguments or proofs, and solves any 
doubts which may attend his own interpretation. Further, a judicious 
commentator will avoid all prolix, extraneous, and unnecessary dis¬ 
cussions, as well as far-fetched explanations, and will bring every phi¬ 
lological aid to bear upon passages that are in any degree difficult or 
obscure. Commentators ought not to omit a single passage that pos¬ 
sesses more than ordinary difficulty, though the contrary is the case 
with many, who expatiate very copiously on the more easy passages 
of Scripture, while they scarcely touch on those which are really 
difficult, if they do not altogether omit to treat of them. In a word, 
it is the commentator’s province to remove every difficulty that can 
impede the biblical reader, and to produce whatever can facilitate his 
studies, by rendering the sense of the sacred writings more clear and 
easy to be apprehended. 

IV. A Paraphrase is an exposition of the same thing in other 
words : the paraphrast, therefore, differs from the commentator in 
this respect, viz. that whatever is fully explained by the latter in his 
perpetual annotations, the former expounds by rendering the whole 
discourse, as well as every expression, of the sacred writer in equiva¬ 
lent terms; so that what is obscure is thus rendered more perspicu¬ 
ous, in one continued and unbroken narrative. Provided the integri¬ 
ty of his author's sense be observed , the paraphrast is at liberty to 
abridge what is narrated at length, to enlarge on what is written with 
brevity, to supply supposed omissions, to fill up chasms, to illustrate 
obscure and apparently involved passages, by plain, clear, and neatly 
turned expressions, to connect passages which seem too far asunder, 
or not disposed in order either of time or subject, and to arrange the 
whole in a regular series. These, indeed, it must be admitted, are 
important liberties, not to be taken with the Scriptures by any para¬ 
phrast without the utmost caution, and even then only in the most 
sparing manner. Paraphrases have been divided by Professor Ram- 
bach, * 1 and other writers on the interpretation of the Bible, into two 
classes — historical and textual. In the former class of paraphrases, 
the argument of a book or chapter is pursued historically; and the 
paraphrast endeavours to give his author’s meaning in perspicuous 

obscure passage with brevity and perspicuity. Augustine, among other biblical 
treatises, wrote two books of Quastioncs Evangeliue , on the Gospels of Saint 
Matthew and Saint Luke. 

1 Rambachii Institutiones Hermeneuticse, pp. 706, 707. 



see 


On Commentaries . 


[Part II. Ch. 

language. In the latter instance, the paraphrast assumes, as it were, 
the person of the sacred writer, closely pursues the thread of his dis¬ 
course, and aims at expressing every word and phrase, though in 
circumscribed limits, yet in terms that are both clear and obvious to 
the capacities of his readers. Hence it would appear, that a para¬ 
phrase is the most difficult species of expository writing; and, as the 
number of paraphrasts on the Scriptures is, comparatively, small, 
(probably from tins circumstance,) the ingenious classification of them 
proposed by Rambach is not sufficiently important to render it neces¬ 
sary that we should form them into a separate class of interpreters. 
It is of infinitely greater moment to Bible readers, when purchasing 
works of this description, that they select those which are neither too 
prolix nor too expensive, and whose authors avoid every thing like 
party-spirit ; neither extolling beyond measure any thing antient, 
merely because it is of remote antiquity, nor evincing a spirit of dog¬ 
matical innovation; but who, “ rightly dividing the word of truth,” 
while they express themselves in clear and perspicuous terms, show 
themselves to be well skilled both in the theory and application of 
sound principles of scriptural interpretation, and who have diligently 
availed themselves of every internal and external aid for ascertaining 
the sense of the sacred writers. 

V. Closely allied to commentaries are the collections of Observa¬ 
tions illustrative of the sacred writings, which have been formed of 
late years, and require to be consulted with similar cautions, and in 
the same manner. These books of observations are either grammati¬ 
cal and philological, or miscellaneous ; sometimes they discuss only a 
few passages which are peculiarly difficult and obscure, and some¬ 
times they appear in the form of a grammatical and philological com¬ 
mentary, following the order of the sacred books. On this account 
as well as to facilitate reference, we have classed them with exposi¬ 
tions of the Bible; of the best editions of all these, the reader will 
find some account in No. VI. of the Appendix to this volume, occa¬ 
sionally interspersed with concise bibliographical and critical observa¬ 
tions. 

VI. Opinions widely different have been entertained respecting 
the utility and advantage resulting from commentaries, annotations, 
and other expositions of the sacred writings. By some, who admire 
nothing but their own meditations, and who hold all human helps in 
contempt, commentaries are despised altogether, as tending to found 
our faith on the opinions of men rather than on the divine oracles : while 
others, on the contrary, trusting exclusively to the expositions of some 
favourite commentators, receive as infallible whatever views or 
opinions they may choose to deliver, as their expositions of the Bible. 
The safest way in this case, as in all others, is to take the middle 
path, and occasionally to avail ourselves of the labours of commenta¬ 
tors and expositors, while w r e diligently investigate the Scriptures for 
ourselves, without relying exclusively on our own wisdom, or being 
fascinated by the authority of an eminent name. 

The late eminent divine and theological tutor, Dr. Campbell, was 


On Commentaries. 


567 


III. Sect. IX.] 

ot opinion that the Bible should be first read and studied without a 
commentary; but his advice was addressed to students who were 
previously acquainted with the originals : and though the design of 
the present work is to facilitate to studious inquirers the understand¬ 
ing of the Scriptures, yet the author presumes not to suppose that his 
labours will supersede the necessity of commentaries ; or that he can 
furnish them with all that information which renders such works de¬ 
sirable to the generality of Bible readers. A sensible writer has 
observed, that the Bible is a learned book, not only because it is 
written in the learned languages, but also as containing allusions to 
various facts, circumstances, or customs of antiquity, which, to a 
common and unlettered reader, require explanation. So far, indeed, 
as relates to the w T ay of salvation, “ he that runs may read but 
there are many important points, if not of the first importance, in 
which we may properly avail ourselves of the labours of inquirers 
wdio have preceded us; especially in clearing difficulties, answering 
objections, and reconciling passages which at first sight appear con¬ 
tradictory. 

Further, “the Bible is a large book, and we are under no small 
obligations to those wdio have collated its different parts — the New 
Testament with the Old, — the prophetic with the historical books, 
&ic.; and to reject their assistance, in making the Scriptures their 
own interpreter, is to throw away the labours of many ages. As 
well might we reject all our historians, and insist on believing nothing 
but what we derive immediately from state papers, original records, 
or other documents, on which all history is founded.” Once more, 
“ the Bible is intended as a directory for our faith and practice. Now 
to have an experienced friend who has long been in the habit of 
perusing it with patient study and humble prayer, — to have such a 
friend at hand, to point out in every chapter what may be useful or 
important, and especially to disclose its latent beauties, may be no less 
desirable and useful, dian it is, when travelling in a foreign country, 
to have with us a companion who has passed the same route, and is 
acquainted both with the road, and with the objects most worthy of 
notice. It is granted, however, that there are extremes ; and that it 
is no less wrong to place implicit confidence in commentators, than it 
is to treat them with contempt: to derive advantage from them, we 
should treat them as commentators only, and not as inspired writers.” 1 

VII. The use to be made of interpreters and commentators is two¬ 
fold : 

First, that we may acquire from them a method of interpreting the 
Scriptures correctly. 

It is not sufficient that we be enabled rightly to understand the Bible ourselves, 
but it is essentially necessary that those who are destined for the sacred office 
should be able to explain it with facility, and also to communicate its sense and 
meaning with perspicuity to others. As, however, this faculty is not to be .attained 
merely by studying rules for the interpretation of the Scriptures, habitual and 
constant practice must be superadded ; and it will further prove of singular advan¬ 
tage to place before us some good expositors, as models for our imitation. In order 
to°accomplish this desirable object, we must not accumulat e and read every inte r- 

1 The Christian Reader’s Guide, by Thomas Williams, part i. p. 8*2. 




568 


On Commentaries. 


[Part II. Ch. 

preter and commentator indiscriminately , but should select one or two, or a few 
at most, of acknowledged character for learning and piety ; and, by frequent peru¬ 
sal of them, as well by studying their manner of expounding, should endeavour to 
form ourselves after them, until we are completely masters of their method. But 
the reading of commentaries will further assist us. 

Secondly, to understand whatever passages appear to us to be diffi¬ 
cult and obscure. 

It is not to be denied that there are many passages in the sacred writings both 
difficult and obscure, in consequence of the various times when the different books 
were written, the different topics of which they treat, and their allusions to antient 
customs, &c. The helps, by which most of these difficulties may be removed, 
have already been stated in the course of the present work. But we cannot suppose 
that the solitary and unassisted researches even of the most learned expositor are 
adequate to the removal of every difficulty, or to the elucidation of every obscurity, 
or that he is not liable to mistake the sense of the sacred penman. By the united 
labours, however, of many learned and pious men, of different ages and countries, 
we are put in possession of accumulated information relative to the Bible ; so that 
we may derive large accessions of important knowledge from the judicious use ot 
the writings of commentators and expositors. 

VIII. In order, then, that we may avail ourselves of their valuable 
labours to the utmost advantage, the following hints are submitted to 
the consideration of the reader. 

1. We should take care that the reading of commentators does not 
draw us away from studying the Scriptures for ourselves, from investi¬ 
gating their real meaning , and meditating on their important contents. 

This would be to frustrate the very design for which commentaries are written, 
namely, to facilitate our labours, to direct us aright where we are in danger of 
falling into error, to remove doubts and difficulties which we are ourselves unable 
to solve, to reconcile apparently contradictory passages, and, in short, to elucidate 
whatever is obscure or unintelligible to us. In the first instance, therefore, no 
commentators should be consulted until we have previously investigated the sacred 
writings for ourselves, making use of every grammatical and historical help, com¬ 
paring the scope, context, parallel passages, the analogy of faith. &c. ; and oven 
then commentaries should be resorted to only for the purpose of explaining what 
was not sufficiently clear or of removing our doubts. This method of studying 
the sacred volume will, unquestionably, prove a slow one ; but the student will 
proceed with certainty ; and, if he have patience and resolution enough to perse¬ 
vere in it, he will ultimately attain greater proficiency in the knowledge of the 
Scriptures, than those who, disregarding this method, shall have recourse wholly 
to assistances of other kinds. From the mode of study here recommended, many 
advantages will result. In the first place, the mind will be gradually accustomed 
to habits of meditation : without which we cannot reasonably hope to attain even 
a moderate, much less a profound knowledge of the Bible ; — secondly, those truths 
will be more readily as well as indelibly impressed on the memory, which have 
thus been “ marked, learned, and inwardly digested” in the mind by silent thought 
and reflexion ; — and, thirdly, by pursuing this method, we shall perceive our own 
progress in saored literature more readily, than if (like idle drones in a bee-hive) 
we devour and exhaust the stores provided by the care and labour of others.! 

2. We should not inconsiderately assent to the interpretat ion of any 
expositor or commentator , or yield a blind and servile obedience to his 
authority. 

The canon given by Saint Paul (1 Thess. v. 21.) — Prove all things, hold fast 
that which is good, — is therefore particularly worthy of our notice : for, since no 
man is an infallible judge of the sense of Scripture, not only the expositions given 
by commentators ought to be carefully examined, but we should also particularly 
investigate the proofs by which they support their interpretations, uninfluenced 
by the celebrity of their names, the semblance of ingenuity and novelty, the ap- 

1 Bauer, Herm. Sacr. p. 302. Steph. Gausseni Dissertatio de Ratione Studii 
Theologici, pp. 25, 26. Dr. Henry Owen’s Directions for young Students in Di* 
vinity, p. 37. 5th edit. 



On Commentaries . 


569 


HI. Sect. IX.] 

pearance of learning, or the excellency of speech .1 Commentators, in fact, are 
witnesses, not judges: their authority is merely human, and does not surpass the 
sphere of human belief. But we should not read, exclusively, commentators of a 
particular school , to which we are perhaps attached, and to whose opinions we 
subscribe; and though the writings of those who inculcate erroneous doctrines 
are to be received with the greatest suspicion, yet they are not to be altogether 
disregarded, as they sometimes contain valuable and important hints for the eluci¬ 
dation of difficult passages of Scripture. That he may not be misunderstood, the 
author will explain himself by a single example. The variety of erroneous theo¬ 
logical notions, asserted in different publications by the late Dr. Priestley, has 
justly excited suspicions in the minds of all, who cherish a regard for what they 
conscientiously believe to be the peculiar doctrines of the Christian dispensation ; 
so that any theological or expository writings, bearing his name, are by them 
received with caution, and subjected to the most rigorous examination. His 
“ Notes on all the Books of Scripture ” are, nevertheless, well worthy of being 
consulted : for “though the doctor keeps his own creed ( Unitarianism ) continu¬ 
ally in view, especially when considering those texts which other religious people 
adduce in favour of theirs, yet his work contains many invaluable notes and obser¬ 
vations, particularly on the philosophy, natural history , geography, and chronology 
of the Scriptures: and to these subjects few men in Europe were better qualified 
to do justice.” 2 

3. The best commentators and interpreters only arc to be read. 

So numerous are the commentaries at present extant on the sacred writings, 
that to notice them all would require a distinct volume. Not to mention the 
magnitude of their cost, the labour and fatigue of turning over and examining such 
a multitude of massy volumes, is sufficient to deter any one from the study of 
them : and must necessarily prevent an ingenuous student from deriving any real 
advantage. For the perplexity of mind, arising from so great a variety of con¬ 
flicting opinions, will either disgust him altogether with sacred studies, or he will 
so bewilder himself, that he will not be able to determine which to follow or 
embrace. 

Although the more antient commentators and expositors did not possess those 
peculiar facilities for interpreting the Scriptures, with which we are now happily 
favoured, yet they are not to be altogether despised by those, who may have leisure 
and opportunity to consult them, for the purpose of tracing the time when, and 
the authors by whom, particular expositions of certain passages were first intro¬ 
duced. The more antient interpreters, being coeval or nearly so with the sacred 
writers, and also living in the neighbouring countries, are thus rendered good 
evidence, for the received sense of certain words in their day. Hence the Jews 
frequently throw much light on the meaning of Hebrew words and usages, as may 
be seen in the extracts from their writings which are to be found in all the larger 
commentaries: and in like manner the Greek fathers, the value of whose labours 
it has been the fashion unduly to depreciate, are excellent evidence for the mean¬ 
ing attached to Greek words, particularly in controversies relating to the deity of 
Jesus Christ, the reality and efficacy of his atonement, &c. And since there are 
some expositions of very important passages, in which all or nearly all expositors, 
both antient and modern, are agreed, these have a high claim to our attention. 3 

Of the more modern commentators, the best only must be selected, whom we 
may consult as guides: And those may be considered as the host commentators, 
who are most deeply furnished with the requisite critical skill; who most dili¬ 
gently investigate the literal sense, and do not attempt to establish a mystical sense 
until the literal sense is most clearly ascertained ; who do not servilely copy the 
remarks of preceding commentators, but, while they avail themselves of every 
help for the interpretation of the Scriptures, elicit what appears to be the true 
meaning, and support it by such clear and cogent arguments, and state it with 
such perspicuity, as convinces the reader’s judgment. To these acquirements, it 
is scarcely necessary to add, that deep, yet sober piety and uprightness arc indis¬ 
pensably necessary to a commentator on Holy Writ. 

On the subject of commentaries, it is an excellent advice of Ernesti’s,* that we 
shall find considerable ad vantage in making memoranda of the more difficult pa s- 

1 C. D. Beckii Monogrammata Hermeneutices Librorum Novi Testamenti, pars 

i. pp. 174, 175. 

2 Dr. A. Clarke, General Preface to vol. i. of his Commentary on the Bible, p. xi. 

3 Bauer, Herm. Sacr. p. 304. Turretin de Interp. Sac. Scrip, p. 333. 

4 Institutio Interpretis Novi Testamenti, pars iii. cap. ix. § 44. p. 306. 

VOL. It 72 



570 


On Commentaries. 


[Part II. 

sages of the sacred writings, which have been variously explained by expositors, 
as well as of such passages as are particularly worthy of note, but concerning which 
our own researches, or those of others, have failed in procuring satisfactory infor¬ 
mation. Thus, whenever any new commentary falls into our hands, we can in a 
short time ascertain whether it contains any thing intrinsically new or valuable, 
or that may lead us to ascertain the genuine sense of a passage. By consulting 
commentators and expositors in this manner, we shall be able to distinguish ideas 
of things from ideas of sounds; and, thus becoming habituated to the investiga¬ 
tion and consideration of the sacred writings, we shall, under divine teaching, be 
enabled to understand the mind of the Spirit in the Scriptures. 

4. Where it does not appear that either antient or modern interpret¬ 
ers had more knowledge than ourselves respecting particular passages ; 
and where they offer only conjectures, — in such cases their expositions 
ought to he subjected to a strict examination. If their reasons are then 
found to he valid, we should give our assent to them : hut, on the con¬ 
trary, if they proveto he false, improbable, and insufficient, they must 
be altogether rejected. 

5. Lastly, as there are some commentaries, which are either wholly 
compiled from the previous labours of others, or contain observations ex¬ 
tracted from their writings, if any thing appear confused or perplexed 
in such commentaries, the original sources whence they were compiled 
must be referred to, and diligently consulted. 


Having stated and illustrated, in the preceding chapters, the dif¬ 
ferent senses of the sacred writings, and the various subsidiary means 
by which to ascertain those senses, — it remains that we show in 
what manner the sense, when discovered, is to be communicated, 
expounded, and applied. The consideration of this topic will lead 
us to notice the interpretation of the Historical , Mystical, Propheti¬ 
cal, Typical , Doctrinal, and Moral parts of the Bible, as well as of 
the Promises and Threatenings contained in the Scriptures, together 
with that Practical Application of them to the heart and conscience 
of the reader, without which all knowledge will be in vain. If, in¬ 
deed, the previous investigation of the sense of Scripture be under¬ 
taken with those moral and devout qualifications which have been 
stated in the preceding volume, 1 it is scarcely po^ijle that we can 
fail to understand the meaning of the word of Go k 


1 See Vol. I. pp. 510—51& 





Ch. IV.] On the Historical Interpretation of Scripture , 


571 


CHAPTER IV. 

ON THE HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

I. Historical Interpretation defined. — Rules for the Historical In¬ 
terpretation of the Scriptures. — II. On the Interpretation of 

Scripture-Miracles. 

I. The Bible being a collection of writings executed at different 
and distant times, partly historical, partly didactic, and partly pro¬ 
phetic, but throughout revealing the will of God to man, it is generally 
admitted that it ought not to be contemplated as one book. But 
since it is not sufficient to know grammatically the different expressions 
employed by writers, in order to interpret antient works, so it is neces¬ 
sary that we add Historical Interpretation to our grammatical or 
literal knowledge. By historical interpretation we are to understand, 
that we give to the words of the sacred author that sense which they 
bore in the age when he lived, and which is agreeable to the degree 
of knowledge he possessed, as well as conformable to the religion 
professed by him, and to the sacred and civil rites or customs that 
obtained in the age when he flourished. In investigating the historical 
interpretation of the Scriptures, the following hints may be found useful. 

1. The Books of the Old and New Testament, are, each, to be fre¬ 
quently and carefully read, and the subjects therein treated are to be com¬ 
pared together, in order that we may ascertain the meaning of what the 
authors thought and icrote . 

They, who wish to attain an accurate knowledge of the philosophical notions of 
Plato, Aristotle, or any other of the ancient Grecian sages, will not consult the 
later Platonic writers, or the scholastic authors who depended wholly on the au¬ 
thority of Aristotle, and whose knowledge of his works was frequently very im¬ 
perfect, but will rather peruse the writings of the philosophers themselves : — in 
like manner, the books of the Old and New Testament are to be constantly and 
carefully perused and weighed by him, who is sincerely desirous to obtain a cor¬ 
rect knowledge of their important contents. For, while we collate the expressions 
of each writer, we shall be enabled to harmonise those passages which treat on the 
same topics ; and may reasonably hope to discover their true sense. Some foreign 
biblical critics, however, (who, in their zeal to accommodate the immutable truths 
of Scripture to the standard of the present age, would divest the Christian dispen- 
tion of its most important doctrines,) have asserted that, in the interpretation of 
the Old Testament, all reference to the New Testament is to be excluded. But, 
unless we consult the latter, there are passages in the Old Testament, whose 
meaning cannot be fully apprehended. To mention only one instance, out of many 
that might be adduced : — In Gen. i. 26, 27. God is said to have created man after 
his own image : this passage (which, it should be recollected, describes man in his 
primeval state of spotless innocence, before he became corrupted by the fall,) the 
divines in question affirm, must be interpreted according to the crude and imper¬ 
fect notions entertained by the antient heathen nations concerning the Deity 9 
But, if we avail ourselves of the information communicated in the New Testament 
(as wc are fully warranted to do by the example of Christ and his inspired apos¬ 
tles.) we shall be enabled to form a correct notion of the divine image intended by 
the sacred historian: viz. that it consisted in righteousness, true holiness, and 
knowledge. See Eph. iv. 24. and Col. iii. 10. 

1 How crude, imperfect, and erroneous these views of the Heathens were re¬ 
specting the Almighty, has been shown at great length by various eminent advo¬ 
cates for the truth of the divine origin of Revelation ; but no one has discussed it 
more elaborately than Dr. Leland, in his u Advantage and Necessity of the Chris¬ 
tian Revelation, as snown from the state of Religion in the Heathen World." 1768. 
8vo. Reprinteo at Glasgow m 1819. in 2 vols. A compendious notice of the heap 
then notions respecting the Deity is given in Vol. I. pp. 4—8. 



572 


On the Historical Interpretation of Scripture. [Part II. 

2. It is also indispensable that we lay aside, in many instances, that 
more accurate knowledge which we possess, of natural things, in order 
that we may fully enter into the meaning of different parts of the sacred 
writings. 

The antient Hebrews being altogether ignorant of, or imperfectly acquainted 
with, many things, the nature of which is now fully explored and well known, it 
were absurd to apply our more perfect knowledge to the explanation of things 
which are related according to the limited degrees of knowledge they possessed. 
Hence it is not necessary that we should attempt to illustrate the Mosaic account 
of the creation according to the Copernican system of the universe, which the 
experiments of philosophers have shown to be the true one. As the Scriptures 
were composed with the express design of making the divine will known to man, 
the sacred authors might, and did, make use of popular expressions and forms of 
speech, then in use among the persons or people whom they addressed ; the phi¬ 
losophical truth of which they neither affirmed nor denied. 1 

3. The historical interpretation of the Scriptures will, f urther, be es¬ 
sentially promoted by an acquaintance with the history of such antient 
nations or people, as did not possess a higher degree of cultivation than 
the Hebreics or Jews. 

A judicious comparison of the notions that obtained among antient, and com¬ 
paratively uncultivated nations, with those entertained by the Hebrews or Jews, 
will, from their similitude, enable us to enter more fully into the meaning of the 
sacred writers. Thus many pleasing illustrations of patriarchal life and manners 
may be obtained by comparing the writings of Homer and Hesiod with the accounts 
given by Moses. The Iliad, for instance, illustrates Abraham’s manner of dividing 
the sacrifice. 2 The patriarchal hospitality is similar to that described in the 
Odyssey. 3 How early a belief in the ministry of angels obtained among the hea¬ 
then nations, is evident from comparing the account of Hesiod 4 * with that of 
Moses ;5 and it furnishes an additional proof to the many others, which have been 
collected by learned men, to show that all the knowledge of the antients was tra¬ 
ditionally derived, though with innumerable corruptions, from the Hebrews. 

4. In order, however, that we may correctly explain the manners, cus¬ 
toms, or practices, referred to by the sacred writers at different times, it 
is necessary that ivc should investigate the laws, opinions, and principles 
of those nations among whom the Hcbreivs resided for a long time, or 
with whom they held a close intercourse, and from whom it is probable 
they received some of them. 

From the long residence of the Hebrews in Egypt, it has been con¬ 
jectured by some learned men that they derived by far the greater 
part of their institutions from the Egyptians : but this hypothesis ap¬ 
pears untenable, to its full extent, the Israelites being separated from 
the Egyptians by their pastoral habits, which rendered them abo¬ 
minable in the eyes of the latter. At the same time, from their hav- 
iug passed four hundred years in that country, it is not unlikely 
that they derived some things from their oppressors. A few instan¬ 
ces will elucidate this remark. 

Under the Jewish theocracy, the judges are represented as holy 
persons, and as sitting in the place of Jehovah. 6 The Egyptians 
regarded their sovereigns in this light. 7 Hence Michaelis, to whom 
we are indebted for this fact, conjectures that the Israelites, just on 
their exit from Egypt, called their rulers gods, not only in poetry, 
but also in the common language of their laws, (see Exod. xxi. 6.) 

1 On this subject, the reader may compare Vol. I. Appendix No. III. Sect. VIII. 
pp. 590—597. 

2 Homeri Uias, lib. i. v. 460, 461. compared with Gen. xv. 9, 10. 

3 Gen. xviii. 6—8. compared with the Odyssey, lib. xiv. v. 71—76. 419—430. 

4 Opera et Dies, lib. i. v. 130—126. 5 Gen. xxxii. 1, 2. 

6 Deut. i. 17. and xix. 17. 

7 Diodorus Siculus, lib. i. c. 90. “ From this cause” (viz. gratitude to benefactors, 




573 


Cli. IV .] On the Historical Interpretation of Scripture. 

where the word judges is, in the original Hebrew, gods J Again, 
agriculture was the basis ot the whole Mosaic polity : and it was 
probably from the Egyptians that the Jewish legislator borrowed 
the principle, on which his polity was thus founded : though indeed 
we find, that the state of the antient Romans was accidentally esta¬ 
blished on a similar plan. * 1 2 The priests, and especially the Levites, 
united the profession of ministers of religion with that of literati 
among the Jews, in the same manner as the Egyptian priests had 
partitioned literature among themselves, so that their institution was 
wholly Egyptian in its origin. 3 And, to mention no further instan¬ 
ces ol this kind, the molten calf which the Israelites required of 
Aaron, seems to have an exact resemblance of the celebrated Egyp¬ 
tian god Apis, who was worshipped under the form of an ox. 4 5 6 

At a subsequent period, during their captivity, some of the Jews appear to have 
imbibed the absurd notion ot the Persians, that there were two supreme beings, 
an evil and a good one, representing light and darkness; and that, according to 
the ascendancy of one or other of these, good and happiness prevailed among 
men, or evil and misery abounded. Such at least was the absurd opinion held by 
the person to whom Isaiah addressed his prophecy (ch. xlv.) and which he refutes 
in the most significant and pointed manner.5 

One illustration more will serve to exemplify the rule above given. 

In our Saviour s time the learning of the Greeks was cultivated by the Jews, 
who adapted the peculiar tenets of some of their most eminent philosophers. The 
Pharisees, it was well known, believed the immortality of the soul: but it appears 
trom Josephus, that their notion of such immortality was the Pythagorean rae- 
tempsychosis.6 From the Pharisees this tenet was generally received by the 
Jewish people; and, notwithstanding the benefit derived from hearing the dis¬ 
courses and conversations of our Lord, it appears to have been held by some of 
his disciples. 

5. IVe should carefully distinguish between what the Scripture itself 
says , and what is only said in the Scripture. 

The Bible is not to be contemplated as an oration from God to man, or as a 
body of laws, similar to our English Statute-Book, in which the legislature speaks 
to the people throughout: but it is to be regarded as a collection of compositions 
of very different sorts, and written at very distant times; and in these books, 
although their authors were divinely inspired, many other persons are introduced 
besides the penmen, who have faithfully set down the sayings and actions they 
record. This distinction of the excellent Mr. Boyle, 7 if duly applied, will enable 
us to silence some of their malicious cavils, who accuse the Scriptures of teaching 
vice bjr the ungodly sayings and examples, that are occasionally to be met with 


among whom they reckoned such animals as were peculiarly useful to the country, 
and held them sacred) “ the Egyptians seem so to reverence their kings, and hum¬ 
bly to address them as if they xcerc gods. They even believe that it is not without 
the peculiar care of Providence that they arrive at supreme power; and that those, 
who have the will and the power to perform deeds of the greatest beneficence, are 
partakers of the divine nature.” 

1 Miehaelis’s Commentaries on the Laws of Moses, vol. i. p. 192. 

2 Ibid. vol. i. p. 222. 3 Ibid. vol. i. p. 255. 

4 Schumacher, De Cultu Animalium inter iEgyptios et Judaeos Commentatio, 
pp. 40 — 47. Our learned countryman, Spencer, in his work De Legibus Hebneo- 

rum, and Michaelis, in his Commentaries, above cited, have shown, in many addi¬ 
tional examples, the striking resemblance between the institutions of the Israelites 
and those of the Egyptians. 

5 Vitringa, and Lowth, on Isaiah xiv. 7. 

6 Josephus, De Bello Judaico, lib. ii. c. 8. § 14. and Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 1. § 3. 
The Pharisees held that every soul was immortal, but that only the souls of the 
righteous transmigrate into other bodies, while the souls of bad men are subject to 
eternal punishment. At first sight, this account appears to contradict the state¬ 
ment of Saint Paul (Acts xxiv. 15.) : but the repugnancy is easily obviated, when 
it is considered that Josephus is speaking of the Pharisees only, but the apostle of 
the Jews in general, and of himself in particular. 

7 Considerations on the Style of Scripture, (Works, vol. ii. p. 260.) Consid. 2. 



574 


On the Historical Interpretation of Scripture. [Part II. 

in them. u But,” he further remarks, u as the Apostle said that they are not all 
Israel , that are of Israel (Rom. ix. 6.) ; so we may say that is not all Scripture 
that is in the Scripture : for many wicked persons, and their perverter Satan, 
are there introduced, whose sayings the Holy Ghost doth not adopt, but, barely 
registers ; nor does the Scripture affirm that what they said was true, but that it 
was true they said it. As for the ills recorded in the Scripture, besides that 
wicked persons were necessary to exercise God’s children, and illustrate his pro¬ 
vidence ; and, besides the allegations commonly made on that subject, we may 
consider, that there being many things to be declined as well as practised, it was 
fit we should be taught as well what to avoid, as what to imitate. Now, as we 
could not be armed against the tempter’s methods, if we ignored (were ignorant 
of) them, so we could never more safely or better learn them than in his book, 
who can alone discover the wiles, and fathom the depths of Satan, and track him 
through all his windings, and otherwise untrackable labyrinths : and in that book, 
where the antidote is exhibited with the poison, and either men’s victory or defeat 
may teach us, at others’ costs, and without our hazard, the true art of that warfare 
we are all so highly concerned in. And, as anciently God fed his servant Elias, 
sometimes by an angel, sometimes by a woman, and sometimes too by ravens, so 
doth he make all persons in the Bible, whether good or bad, or indifferent supply his 
servants with that instruction, which is the aliment of virtue and of souls, and makes 
them and their examples contribute to the verification of that passage of St. Paul, 1 
wherein he says, that all things co-operate for good to them that love God.' ~ 
To illustrate the preceding observations by one or two examples : 

In Mai. iii. 14. we meet with the following words, It is in vain to serve God, 
and what profit is it that ice have kept his ordinance ? And in 1 Cor. xv. 32. we 
meet with this maxim of profane men — Let us eat and drink , for to-morrow we 
die. But, when we read these and similar passages, we must attend to the cha¬ 
racters introduced, and remember that the persons who spoke thus were wicked 
jnen. Even those, whose piety is commended in the sacred volume, did not always 
act in strict conformity to it: Thus, when David vowed that he would utterly 
destroy Nabal’s house, we must conclude that he sinned in making that vow : and 
the discourses of Job’s friends, though in themselves extremely beautiful and in¬ 
structive, are not in every respect to be approved; for we are informed by the 
sacred historian, that God was wroth with them, because they had not spoken 
of him the thing that was right. (Job xlii. 7.) 

The rule, thus ably illustrated by Mr. Boyle, will admit of a more 
ready application, if we further notice the person addressed as well 
as the person introduced as speaking in any hook , whether he speak 
in his own character, or, by a figure of speech, introduce another 
person as speaking; and also if we attend to the frequent and very 
elegant changes and successions of persons occurring in the Scrip¬ 
tures, and especially in the prophetic writings. The first chapter of 
the prophecy of Isaiah affords an apposite elucidation of this remark. 

Jehovah is there represented as impleading his disobedient people, Israel. The 
prophet, with a boldness and majesty becoming the herald of the Most High, be¬ 
gins with summoning the whole creation to attend when Jehovah speaks, (ver. 2.) 
A charge of gross insensibility is, in the next verse, brought against the Jews, 
whose guilt is amplified (ver. 4.) ; and their obstinate wickedness highly aggra¬ 
vated the chastisements and judgments of God, though repeated till they had almost 
been left like Sodom and Gomorrah, (v. 5—9.) The incidental mention of these 
places leads the prophet to address the rulers and people of the Jews, under the cha¬ 
racter of the princes of Sodom and Gomorrah, in a style not less spirited and se¬ 
vere, than it is elegant and unexpected. (10.) The vanity of trusting to the perform¬ 
ance of the external rites and ceremonies of religion is then exposed (11—15.), 
and the necessity of repentance and reformation is strongly enjoined (16,17.), and 
urged by the most encouraging promises, as well as by the most awful threaten- 
ings. (18—20.) But, as neither of these produced the proper effect upon that peo¬ 
ple, who were the prophet’s charge, he bitterly laments their degeneracy (21—23.), 
and concludes with introducing the Almighty himself, declaring his purpose of 
inflicting such heavy judgments as would entirely cut off the wicked, and excite 
in the righteous, who should pass through the furnace, an everlasting shame and 
abhorrence of every thing connected with idolatry, the source of all their misery. 
(24—31.) The whole chapter, in loftiness of sentiment, and style, affords a beau- 


1 Rom. viii. 28. 


2 Boyle’s Works, vol. ii. p. 261. 




575 


Ch. IV.] On the Historical Interpretation of Scripture. 

tiful example of this great prophet’s manner, whose writings, like his lips, are 
touched with hallowed fire.l 

0. Carefully distinguish the times, places, and persons, when, where, 
and by whom any thing is recorded as having been said or done. 

T his observation, which is of great importance, has already been applied to re¬ 
concile the apparently contradictory relations of the miracles of Jesus Christ, 
which have furnished materials for cavil among the antagonists of divine revela- 
tion. And the application of it to Gen. xxxi. 38. 41. will serve to remove the 
difficulties which appear in the common chronology of the patriarch Jacob’s resi¬ 
dence at Padan Aram. The two verses in question stand thus, in our authorised 
version : — 38. This twenty years have I been with thee ; thy ewes and thy she - 
goats have not cast their young ; and the rams of thy flock I have not eaten. 41. Thus 
have I been ticenty years in thy house : I served thee fourteen years for thy two 
daughters, and six years for thy cattle ; and thou hast changed my wages ten times. 

The age of Jacob, at the time when he first went to Laban, has been almost uni¬ 
versally fixed at seventy-seven years, but it has been shown by a late learned writer, 
(Mr. Skinner,) 1 2 that seventy-seven cannot be right, and that Jacob was only fifty- 
seven, when he went to Padan Aram. The following is Dr. Kennicott’s abstract 
of Mr. Skinner’s arguments and proofs. Jacob was one hundred and thirty when 
he went down (with sixty-six persons) into Egypt. Joseph had then been go¬ 
vernor ten years; and, when made governor, was thirty : therefore Jacob could 
not be more than ninety , at the birth of Joseph. Now, upon supposition that Jacob 
was seventy-seven , at going to Laban : and that he had no son till he was eighty- 
five ; and that he, with eleven sons, left Laban at ninety-seven: there will follow 
these, amongst other strange consequences, which are enumerated by Mr. Skin¬ 
ner ;3 — 1. Though Isaac and Esau married at forty , Jacob goes, at seventy-seven, 
to look for a wife ; and agrees to marry her seven years after. — 2. Issachar is 
born after the affair of the mandrakes; which Reuben finds, and brings home, 
when he (Reuben) was about four years old : that is, if Issachar was born before 
Joseph, agreeably to Gen. xxx. 18. 25. — 3. Judah begets Er, at thirteen. For in 
the second of the following tables, Judah is born in Jacob’s year eighty-eight and 
Er, in one hundred and two. — 4. Er marries at nine, and is destroyed for profli¬ 
gacy. Er, born in one hundred and two , marries in one hundred and eleven. (See 
also Gen. xxxviii. 7.) — 5. Onan marries at eight. For Onan, born in one / hun¬ 
dred and three, marries in one hundred and eleven. — 6. Shelah, being grown at 
ten, ought to be married. For Shelah, born in one hundred and four, is marriage¬ 
able, but not married to Tamar, in one hundred and fourteen. (See Gen. xxxviii. 
14.) — 7. Pharez kept from marrying whilst young; yet has a son at thirteen. 
For Pharez, born in one hundred and fifteen, had ttco sons, at going to Egypt, in 
one hundred and thirty. — 8. Esau goes to Ishmael, and marries his daughter, 
after Jacob went to Laban at seventy-seven; though Ishmael died, when Jacob 
was sixty-three. (See Gen. xvi. 16. xxv. 17. 26. xxviii. 9.) — 9. If Jacob had no 
son, till he was eighty-five ; and if Joseph, the youngest except Benjamin, was 
born when his father was ninety, then the eleven sons, and Dinah, were born in five 
years. — Lastly : if Jacob had no son till eighty-five, and he went to Egypt at one 
hundred and thirty, with sixty-six persons ; only forty-five years are allowed for 
his family: whereas the larger sum of sixty-five years seems necessary, for the 
births of so many children and grand-children. On this subject Le Clerc has pro¬ 
nounced 4 — There are difficulties here, which have never been explained ; and, in 
my opinion, never can be explained. But upon the single principle of Mr. Skin¬ 
ner, that Jacob went to Laban at fifty-seven (instead of seventy-seven) these diffi¬ 
culties are solved. And it only remains to wish, that some authority may be 

1 Bp. Lowth’s Isaiah, vol. ii. pp. 4—27. 8vo. edit. Vitringa, in his comment on 
the same prophet, eminently excels in pointing out the rapid transitions of persons, 
places and things. Van Til, in his celebrated Opus Jbialyticum, has ably noticed 
various similar transitions in the Scriptures generally, and in the Psalms in parti¬ 
cular, though in the last mentioned book he has sometimes unnecessarily multiplied 
the speakers introduced. The value of Dr. Macknight’s version and paraphrase 
of the epistle to the Romans is enhanced by his distinguishing between the objec¬ 
tions brought by the Jew whom Saint Paul introduces as arguing with him, and 
the replies and conclusive reasonings of the Apostle. 

2 A Dissertation upon the Chronological Difficulties imputed to the Mosaic His¬ 

tory, from the Birth to the Death of Jacob. By William Skinner, M. A. London, 
1765. 4to. 3 Dissertation, pp. 11., et seq. 

4 Hisce in rebus occurrunt nodi, quos nemo hactenus solvit; neque porro, ut 
opinor, solvct. 



57G 


On the Historical Interpretation of Scripture. pr*art 11. 


found to support this conjecture, thus strongly founded on the exigentia loci. The 
common opinion is formed, by reckoning back from the age of Joseph, when go¬ 
vernor of Egypt, to the time of his birth; and from the twenty years which the 
text says Jacob was with Laban. This number, Mr. Skinner is of opinion, was 
originally forty. Anti Dr. Kennicott thinks, that the Hebrew text, as it now 
stands, confirms the conjecture ; and furnishes the very authority, which is so 
much wanted. 

After Jacob had served Laban fourteen years for his two wives ; where was Ja¬ 
cob to reside ? Esau was still living ; and Jacob might well be afraid of returning 
to him, till more years of absence had disarmed his resentment: and had the death 
of Esau happened, Jacob would then have been secure. But let us also remem¬ 
ber, that Isaac was still alive ; and that Esau had determined to kill Jacob, when¬ 
ever their father should die. It would therefore be no wonder, if Jacob should 
have desired to continue longer in Haran. And to carry this point the more 
effectually, he might offer to take care of Laban's cattle, and to live in his neigh¬ 
bourhood ; upon such terms of advantage to Laban, as could not easily be with¬ 
stood. Lastly: when the good effects to Laban from this connection had been 
experienced, xoithout profit , nay xoith some losses, to Jacob for twenty years ; Ja¬ 
cob might naturally grow tired of thus assisting Laban, without providing for his 
own growing family. Accordingly we find, that Jacob covenants with Laban, for 
six years of more close attendance, and service in Laban’s own house ; for which 
the wages were expressly settled. Agreeable to the preceding possibilities seems 
to have been the fact; Jacob living in Haran forty years, and in this manner ; 

14 years, in Laban’s house a covenant-servant for Rachel and Leah. 

20- in Laban’s neighbourhood, as a friend. 

6 -in Laban’s house a covenant-servant for cattle. 

40 

Now the twenty concurrent years of neighbourly assistance, and the disjointed 
ticenty of covenant-service, seem both of them mentioned, and both of them dis¬ 
tinguished, in the history itself. For, upon Laban’s pursuit of Jacob, when Jacob 
is vindicating his past behaviour, he mentions twenty years twice ; which txco 
sets of twenty , if really different, make forty. Each mention of the twenty years 
is introduced with the word nT (zeu) ; which word, when repeated, is used in op¬ 
position, or by way of distinction : as -when we say this and that, the one or the 
other. Thus (Exod. xiv. 20.) ; So that the one came not near the other. (Eccl. 
vi. 5.) This hath more rest than the other. And, with the tivo words at a great 
distance; (Jobxxi.23.) one dieth — (25.) And another dieth, &c. So here, (in 
Gen. xxxi. at ver. 38.) Jacob says to Laban *|dj? '3IN rutP ontPj? m (zch esrim 
SH ftNdH anoki oimciia). During the one set of twenty years, I was with thee, 
&c. meaning the time, in which he lived, not in Laban’s house, but in his neigh¬ 
bourhood ; not as a servant, but a friend : after he had served, in Laban’s house, 
fourteen years for his daughters, and before he served six years for his cattle. 
But then, as to the other twenty ; he tells Laban, (at verse 41.) varying the phrase 
very remarkably — Tmaji “irroT hicm 1 ? Dnpp m (zch esrim li sh«n«h bcbcitca 
ABftDTEyca, During the other tioenty years, li) for myself (for my own 
benefit) in tiiy house, I served thee fourteen years — and six years, &c. And, 
during this last period, though only six years, he charges Laban with changing his 
xvages ten times. So that Jacob insists upon having well earned his wages, through 
the twenty years, when he served for hire ; but he makes a far greater merit of 
having, for another twenty years, assisted him without wages, and even with some 
losses ; and therefore, with particular propriety, he reminds Laban of that set of 
twenty years in the first place. 1 

Our translation now is—(xxxi. 38.) This twenty years have I been 
with thee ; thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams 
of thy flock have I not eaten. 39. That which icas torn of beasts I brought not 
unto thee ; I bare the loss of it: of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen 
by day or stolen by night. 40. Thus I was : in the day the drought consumed me, 
and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. 41. Thus have 
I been twenty years in tiiy house : I served thee fourteen years for thy txco 
daughters , and six years for thy cattle ; and thou hast changed my wages ten times. 

The alteration, here recommended, is this (xxxi. 38.) During the one twenty 
years I was with thee ; thy exoes and thy slie-goats have not cast their young , 
and the rams, &c. &c. 41. During the other twenty years, for myself, 

1 The true Chronologxj of Jacob will be greatly elucidated by the following Tables ; 

taken chiefly from Mr. Skinner. 

Table I. On Jacob's being at Haran 40 years : 

0 Jacob [avid Esau] born. 





t 


Cli. IV.] On the Historical Interpretation of Scripture. 577 

in thy house : / served , &c. The same distinction is expressed (in xxx. 29.) — 
Thou knowest how I have served thee, and hoic thy cattle teas with me ; that is, 
how I behaved, during the time I was with thee, as thy servant; and how thy 
cattle fared, during the time they were with me, as thy friend. 

It must not be omitted, that Archbishop Usher and Bishop Lloyd ascribe sons 
to Jacob very soon after his coming to Laban ; nay assert, that he was married 
almost as soon as he came to Haran : instead of waiting seven years, as he most 
evidently did. And Mr. Jackson allows, that some of the sons of Benjamin, who 
are e xpressly numbered, as goin g into E gypt with Jacob, might be born in Egypt! 


o 

.« 

t 

< 

M 

ct3 

<u 

rr 


o 

c 

cd 


< 


to 

<L> 


40 
Co 7 
58 

63 

64 

65 

66 

67 

68 

69 

71 

f 72 
74 

78 

79 
81 
86 
87 

191 

97 


98 

103 

105 

108 

109 

110 
120 
12f 

123 

125 

128 

129 

130 

147 

0 

40 

63 


Esau marries 2 wives, Hittites. 


goes to Haran. 

Esau goes to lshmael, and marries his daughter. - 

Ishmael dies, aged 137.. 

Jacob marries Leah and Rachel. - - Gen. xxix. 

Reuben born, of Leah.' 


Gen. xxvi. 34, 

Gen. xxviii. 9. 
Gen. xxv. 17. 
20, 21. 27, 28. 


Simeon -- 

Levi - 

Judah - 

Rachel not bearing, gives Bilhah. 

Dan born, of Bilhah 
Naphtali- 

Leah not bearing, gives Zilpah. . 

Gad born, of Zilpah. 

Asher- 

Reuben, at 13, finds the mandrakes. 

Issachar born, of Leah. 

Zebulon-82 Dinah. 

Judah, at 18, marries Shuah’s daughter. 

-Er born-88 Onan-89 Shelah 

Joseph born, of Rachel. 

years’ service for cattle. 

Jacob comes, from Haran, to Succoth and Shalem. 

Dinah defiled ; and the Schechemites destroyed. 
Benjamin is born, and Rachel dies. 

Beriah, 4th son of Asher, born. 

Tamar married to Er-106 to Onan. 

Joseph, at 17, is carried to Egypt. - 
Shelah, at 20, not given to Tamar. 

Pharez and Zarah born of Tamar, by Judah. 
Isaac dies, aged 180, ----- 

Joseph, at 30, Governor of Egypt. - 
Beriah, at 20, marries. 

Heber-127 Malchiel 

Pharez, at 18, marries. 

Hezron-130 Hamul ■ 


Gen. xxix. 30—35. 


Gen. xxx. 6—24. 


Gen. xxxvii. 2. 


Gen. xxxv. 28. 
Gen. xli. 46. 


born, to Beriah. 


- born, to Pharez. 
Benjamin, at 32, has 10 sons. 

Jacob goes to Egypt,. 

- dies,.--. 

Table II. On Jacob’s being at Haran only 20 years : 
Jacob [and Esau] born. 

Esau marries 2 wives, Hittites. 

Ishmael dies, aged 137. ... - 


Gen. xlvii. 9. 
-28. 


Gen. xxvi. 34. 
Gen. xxv. 17. 


77 Jacob goes to Haran. 


84 

85 

86 

87 

88 
89 


91 

97 Jacob 

VOL. II. 


marries Leah and Rachel. 

Reuben born, of Leah. 

Simeon- 

Levi - 

Judah - 

Dan born, of Bilhah. 

Naphtali- 

Gad born, of Zilpah. 

Asher- 

Issachar born, of Leah. 

Zebulun-- and Dinah. 

Joseph born, of Rachel, 
returns from Haran. 


Gen. xxix. 20, 21. 27, 28. 


Gen. xxix. 32—35. 


Gen. xxx. 6—24. 


73 



































578 


On the Historical Interpretation of Scripture. [Part II. 

From such distresses and such contradictions, does the distinction of the two sets 
of twenty years happily deliver us. * 1 

7. Lastly , in order to enter fidly into the meaning of the sacred wri¬ 
ters, especially of the New Testament , it is necessary that the reader in 
a manner identify himself with them , and invest himself with their affec¬ 
tions or feelings ; and also familiarise himself with the sentiments, Sfc. 
of those to whom the different hooks or epistles were addressed . 2 3 

This canon is of considerable importance, as well in the investigation of words 
and phrases, as in the interpretation of the sacred volume, and particularly of the 
prayers and imprecations related or contained therein. Jf the assistance, which 
may be derived from a careful study of the affections and feelings of the inspired 
writers, be disregarded or neglected, it will be scarcely possible to avoid erroneous 
expositions of the Scriptures. Daily observation and experience prove how much 
of its energy and perspicuity familiar discourse derives from the affections of the 
speakers : and also that the same words, when pronounced under the influence of 
different emotions, convey very different meanings. Franzius has paid {(articular 
attention to this subject in the examples adduced in his treatise De Ivtcrprcta- 
tione Sacrce Scriptural: and Franck has written a distinct essay on the same 
topic, which, being already extant in our language, it is not necessary to abridge 
in this place.3 

II. Although (as we have already remarked) 4 the design of mi¬ 
racles is to mark the divine interposition, yet, when perusing the 
miracles recorded in the sacred writings, we are not to lose sight of 
the moral and religious instruction concealed under them, and es¬ 
pecially under the miracles performed by our Saviour. “ All his 
miracles,” indeed, “ were undoubtedly so many testimonies that he 
was sent from God : but they were much more than this, for they 
were all of such a kind, and attended with such circumstances, as 
give us an insight into the spiritual state of man, and the great work 
of his salvation.” 5 They were significant emblems of his designs, 
and figures aptly representing the benefits to be conferred by him 
upon mankind, and had in them a spiritual sense. 

Thus, he cast out evil spirits, who, by the Divine Providence, were 
permitted to exert themselves at that time, and to possess many 
persons. By this act he showed that he came to destroy the empire 

98 - dwells in Succoth. 

99 - comes to Shalem, and continues there 8 years. 

3 01 Judah marries Shuah’s daughter. 

102 -Er born-103 Onan-104 Shelah. 

106 Schechemites destroyed, by Simeon and Levi. 

107 Benjamin is born, and Rachel dies. 

108 Joseph sold when 17. - - - . - Gen. xxxvii. 2. 

Ill Tamar married to Er, and immediately afterwards to Onan. 

114 Tamar’s incest with Judah. 

115 Pharez and Zarah born, to Judah. 

120 Isaac dies, aged 180. ----- Gen. xxxv. 28. 

121 Joseph is made Governor of Egypt. ... Gen. xli. 46. 

130 Jacob goes into Egypt..Gen. xlvii. 2. 

147 - dies.. ... - 

1 Dr. Kennicott’s Remarks on various passages of Scripture, pp. 27—33. 

2 Pritii Introductio ad N. Test. p. 612. Wetstein de Interpret. Nov. Test. pp. 
149—156. 8vo. edit. Franckii Proslectiones Hermeneuticce, p. 192. 

3 See Mr. Jacques’s translation of Franck’s Guide to the Reading and Study of 
the Scriptures, pp. 141 -175. 8vo. edit. An enlarged edition of this essay is given 
by Franck himself in his Praelectiones Hermeneuticse, pp. 193—25*0.; to which 
Rambach is partly indebted for his chapter De Investigatione Adfectuum. Inst. 
Herm. Sacr. pp. 122—144. See also Chladenius’s Instit. Exeget. pp. 25. et seq., 
and J. E. Pfeiffer’s Inst. Herm. Sacr. pp. 251—260. 

4 The nature and evidence of miracles are discussed, in Vol. I. pp. 233—312. 

5 Rev. W. Jones’s Works, vol. iii. p. 326. 










579 


Ch. IV.] On the Historical Interpretation of Scripture. 

of Satan, and seemed to foretel that, wheresoever his doctrine should 
prevail, idolatry and vice should be put to flight. — He gave sight to 
the blind, a miracle well suiting him who brought immortality to light, 
and taught truth to an ignorant world. Lucern caliganti reddidit 
inundo, applied by Quintus Curtius to a Roman emperor, can be 
strictly applied to Christ, and to him alone. No prophet ever did 
this miracle before him, as none ever made the religious discoveries 
which he made. Our Saviour himself leads us to this observation, 
and sets his miracle in the same view, saying upon that occasion ; 1 
am the light of the world ; I am come into this world, that they which 
see not might see. He cured the deaf, and the dumb, and the lame, 
and the infirm, and cleansed the lepers, and healed all manner of 
sicknesses, to show at the same time that he was the physician of souls, 
which have their diseases corresponding in some manner to those of 
the body, and are deaf and dumb, and impotent, and paralytic, and 
leprous in the spiritual sense.—He fed the hungry multitudes by a 
miracle, which aptly represented his heavenly doctrine, and the Gos¬ 
pel preached to the poor, and which he himself so explains, saying; 
I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat 
of this bread, he shall live for ever. — He raised the dead, a miracle 
peculiarly suiting him, who at the last day should call forth all man¬ 
kind to appear before him; and therefore when he raised Lazarus, 
he uttered those majestic words : I am the resurrection and the life; he 
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. — He per¬ 
formed some miracles upon persons who were not of his own nation, 
and it was so ordered by Divine Providence, that these persons, 
as the centurion, the Syrophoenician woman, the Samaritan leper, 
should show a greater degree of faith and of gratitude than the Jews 
to whom the same favours were granted. This was an indication 
that the Gospel should be more readily received by the Gentiles than 
by die Jews, and this our Saviour intimates, saying, when he had 
commended the centurion’s faith, Many shall come from the east and 
from the west, from the north and from the south, and shall sit down 
with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but 
the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into utter darkness. 

Lastly, the two states of the Gadarene demoniac (whom Christ 
healed) — while under the influence of Satanic possession, and when 
restored to his right mind, respectively represent the two states of 
man, first, while living in a course of sinful practice ; and, secondly, 
when “ renewed in the spirit of his mind listening to the precepts 
of the Gospel, and walking in holiness and righteousness. It were 
easy to adduce other instances, but the preceding will suffice to 
establish the rule, especially as the spiritual import of the Christian 
miracles is particularly considered by every writer that has expressly 
illustrated them, but by no one with more sobriety than by Dr. Jortin, 
to whom we are indebted for most of the preceding illustrations. 1 

1 See Dr. Jortin’s Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, vol. i. pp. 267—275. (2d 
edit.) See also Dr. Dodd’s Discourses on the Miracles of the New Testament, 
and Dr. Collyer’s Lectures on Scripture Miracles. The Miracle of the Gadarene 
delivered, above cited, is explained in a very pleasing discourse by Mr. Jones. 
(Works, vol. iii. pp. 327—338.) 



( 580 ) 


[Part II. 


CHAPTER V. 

ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE OF SCRIP¬ 
TURE. 

FIGURATIVE language had its rise in the first ages of mankind: 
the scarcity of words occasioned them to be used for various pur¬ 
poses : and thus figurative terms, which constitute the beauty of 
language, arose from its poverty; and it is still the same in all un¬ 
civilised nations. Hence originated the metaphorical diction of the 
Indians, and the picture-writing of the Mexicans. 

The Bible, though too commonly regarded as containing only les¬ 
sons of morality and plain statements of facts, abounds with the most 
beautiful images, and with every ornament of which style is suscepti¬ 
ble. Yet these very ornaments are sometimes occasions of difficulty; 
for the books, which contain the revelations of God, being more an- 
tient than any others now extant, are written either in the language 
used by mankind in the first ages, or in a language nearly allied to it. 
The style of these writings, therefore, being very different from that 
of modern compositions, to interpret them exactly as they are usually 
expounded, is without doubt to wm-interpret them; accordingly, per¬ 
sons ignorant of the character of the primitive languages, have, by 
that method of interpretation, been led to imagine that the Scriptures 
contain notions unworthy of God: and thus have not only exposed 
these venerable writings to the scorn of infidels, but have also framed 
to themselves erroneous notions in religion. 1 To prevent similar 
mistakes, and, it is hoped, to render more delightful the study of the 
sacred volume by an explanation of its figurative language, is the de¬ 
sign of the present chapter. 

Figures, in general, may be described to be that language, which 
is prompted either by the imagination or by the passions. Rheto¬ 
ricians commonly divide them into two great classes, figures of words 
and figures of thought. Figures of words, are usually termed tropes, 
and consist in the advantageous alteration of a word or sentence, from 
its original and proper signification to another meaning; as in 2 Sam. 
xxiii. 3. The rock of Israel spake to me. Here the trope lies in the 
word rock, which is changed from its original sense, as intending one 
of the strongest works and most certain shelters in nature; and is 
employed*to signify that God, by his faithfulness and power, is the 
same security to the soul which trusts in him, as the rock is to the 
man who builds upon it, or flees for safety to its impenetrable recesses. 
So, in Luke xiii. 32. our Lord, speaking of Herod, says, Go ye, and 
tell that fox : here the word fox is diverted from its proper meaning, 
which is that of a beast of prey and of deep cunning, to denote a mis- 

1 Macknight on the Epistles, vol. iv. 4to., or vol. vi. 8vo. essay viii. sect. 1. On 
the right Interpretation of Scripture. The materials of this chapter are abridged 
chiefly from Professor Dathe's edition of Glassius’s Philologia Sacra, lib. ii. form¬ 
ing the whole second volume of that elaborate work. See also Jahn’s Enchiridion 
Hermeneuticse Generalis, cap. iv. De Tropis Recte Interpretandis, pp. 101—125., 
and Rambach’s Institutiones Hermeneuticae Sacrse, lib. iii. e. ii. De Adminiculis 
Rhetoricis, pp. 429—440. 





Ch. V.J On the Figurative Language of Scripture . 581 

chievous, cruel, and crafty tyrant; and the application of the term 
gives us a complete idea of his hypocrisy. 

The other class, called figures of thought, supposes the words to 
be used in their literal and proper meaning, and the figure to consist 
in the turn of the thought; as is the case in exclamations, apostro¬ 
phes, and comparisons, where, though we vary the words that are 
used, or translate them from one language into another, we may never¬ 
theless still preserve the same figure in the thought. This distinction, 
however, Dr. Blair remarks, is of no great use, as nothing can be built 
upon it in practice : neither is it always very clear. It is of little im¬ 
portance, whether we give to some particular mode of expresssion the 
name of a trope, or of a figure, provided we remember that figurative 
language always imports some colouring of the imagination, or some 
emotion of passion expressed in our style : and, perhaps, figures of 
imagination , and figures of passion , might be a more useful distribu¬ 
tion of the subject. 1 

Without regarding, therefore, the technical distinctions, which have 
been introduced by rhetorical writers, we shall first offer some hints 
by which to ascertain and correctly interpret the tropes and figures 
occurring in the sacred writings ; and in the following sections we shall 
notice the principal of them, illustrated by examples, to which a dili¬ 
gent reader may easily subjoin others. 


SECTION I. 

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE INTERPRETATION OF TROPES AND 

FIGURES. 

u A.LL languages are more or less figurative : but they are most so in 
their earliest state. Before language is provided with a stock of words, 
sufficient in their literal sense to express what is wanted, men are un¬ 
der the necessity of extending the use of words beyond the literal sense. 
But the application, when once begun, is not to be limited by the 
bounds of necessity. The imagination, always occupied with resem¬ 
blances, which are the foundation of figures, disposes men to seek for 
figurative terms, where they might express themselves in literal terms. 
Figurative language presents a kind of picture to the mind, and thus 
delights while it instructs: whence its use, though more necessary 
when a language is poor and uncultivated, is never wholly laid aside, 
especially in the writings of orators and poets.” 2 The language of 
the Scriptures is highly figurative, especially in the Old Testament. 
For this, two reasons have been assigned; one is, that the inhabitants 
of the East, naturally possessing warm and vivid imaginations, and 
living in a warm and fertile climate, surrounded by objects equally 
beautiful and agreeable, delight in a figurative style of expression: 
and as these circumstances easily impel their power of conceiving 
images, they fancy similitudes which are sometimes far fetched, and 


1 Blair’s Lectures, vol. i. p. 320. 

2 Bishop Marsh’s Lectures, part iii. p. 69. 







582 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch. 

which, to the chastised taste of European readers, do not always ap¬ 
pear the most elegant. The other reason is, that many of the books 
of the Old Testament are poetical: now it is the privilege of a poet 
to illustrate the productions of his muse, and to render them more 
animated, by figures and images drawn from almost every subject that 
presents itself to his imagination. Hence David, Solomon, Isaiah, 
and other sacred poets, abound with figures, make rapid transitions 
from one to another, every where scattering flowers, and adorning 
their poems with metaphors, the real beauty of which however can 
only be appreciated by being acquainted with the country in which the 
sacred poets lived, its situation and peculiarities, and also with the 
manners of the inhabitants, and the idioms of their language. 

The language of the New Testament, and especially the discourses 
and speeches of our Saviour, are not less figurative : “ and numerous 
mistakes have been made by a literal application of what w T as figura¬ 
tively meant. When our Saviour said to the Jews, ‘Destroy this 
temple, and in three days I will raise it up,’ the Jews understood the 
word temple in its natural sense, and asked him, Whether he could 
raise again in three days what had taken six-and-forty years to build ? 
They did not perceive that his language was figurative, and that he 
spake of the temple of his body.” 1 

In order, then, to understand fully the figurative language of the 
Scriptures, it is requisite, first , to ascertain and determine what is 
really figurative, lest we take that to be literal which is figurative, 
as the disciples of our Lord and the Jews frequently did, or lest we 
pervert the literal meaning of words by a figurative interpretation ; 
and, secondly , when we have ascertained what is really figurative, to 
interpret it correctly, and deliver its true sense. For this purpose, 
Ernesti has given the following general rule : — We may ascertain 
whether any expression is to be taken literally or figuratively, by re¬ 
calling the thing spoken of to its internal or external sense, that is, by 
seeking out its internal or external meaning ; and this may in general 
be readily ascertained. Hence it is, that in human compositions we 
are very rarely if ever in doubt, whether a thing be spoken literally 
or figuratively; because the thing or subject spoken of being human, 
and capable both of external and internal senses, may be recalled to 
a human sense, that is, to a sense intelligible by man. To under¬ 
stand this subject more particularly : 

1. The literal meaning of words must he retained, more in the histo¬ 
rical books of Scripture, than in those which are poetical. 

For it is the duty of an historian to relate transactions, simply as they happened ; 
while a poet has license to ornament his subject by the aid of figures, and to ren¬ 
der it more lively by availing himself of similes and metaphors. Hence we find, 
that the style of narration in the historical books, is simple and generally devoid 
of ornament, while the poetical books abound with images borrowed from various 
objects : not, indeed, that the historical books are entirely destitute of figurative 
expressions; for, whatever language men may use, they are so accustomed to 
this mode of expression, that they cannot fully convey their meaning in literal 
words, but are compelled by the force of habit to make use of such as are figura¬ 
tive. But we must not look for a figurative style in the historical books, and still 
less are historical narratives to be changed into allegories, and parables, unless 

1 Bishop Marsh’s Lectures, part iii. p. 69. 




V. Sect. I.] On the Interpretation of Tropes and Figures. 


583 


these be obviously apparent. Those expositors therefore violate this rule, for the 
interpretation of the Scriptures, who allegorise the history of the fall of man, 1 
and that of the prophet Jonah. 

2. The literal meaning of words is to be given up, if it be either im¬ 
proper, or involve an impossibility. 

Thus, in Jer. i. 18. God is represented as saying to the prophet, I have made 
thee a defenced city, and an iron ‘pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land. 
Now, it is obvious that these expressions are figurative : because, if taken literally, 
they involve an impossibility. The general import of the divine promise is, that 
God would defend Jeremiah against all open assaults and secret contrivances of 
his enemies, who should no more be able to prevail against him than they could 
against an impregnable wall or fortress. So the literal sense of Isa. i. 25. is 
equally inapplicable ; but in the following verse the prophet explains it in the 
proper words. 

3. The literal meaning of words is to be given up, if the predicate, 
being literally taken, be contrary to the subject. In Amos iv. 1. we read : 

Hear this word, O ye Kine of Bashan, 

That are on the mountain of Samaria; 

That oppress the poor, that crush the needy ; 

That say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink. 

Here the predicates, to oppress, crush, and say, (which, if the subject, the Kine 
of Bashan, be taken literally, do not answer to it, but may be accommodated to 
men,) evidently indicate that the expression is figurative ; and that by the Kine 
of Bashan, which place was famous for its flocks and herds, we are to understand 
the proud and luxurious matrons of Israel. In like manner, in Psal. xviii. 2. where 
God is termed a rock, a. fortress, a deliverer, a buckler, a horn of salvation, and 
a high tower, it is obvious that these predicates are metaphorically spoken of the 
Almighty. 

4. Where the literal meaning of ivords is contrary, either to common 
sense, to the context, to parallel passages, or to the scope of a passage, 
it must be given up. 

When, in Psalm xliv. 23. the Psalmist exclaims, Awake, why steepest thou ? 
The literal signification of sleeping cannot be retained ; because, as the sacred 
poet observes in another Psalm, He that keepeth Israel neither slumbereth nor 
sleepeth. Now matter of fact shows, that the assertion, contained in the passage 
last cited, is to be understood properly and literally, and consequently that the 
interrogation comprised in the xlivth Psalm must be taken figuratively. In Isa. 
iv. 4. that the expression, the filth of the daughters of Zion, must be understood 
figuratively, rs evident, not only from the scope of the passage, but also from the 
words immediately following, — the blood of Jemsalem, that is, the murder and 
bloodshed committed by the inhabitants of Jerusalem. To change day into night 
(Job xvii. 12.) is a moral impossibility, contrary to common sense, and must be a 
figurative expression. In Isa. i. 5, 6. the Jewish nation are described as being 
sorely stricken or chastised, like a man mortally wounded, and destitute both of 
medicine as well as of the means of cure. That this description is figurative, is 
evident from the context; for in the two following verses the prophet delineates 
the condition of the Jews in literal terms. 

The declaration of our Lord in Matt. xxvi. 26.28. may be cited as an illustration 
of the four preceding rules; as the interpreting of his words, literally, is not only 
repugnant to the sacred history, and involves an absurdity, but is also contrary to 
the context, to parallel texts, and to the scope of the passage. Yet it is upon a 
forced and literal construction of these words that the church of Rome has, ever 
since the thirteenth century, erected and maintained the doctrine of transubstan- 
tiation, or of the conversion of the bread and wine in the sacrament of the Lord’s 
Supper, into the actual body and blood of Christ! — A doctrine which is manifestly 
“ repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a sacra¬ 
ment, and hath given occasion to many superstitions.” 2 The expressions, u this 
is my body,” and u this is my blood,” (Matt. xxvi. 26. 28. and Mark xiv. 22. 24. 
compared with Luke xxii. 19, 20. and 1 Cor. xi. 24, 25.) by a well known metony¬ 
my, simply mean, “ this represents my body,” and “ this represents my blood. ”3 

1 See Gen. ii. and iii. 

2 Art. xxvii. of the Confession of the Anglican Church. 

3 Whitby in loc. Dr. Clarke’s Discourse on the Eucharist, pp. 50—54. The 
modern Jews employ a similar phraseology in celebrating the passover. The plate 



584 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture . [Part II. Ch. 

For, as these words were spoken before Christ’s body was broken upon the cross, 
and before his blood was shed, he could not pronounce them with the intention 
that they should be taken and interpreted literally by his disciples : nor do we find 
that they ever understood him thus. If the words of institution had been spoken 
in English or Latin at first, there might perhaps have been some reason for sup¬ 
posing that our Saviour meant to be literally understood. But they were spoken 
in Syriac ; in which, as well as in the Hebrew and Chaldee languages, there is 
no word which expresses to signify, represent , or denote. Hence it is that we 
find the expression it is, so frequently used in the sacred writings, for it represents 
or signifies. Thus, in Gen. xvii. 10. 23. 26. this is [represents] my covenant be¬ 
twixt me and thee. So, in Gen. xli. 26, 27. the seven good kine and the seven ill- 
fuvourcd /cine are [represent] seven years. Exod. xii. 11. This is [represents] 
the Lord's pussover. Dan. vii. 24. The ten horns are [denote] ten kings , 1 Cor. 
x. 4. That rock was [typified or represented] Christ. Matt. xiii. 38, 39. The 
Jield is [denotes] the world; the good seed is [represents] the children of the 
kingdom ; the tares are [represent] the children of the icicked one. The enemy 
is [represents] the Devil: the harvest is [signifies] the end of the world; the 
reapers are [represent] Angels. Similar modes of expression occur in Luke viii. 
9. xv. 26. Gr. and xviii. 36. Gr. John vii. 36. and x. 6. Acts x. 17. Gal. iv. 24. 
and Rev. i. 20. It is further worthy of remark, that we have a complete version 
of the Gospels in the Syriac language, which was executed at the commencement 
of the second if not at the close of the first century, and in them it is probable that 
we have the precise words spoken by our Lord on this occasion. Of the passage, 
Matt. xxvi. 26. 28. the Greek is a verbal translation : nor would any man even in 
the present day, speaking in the same language, use, among the people to whom 
it was vernacular, other terms to express, “ this represents my body,” and “ this 
represents my blood.” It is evident, therefore, from the context, from parallel 
passages, and the scope of the passage, that the literal interpretation of Matt. xxvi. 
26. 28. must be abandoned, and with it necessarily falls the monstrous doctrine of 
transub^tantiation. 

IV. It is not, however, sufficient to know whether an expression be 
figurative or not, but when this point is ascertained, another of equal 
importance presents itself; namely, to interpret metaphorical expres¬ 
sions by corresponding and appropriate terms. In order to accomplish 
this object, it is necessary that we inquire in what respects the thing 
compared , and that with which it is compared , respectively agree , and 
also in what respects they have any affinity or resemblance: for as a 
similitude is concealed in every metaphor, it is only by diligent study 
that it can be elicited, by carefully observing the points of agreement 

between the proper or literal and the figurative meaning. 

For instance, the prophetic writers, and particularly Ezekiel, very frequently 
charge the Israelites with having committed adultery and played the harlot, and 
with deserting Jehovah, their husband. From the slightest inspection of these 
passages, it is evident that spiritual adultery, or idolatry, is intended. Now the 
origin of this metaphor is to be sought from one and the same notion, in which 
there is an agreement between adultery and the worship paid by the Israelites to 
strange gods. That notion or idea is unfaithfulness ; by which, as a wife deceives 
her husband, so they are represented as deceiving God, and as violating their 
fidelity, in forsaking him. 

To explain this general remark more particularly, 

1. The sense of a figurative passage will be known , if the resemblance 
between the things or objects compared be so clear as to be immediately 
‘perceived. 

Thus, if any one be said to walk in the way of the ungodly , or of the godly, wo 
readily apprehend that the imitation of the conduct of those characters is the idea 
desig ned to be expressed. In like manner, when any one is compared to a lion, 

containing the passover-cakes being lifted up by the hands of the whole company, 
they unite in rehearsing : “ This is the bread of poverty and affliction which our 
fathers did eat in Egypt," &e. Allen’s Modern Judaism, p. 383. The doctrine 
of transubstantiation is confuted at length by the Bishop of Durham. (Tracts, pp„ 
355—.370.) See also Mr. Fletcher’s Lectures on Popery, pp. 139—16SL 




V. Sect. I.] On the Interpretation of Tropes and Figures. 585 

who does not immediately understand that strength of limbs, firmness of nerve, 
and magnanimity, are the ideas intended to be conveyed ? In Gen. xlix. 9. Judah 
is styled a lions whelp, and is compared to a lion and lioness couching, whom no 
one dares to rouse. The warlike character and the conquests of this tribe are 
here prophetically described : but the full force of the passage will not be perceived, 
unless we know that a lion or lioness, when lying down after satisfying its hunger, 
will not attack any person. Mr. Park has recorded an instance of his providential 
escape from a lion thus circumstanced, which he saw lying near the road, and 
passed unhurt.l 

2. As, in the sacred metaphors , one particular is generally the princi¬ 
pal thing thereby exhibited , the sense of a metaphor will be illustrated 
by considering the context of the passage in which it occurs. 

This rule particularly applies to images, which do not always convey one and 
the same meaning. Thus, light and darkness not only denote happiness and mi¬ 
sery, but also knowledge and ignorance ; which of these two significations is to be 
preferably adopted, the context alone can show. In Psalm, cxii. 4. we read: Unto 
the upright there ariseth light in the darkness. Bishop Horsley thinks that this 
is an allusion to what happened in Egypt, when the Israelites had light in all their 
dwellings in Goshen, while the rest of Egypt was enveloped in darkness. Be 
this, however, as it may, since the design of the psalm in question is, to show the 
blessedness of the righteous and the final perdition of the ungodly, the context 
will plainly indicate that happiness is the idea intended in this verse ; for, if we 
consult w'hat precedes, we shall find that temporal prosperity is promised to the 
righteous, and that, among the particulars in which his prosperity is stated to 
consist, it is specified that his seed shall be mighty upon earth ; the generation of 
the upright shall be blessed ; wealth and riches shall be in his house. On the con¬ 
trary, in Psai. xix. 8. where the commandment of Jehovah is said to enlighten the 
eyes, the idea of spiritual knowledge is intended, and this phrase corresponds to 
that in the preceding verse, where the testimony of Jehovah is said to make wise 
the simple. In the New T Testament, light and darkness are of frequent occurrence, 
and in like manner designate a state of knowledge and a state of ignorance. It 
may be sufficient to refer to Luke i. 78, 79. Acts xxvL-18. Rom. i. 21. Eph. iv. 
18. and v. 8. 1 Peter ii. 9. 

3. The sense of a metaphor is often known from the sacred writer's 
own explanation of it. 

In common with profane writers, whether in prose or verse, the inspired pen¬ 
men of the Old Testament frequently subjoin to metaphorical expressions, proper 
or literal terms, and thus explain the meaning intended to be conveyed by the 
images they employ. Thus, in Esther viii. 16. it is said that the Jews had light 
and gladness, and joij and hono7tr: here the explanatory synonymes mark the 
greatness of their prosperity and joy. In Psal. xcvii. 11. light is said to be sewn 
for the righteous : the exposition immediately follows, and joy for the upright in 
heart. In like manner, when the prophet Hosea complains that a spirit of lascivi¬ 
ousness had driven the Israelites astray (Hos. iv. 12.) he explains his meaning not 
only by subjoining that they forsook their God, but in the following verse he states 
in clear and literal terms the eagerness with which they committed idolatry ; upon 
the tops of the mountains they sacrifice, and upon the hills they burn incense, fyc. 

4. The sense of a figurative expression may also be ascertained by 
consulting parallel passages ; in which the same thing is expressed pro¬ 
perly and literally , or in tchich the same word occurs, so that the sense 
may be readily apprehended. 

The Hebrew prophets very often represent Jehovah as holding in his hand a 
cup, and presenting it to men who are compelled to drink it up to the very dregs. 
The intoxicated stagger, and, falling prostrate on the ground, shamefully vomit 
forth the wine they have drunk. This metaphor is frequently repeated in various 
ways by the sacred poets, who sometimes only glance at it, while at others they 
more fully illustrate it. Compare Obad. 16. Nahum iii. 11. Habak. ii. 16. Psal. 
lxxv. 8. Jer. xxv. 15—27. and Ezekiel xxiii. 33, 34. Now, if there were any doubt 
as to the meaning of the image occurring in these passages, its sense might be 
immediately ascertained by comparing the following parallel passage in Isaiah li. 
17—23 #J in which the prophet portrays Jerusalem as a woman so intoxicated as 

1 Travels in the Interior of Africa, p. 310. London, 1807, 8vo. or in Pinkerton’s 
Collection of Voyages, vol. xvi. p. 848. 

vol. ii. 74 




586 On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch. 

to be unable to stand ; but in which he introduces some words that clearly mark 
the sense of the metaphor. The passage itself, Bishop Lowth justly remarks, is 
poetry of the first order, sublimity of the highest proof. 

Rouse thyself, rouse thyself up; arise, O Jerusalem! 

Who hast drunken from the hand of Jehovah the cup of his fury ; 

The dregs of the cup of trembling thou hast drunken, thou hast wrung them out. 

There is not one to lead her, of all the sons which she hath brought lorth ; 

Neither is there one to support her by the hand, of all the sons which she hath 
educated. 

These two things have befallen thee ; who shall bemoan thee ? 

Desolation and destruction ; the famine and the sword ; who shall comfort thee ? 

Thy sons lie astounded; they are cast down : 

At the head of all the streets, like the oryx 1 taken in the toils; 

Drenched to the full with the fury of Jehovah, with the rebuke of thy God. 

Wherefore hear now this, O thou afflicted daughter; 

And thou drunken, but not with wine. 

Thus saith thy Lord Jehovah ; 

And thy God, who avengeth his people ; 

Behold I take from thy hand the cup of trembling ; 

The dregs of the cup of my fury: 

Thou shalt drink of it again no more. 

But I will put it into the hand of them who oppress thee; 

Who said to thee, bow down thy body, that we may go over: 

And thou layedst down thy back, as the ground: 

And as the street to them that pass along. 

Bishop Lowth’s Version. 

5. Consider History. 

A consideration of events recorded in history will very frequently show, how far 
and in what sense any expression is to be understood figuratively. Thus many 
and various things are said relative to the coming of Christ, his kingdom, govern¬ 
ment, and adversaries. Now history informs us, that he came, at the destruction 
of Jerusalem, to rule and govern far and wide by the spreading of the Gospel. In 
Matt. x. 34. Christ says that he came not to send peace on earth, but a sword. 
In the parallel passage, Luke xii. 51., he says that he came to cause division. The 
general import of these two passages is, that he would cause discord, and as it 
were sow dissensions. But in what sense could the blessed Saviour mean that 
he would cause discord? We learn from history, that in consequence of the dif¬ 
fusion of the Christian religion, nations and families became divided, so that some 
embraced it while others rejected it, and the former were persecuted by the latter 
on account of their Christian profession. A further exposition of this passage is 
given in p. 592. infra. 

6. Consider the connection 
passage. 

ration of the connection of doctrine, as well as of the context, will 
often lead to the origin of the figurative expressions employed by the sacred 
writers, and consequently enable us to ascertain their meaning: for very fre¬ 
quently some word precedes or follows, or some synonyme is annexed, that plainly 
indicates whether the expression is to be taken properly or figuratively. For in¬ 
stance, the words sin and iniquity , which are of such frequent occurrence in the 
law of Moses, are tropically put for punishment: and that the phrase, to bear one's 
sin or iniquity , is equivalent to the suffering of the punishment due to sin, appears 
from the synonymous expressions of being cut off from the people , and dying , 
being very often annexed. As in Levit. xix. 8. Exodus xxviii. 43. Numb. xiv. 
33. and xviii. 22. 32, &c. Thus also diseases and infirmities are called sins, be¬ 
cause they are considered as the punishment of sin, (as in Isa. liii. 4. with Matt, 
viii. 17.) the figure in which passage is subsequently explained in verse 5. Com¬ 
pare also verse 12. and Psalm xxxviii. 3—5. Ezek. xxxiii. 10. and John ix. 2, 3. 
So likewise in Gen. xxxi. 42. 53. the context manifestly shows that the fear of 
Isaac , and the fear of his father, are put for Jehovah, the object of fear and reve¬ 
rence. Once more ; when, in 1 Pet. ii. 5. 9. believers are said to be living stones, 
a spiritual house, and a royal priesthood, as these expressions are derived from 
the Old Testament, we must recur to Exodus xix. 5, 6. in order to ascertain the 
full extent of their privileges. The general tenor of the apostle’s address then 


figurative 
A conside 


of doctrine , as well as the context of the 


1 Or wild bull. 




587 


V. Sect. I.] On the Interpretation of Tropes and Figures. 

will be, “ Consider yourselves as forming part of a nobler temple than that of tho 
Jews, and in which a much more spiritual sacrifice is offered to God through 
Christ. — You, who have embraced the Gospel, are considered by God as inheri¬ 
tors of all those holy blessings which were promised to the Jews.” 

7 . In fixing the sense exhibited by a metaphor, the comparison ought 
never to be extended too far, or into any thing which cannot be properly 
applied to the person or thing represented. 

In other words, a comparison which ordinarily has but one particular view, ought 
not to be strained, in order to make it agree in other respects, where it is evident 
that there is not a similitude of ideas. For instance, in Isa. xl. 6. we read all flesh 
is grass ; that is, all mankind are liable to wither and decay, and will wither and 
decay like grass. But this metaphor would be tortured to a meaning, which, as 
it is foolish and absurd, we may be sure was never intended by the inspired writer, 
if we were to say that mankind were like grass, or were grass in colour or shape. 
What wild, and indeed what wicked abuse, would be made of the Scripture ex¬ 
pression concerning our Lord that he icill come as a thief in the night (Rev. xvi. 
15.) if we were not to confine the sense to the suddenness and surprisal of the 
thief, but should extend it to the temper and designs of the villain who breaks 
open houses in the night ?t Hence, though one metaphor may bo brought to signify 
many things with respect to some diflerent qualities, and diverse attributes, it 
nevertheless is very evident that that sense ought chiefly to be attended to, which 
appears to be designed by the Spirit of God, and which is obviously figured out 
to us in the nature, form, or use of the thing, from which the metaphor is taken. 
Thus, Christ is called a lion (Rev. v. 5.) because he is noble, heroic, and invinci¬ 
ble ; Satan, the grand adversary of souls, is called a lion in 1 Pet. v. 8. because 
he is rapacious, roaring, and devouring. And wicked men are termed lions in 
Job iv. 10, 11. and 2 Tim. iv. 17. because they are fierce, outrageous, and cruel to 
weaker men. 

8 . In the interpretation of figurative expressions generally, and those 
which particularly occur in the moral parts of Scripture, the meaning 
of such expressions ought to be regulated by those ivhich are plain and 
clear. 

All mere maxims, whether plain or figurative, must be understood in a manner 
consistent with possibility and the rules of humanity. The rule just stated is 
especially applicable to the right interpretation of Matt. v. 38—42., which enjoins 
us not to retaliate, but to bear small injuries, and Matt. vi. 19. 31. 34., which pro¬ 
hibits thoughtfulness about worldly concerns; which injunctions have been ob¬ 
jected to, as being impracticable general duties, inconsistent with natural instinct 
and law, and altogether destructive of society. If, however, the present rule be 
kept in view, and if we attend to the auditors and occasion of this discourse and 
to the context, the true sense of the precepts before us will be evident. 

The auditors were the multitude and the disciples of Christ, as appears from the 
context both preceding and following the sermon, and also from the conclusion of 
it.2 The multitude and the disciples were likewise the auditors of the same, or a 
similar, discourse recorded by Luke.3 They were both, therefore, intended for 
general instruction to all Christians. Particular appropriate instructions to his 
apostles, and to the seventy during his ministry, Christ gave to them when he 
sent them forth to preach and work miracles ; 4 and upon other occasions when 
they were in private.5 After Jesus had been delivering some similar instructions 
to those in the sermon on the mount, he tells Peter that they were designed for 
general use.6 Our Lord, therefore, probably delivered the precepts we are con¬ 
sidering in such language as was intelligible to the multitude. Now they, instead 
of viewing them as ‘ impracticable, inconsistent with natural law, and destructive 
of society,’ expressed their great admiration of the wisdom and dignity with which 
he taught. 7 

The occasion of this sermon was, towards the beginning of his ministry, to teach 
the true nature of the Messiah’s kingdom, to give laws suitable to it, and to cor- 


1 Numerous similar instances are given by Glassius, Philologia Sacra, (edit. Da- 
thii) lib. ii. pp. 918—921. 

2 Matt. v. 1.; vii. 24. 28.; viii. 1. 3 Luke vi. 17. 47—49.; vii. 1. 

4 Matt. x. Mark vi. 7—11. Luke ix. 1—6.; x. 1—24. 

5 Matt. xiii. 10—23. 36-—43. 51. John xiv.—xvii. 

6 Luke xii. 41—48. 7 Matt. vii. 28, 29. 



588 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch. 

rect the false and worldly notions of it, which the Jews in general entertained. 
They were filled with ideas of conquest, and revenge against the Romans, and of 
enriching themselves by plunder. But Christ, instead of countenancing a vindic¬ 
tive temper, enjoins lenity, forbearance, and kindness to those who injure us. 
These directions accord with the dispositions which, in the introduction to the 
sermon, he pronounces to be requisite to true happiness ; with his plain injunc¬ 
tions to forgive injuries j with the general strain of his discourses, with the con¬ 
dition of humanity; and with the context, both in Matthew and Luke. 1 2 3 4 5 * In con¬ 
nection with the precepts we are considering, in both Evangelists, ‘ doing to 
others as we would have them do to us,’ and ‘ doing good to our enemies, in imi¬ 
tation of our heavenly Father,’ are enjoined. These plain comprehensive rules 
are introduced as including the figurative ones here specified, which point out 
small injuries. And trivial instances are here specified, probably to point out the 
necessity of extending a lenient and forbearing disposition to small circumstances, 
in order to pervade every social sentiment and action with the temper of kindness, 
and to prevent a vindictive spirit from insinuating itself by the smallest avenues 
into our hearts. That these commands are not to be taken literally , as enjoining 
the particular actions here specified, but the disposition of forgiveness and bene¬ 
volence, is apparent, not only from its being usual in the East to put the action for 
the disposition ;2 and from the manner in which the precepts are introduced, but 
also from our Lord’s own conduct. For he mildly reproved the officer who struck 
him at his trial.3 Though he had before voluntarily given himself up to the 
persons who were sent to take him, bade Peter sheath the sword with which he 
had maimed one of them, and himself miraculously cured him: yet even here he 
gently reproved them for the manner in which they came to apprehend him.4 
These instances of Christ’s different behaviour under a variation of circumstances, 
show that he meant these precepts to be interpreted, according to the nature and 
reason of the case. He might express them the more strongly in order to contra¬ 
dict Ecclus. xii. 4, 5. 7., and similar improper sentiments and practices which at 
that time prevailed in Judaea. Neither did Paul act agreeably to the literal sense 
of the commands in question.5 

The injunction, not to lay up treasures upon earth , hut in heaven,& according 
to the Hebrew idiom, means, to prefer heavenly to earthly treasures. The reason 
given for it is, because, making earthly treasures the chief object, beclouds the 
moral eye, the guide of life, and is inconsistent with the love and service of God. 
Christ adds, ‘ therefore take no thought,’ or as it should be translated, { be not 
anxious about food, drink, or clothing,’ but with moderate care only about them, 
trust the providence of your heavenly Father. Let your first and chief care be to 
do your duty. Do not anxiously anticipate the cares of the morrow. All this 
accords with our best natural sentiments, and with the other instructions of our 
Lord. The auditors, and occasion of the discourse, together with the language 
and connection in which the directions are given, show these to be the ideas which 
Jesus meant to convey. 7 

Lastly, in explaining the figurative language of Scripture , care must 
he taken that we do not judge of the application of characters from 
modern usage; because the inhabitants of the East have very frequently 
attached a character to the idea expressed , widely different from that 
which usually presents itself to our views. 

The inhabitants of the East, from their lively imaginations, very often make 
use of far-fetched comparisons, and bring together things which, in our judgments, 
are the most dissimilar. Besides, since the Hebrew mode of living differed greatly 
from ours, and many things were in use and commended by the Israelites which 
to us are unknown, — we ought not to be surprised, if there be a very wide differ¬ 
ence subsisting between the metaphorical expressions of the Hebrews, and those 
which are familiar to us, and if they should sometimes appear harsh, and seem to 
convey a different meaning from that which we are accustomed to receive. Thus, 
in Deut. xxxiii. 17. the glory of the tribe of Joseph is compared to the firstling of 

1 Matt. v. 43—48. Luke vi. 27—36. 

2 Matt. v. 38. Luke xxii. 36.; xix. 13, 14. John xiii. 14, 15.17. 

3 John xviii. 22, 23. 

4 Mark xiv. 48. Matt. xxvi. 55. Luke xxii. 50—53. John xviii. 10. 

5 Acts xxiii. 3.; xvi. 37. 6 Matt. vi. 19—34. John vi. 27. 

' Blair on Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. Newcome’s Observations on Chtist, 

p. 30 part i. chap. 1. sect. 9. 




V. Sect. II.] On the Interpretation of Metonymies. 589 

a bullock; in like manner Amos (iv. 1.) compares the noble women of Israel to 
the kme of Bashan, and Hosea compares the Israelites to refractory kine that 
s ia e o the yoke. The patriarch Jacob, in his prophetic and valedictory address 
to his children (Gen. xlix. 14.) in which lie foretels their own and their descend¬ 
ants luture condition, terms Issachar a strong aS s , literally a strong-boned or 
strong-limbed ass. Now, if we take these metaphors according to their present 
sense, we shall greatly err. The ox tribe of animals, whose greatest beauty and 
strength lie in its horns, was held in very high honour among the antient nations, 
and was much esteemed on account of its aptitude for agricultural labour : hence 
Moses specially enacts, that the ox should not be muzzled while treading out the 
corn The ass tribe, in the East, is robust, and more handsome, as well as much 
quicker in its pace, than those animals are in our country : and therefore princes 
and persons of noble birth thought it no degradation to ride on asses. Hence, in 
the opinion of the inhabitants of the East, it is not reckoned disgraceful to be 
compared with oxen and asses; nor, if a metaphor be derived from those animals, 
do they intend to convey the same meaning which we should express by a figure 
drawn from them. In the comparison of the tribe of Joseph to the firstling of a 
bullock, the point of resemblance is strength and power. 1 In the comparison of 
the matrons of Samaria to the kine of Bashan, the point of resemblance is luxury 
and wantonness, flowing from their abundance ;2 in the comparison of Issachar to 
an ass, the point of resemblance is bodily strength and vigour ; for in that animal 
t le Hebrews were accustomed to regard strength, though we usually associate with 
it the idea of slowness and stupidity .3 


SECTION II. 

ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE METONYMIES OCCURRING IN 

THE SCRIPTURES. 

JSature of a Metonymy. — 1. Metonymy of the cause. —2. Metonymy 
of the effect. — 3. Metonymy oj the subject. — 4. Metonymy of the 
adjunct , in which the adjunct is put for the subject. 

A METONYMY is a trope, by which we substitute one appellation 
for another, 1 2 3 4 as the cause for the effect , the effect for the cause , the 
subject for the adjunct , or the adjunct for the subject. 

A Metonymy of the cause is used in Scripture, w r hen the person 
acting is put for the thing done, or the instrument by which a thing is 
done is put for the thing effected, or when a thing or action is put for 
the effect produced by that action. 

A Metonymy of the effect occurs, when the effect is put for the 
efficient cause. 

A Metonymy of the subject is, when the subject is put for the ad¬ 
junct, that is, for some circumstance or appendage belonging to the 

1 Mr. Brown has recorded a similar figure, which is in use at the present 
time at the court of the sultan of Dar Ffir, in Africa ; where, during public audi¬ 
ences, a kind of hired encomiast stands at the monarch’s right hand, crying out, 
<4 See the buffalo, the offspring of a buffalo , the bull of bulls, the elephant of supe¬ 
rior strength, the powerful Sultan Abdel-rachm&n-al-rashid !” Journey to Dar 
Fftr, chap. 1. in fine, or Pinkerton’s Voyages, vol. xv. p. 122. 

2 The propriety of this comparison will appear when it is recollected that Bashan 
was celebrated for the richness of its pastures, and its breed of cattle. (See Numb, 
xxxii. 4. Deut. xxxii. 14. and Ezek. xxxix. 18.) This region still retains its antient 
fertility ; and its robust, handsome, and independent inhabitants are such as we 
may conceive its antient possessors to have been. See Buckingham’s Travels in 
Palestine, pp. 325—329. 

3 Bauer, Herm. Sacra, pp. 206.210—213.216—221. Ernesti, Instit. Interp. Nor. 
Test. pp. 99—110. Morus in Ernest, tom. i. pp. 260—300 

4 Quinctilian, lib. viii. c. vi. tom. ii. p. 103. ed. Bipont. 





590 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch. 

subject: when the thing or place containing is put for the thing con¬ 
tained or placed ; when the possessor is put for the thing possessed; 
when the object is put for the thing conversant about it ; or when the 
thing signified is put for its sign. 

A Metonymy of the adjunct is, when that which belongs to any 
thing serves to represent the thing itself. 

1. METONYMY OF THE CAUSE. 


I. Frequently the person acting is put for the thing done. 

1. Thus, Christ is put for his Doctrine in Rom. xvi. 9. 

Salute Urbanus our helper in Christ , that is, in preaching the doctrines of the 
Gospel, he having been a fellow-labourer with the apostles. Similar instances 
occur in 1 Cor. iv. 15. and Eph. iv. 20. 

2. The Holy Spirit is put for his Effects : as in 2 Cor. iii. 6. 

Who hath made us able ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of 
the spirit; for the letter killeth , but the spirit giveth life. Here, by the word letter 
we are to understand the law written on tables of stone, which required perfect 
obedience, and which no man can perform because of the corruption of his na¬ 
ture ; therefore the law or letter killeth , that is, can pronounce nothing but a sen¬ 
tence of condemnation and eternal death against man. But by the spirit is 
intended the saving doctrine of the Gospel, which derives its origin from the Holy 
Spirit, the Comforter, who teaches or instructs, and prepares man for eternal life. 
In the same sense, Jesus Christ says, John vi. 63. The words that I speak, they are 
spirit and life, that is they are from the Spirit of God, and, if received with true 
faith, will lead to eternal life. A similar mode of expression occurs in Rom. viii. 2. 
Here, by the law of the spirit of life is meant the doctrine of the Gospel, because 
it is a peculiar instrument of the operation of the Holy Spirit; who, by a divine 
efficacy, changes the heart, and writes his law there, which now is not only inscrib¬ 
ed on tablets or parchments, but also penetrates the very heart of man, and 
quickens the soul to spiritual motions and actions.! 

3. The Holy Spirit is put for His Operations: 

For regeneration, Psal. li. 10. Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27. compared with Eph. iv. 23 
Rom. xii. 2. which passages imply nothing less than a radical change, both ex¬ 
ternal or moral, and internal or spiritual, wrought in the soul by the influence of 
divine grace. 

4. The Holy Spirit is put for the Influences or Gifts of the Spirit , 
as in 1 Thess. v. 19. Quench not the Spirit. 

The similitude is borrowed from the antient altar of burnt-offering, in which 
the fire was to be kept continually burning. The Holy Spirit is here represented 
as a fire, because it is His province to enlighten, quicken, purify, and refine the 
soul, and to excite and maintain every pious and devout affection. The Christian 
therefore must not quench the sacred flame of the Holy Spirit in any of his influ¬ 
ences by committing any act, uttering any word, or indulging any sensual or 
malevolent disposition, which may provoke Him to withdraw both His gifts and 
graces. Neither must the Christian extinguish the gifts of the Spirit, but keep 
them in constant exercise, as love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, good¬ 
ness, fidelity, meekness, &c. So, in 2 Tim. i. 6. Saint Paul’s advice, Stir up the 
gift of God which is in thee, means the gift of the Holy Spirit. See also 1 Tim. 
iv. 14. , 

Again, when our Saviour u exhorts us to ask with confidence for spiritual aid, 
appealing to the conduct of men, he adds, “ If ye then, being evil, know how to 
give good gifts unto your children, hoio much more shall your heavenly Father 
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ?" (Luke xi. 13.) By which he would 
have us distinctly understand that if man, with all his imperfections and all his 
unkindness, can yet be tender-hearted to his children, and seasonably bestow on 
them beneficial gifts, much more will God, who is perfection and benignity itself, 
most assuredly impart the blessing of his Holy Spirit to those who earnestly and 
anxiously implore divine help, — that help which can illumine what is dark ; can 
strengthen what is irresolute ; can restrain what is violent; can comfort what is 


1 Flaccus Illyricus, in Clav. Script, pars 1. col. 1162. 





V. Sect. II.] On the Metonymies occurring in the Scriptures. 591 

afflicted ; in such a manner, and to such a degree, as may be requisite for the soul 
when struggling under different but difficult temptations ; that help, without which 
man, unassisted, cannot persevere in rectitude of thought and action.” 1 

5. Spirit also denotes a Divine Poiocr or energy, reigning in the 
soul of the regenerate man. 

Compare Luke i. 46, 47. with 1 Thess. v. 23.; and for other places, where the 
word spirit is put for the new man and spiritual strength , see Isa. xxvi. 9. Ezek. 
xviii. 31. Matt. xxvi. 41. Rom. i. 9. 1 Cor. v. 3—5. and vi. 20. Gal. iii. 3, &c. 

6. More especially the Holy Spirit is put for those peculiar ana 
extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit, which, for various uses, whether 
public or private, spiritual or temporal, are bestowed on man. 

Thus, in 2 Kings ii. 9. Elisha earnestly requests of Elijah, Let a double por¬ 
tion of thy spirit rest upon me; that is, an extraordinary measure of the gifts of 
prophecy, and of power in working miracles, which are here called the portion 
of the spirit. See also Numb. xi. 17. 25. Dan. v. 12. The prophet Daniel had a 
more excellent spirit, that is, a more eminent gift of the spirit, more knowledge, 
and more understanding. 

7. The Spirit is also put for revelations, visions, or ecstasies, 
whether really from the Iloly Spirit, or pretended to be so. 

Eaek. xxxvii. 1. The hand of the Lord carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, 
that is, by a vision or rapture of spirit. 2 Thess. ii. 2. That ye be not shaken in 
mind — neither by spirit , &c. that is, by revelations pretending to come from the 
spirit. Rev. i. 10. / was in the spirit, that is, in an ecstasy and peculiar revela¬ 
tion of the Holy Spirit, as is described in Rev. iv. 2. xvii. 3. xxi. 10. and 2 Cor. 
xii. 2. To this head may also be referred those passages, where spirit is put for 
doctrines, whether really revealed or pretended to be so : as in 1 Tim. iv. 1. where, 
by seducing spirits are intended false teachers who pretend to receive their doc¬ 
trine from the Spirit of God; and 1 John iv. 1. where spirit is put for doctrine 
pretended to be received by the false teachers from God. 

8. Parents or Ancestors are put for their Posterity; this mode of 
speaking is of very frequent occurrence in the sacred writings. 

Thus Shem, Japhet, and Canaan, are put for their posterity, in Gen. ix. 27. Ja¬ 
cob and Israel for the Israelites, in Exod. v. 2. Numb, xxiii. 21. xxiv. 5. 17. Deut. 
xxxiik 28. 1 Kings xviii. 17, 18. Psal. xiv. 7. and cxxxv. 4. Amos vii. 9. in 
which verse Isaac, as in verse 16. the House of Isaac , means the same people. 
The seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, (of whom, according to the JUsh, Christ 
came, Rom. ix. 5.) is put for Christ himself, in Gen. xii. 3. xviii. 18. xxii. 18. xxvi. 
4. xxviii. 14. and Gal. iii. 8. as is evident by comparing Acts iii. 25. and Gal. iii. 
14.16. In 2 Chron. xxv. 24. Obededom is put for his descendants, who, it appears 
from 1 Chron. xxvi. 15. were porters and keepers of the sacred treasures. In 
Ezek. xxxiv. 23. David is put for David's Lord, the illustrious Messiah. 

9. The Writer or Author is put for his Book or Work : 

As in Luke xvi. 29. xxiv. 27. Acts xv. 21. xxi. 21. and 2 Cor. iii. 15. in which 
passages Moses and the Prophets respectively mean the Mosaic and Prophetic 
Writings , composed by them under divine inspiration, and transmitted to posterity 
as the rule of faith. 

To this first species of metonymy may be appropriately referred, 
first, all those passages where the sold of man is put for his life , 
which is its effect, as in Gen. ix. 5. (Heb.) Exod. iv. 19. (Heb.) Lev. 
xvii. 11. Judg. ix. 17. (Heb.) 1 Sam. xxvi. 21. 1 Kings ii. 23. (Heb.) 
2 Kings vii. 7. (Heb.) Psal. xxxiii. 19. xxxviii. 12. (Heb.) lvi. 13. 
Jer. xlv. 5. (Heb.) Lam. v. 9. (Heb.) Jonah ii. 6. (Heb.) Matt. ii. 20. 
(Gr.) x. 39. (Gr.) xvi. 25. (Gr.) xx. 28. (Gr.) John x. 17. (Gr.) xiii. 
37, 38. (Gr.) xv. 13. (Gr.) &c. Secondly, those passages also, where 
the soul is put for the will, affections, and desires, which are its ope¬ 
rations, as in the original of the following passages, where the me¬ 
tonymy is correctly rendered in our authorised version, viz. Gen. 
xxiii. 8. Exod. xxiii. 9. Deut. xxiii. 24. Psal. xvii. 10. xxvii. 12. xii. 

1 Bishop Huntingford’s Charge, entitled “ Preparation for the Holy Order of Dea¬ 
cons,” p. 14. 



592 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch. 

2. cv. 22. Prov. xxiii. 2. and John x. 24. (literally, hold our soul in 
suspense). And thirdly, all such passages, where the spirit (which 
is frequently synonymous with the soul of man) is used to express the 
motions or affections of the soul, whether good or evil. Examples 
of this kind occur in Gen. xlv. 27. Numb. xiv. 24. Judg. viii. 3. where, 
in the Hebrew, anger , is soul , as is heart in Exod. xxiii. 9. 2 Chron. 
xxi. 16. xxxvi. 22. Psal. lxxvi. 12. Ixxvii. 3. Prov. i. 23. xviii. 14. 
xxix. 1. Eccles. vii. 9. Isa. xxix. 10. xxxvii. 7. Jer. li. 11. Ezek. xiii. 

3. Dan. v. 20. Hag. i. 14. Hab. i. 11. Rom. xi. 8. (Gr.) 1 Cor. ii. 12. 
(Gr.) &c. 

II. Sometimes the cause or instrument is put for the thing effected 
by it. Thus, w 

1. The Mouth, the Lips , and the Tongue , are respectively put for 
the Speech. 

Thus, Deut. xvii. 6. by the mouth of tico or three icitnesses (that is, their speech 
or testimony) shall he that is xvorthy of death be put to death. So Deut. xix. 15. 
Matt, xviii. 1G. — Prov. xxv. 15. A soft tongue brcaketh the bone ; that is, a mild 
and courteous way of speaking softens the hardest heart and most obstinate reso¬ 
lutions. Similar instances occur in Psal. v. 9. Prov. x. 20. Jer. xviii. 18. Acts ii. 

4. 11. Tongue is also put for the gift of foreign languages , in Mark xvi. 17. and 
1 Cor. xiv. 19. Gen. xi. 1. The whole earth urns of one language, (Heb. lip,) and 
of one speech (Heb. icord). In the book of Proverbs, the lip is very frequently 
put for speech. See Prov. xii. 19. 22. xiv. 7. xvii. 7. xviii. 7. 20. Job xii. 20. (Mar¬ 
ginal renderings.) 

2. The Mouth is also put for Commandment in Gen. xlv. 21. (mar¬ 
ginal rendering) (Heb. mouth). Numb. iii. 16. 39. xx. 24. xxvii. 14. 
Deut. i. 26. 43. and in Prov. v. 3. the Palate (marginal rendering) is 
also put for Speech. 

3. The Throat is also put for Loud SpcaJcing, in Isa. lviii. 1. Cry 
aloud (Heb. with the throat). 

4. The Hand is ordinarily put for its Writing, 1 Cor. xvi. 21. Col. 
iv. 18. 

By the same form of speech also Labour is put for Wages, or the fruit of la¬ 
bour, Ezek. xxiii. 29.; and things tlmt are sold, for the price at which they are 
sold. Thus, in Matt. xxvi. 9. it is said the ointment might have been sold for so 
much and given to the poor. See likewise Exod. xxi. 21. The sword is put for 
war or slaughter. Exod. v. 3. Lev. xxvi. G. Psal. cxliv. 10. Isa. i. 20. Jer. xliii. 11. 
Rom. viii. 35. 

5. The Sword, Famine, and Pestilence , likewise respectively denote 
the effects of those scourges. 

Ezek. vii. 15. The sioord is without, and the pestilence and the famine icithin ; 
that is, death and ruin are every where scattered by those terrible agents. So, in 
Matt. x. 34. I came not to send peace (or temporal prosperity) but a sword ; that 
is, variance, death, and persecution. Our Saviour's meaning is, not that his 
coming was the necessary and proper cause of such unhappiness, but that so it 
should eventually happen on his appearance in our nature ; because his kingdom 
was of another world, and consequently opposed to all the designs and interests 
of the present world. This remark will satisfactorily explain Luke xii. 51—53., 
where Jesus foretels the effects that would follow from preaching the Gospel. 


2. METONYMY OF THE EFFECT. 


III. Sometimes , on the contrary , the effect is put for the cause. 

Thus, God is called Salvation, that is, the author of it, Exod. xv. 2., our life and 
the length of our days, Deut. xxx. 20., our strength, Psal. xviii. 1. So Christ is 
termed Salvation, Isa. xlix. 6. Luke ii. 30. — Life, John xi. 25. and the resurrec¬ 
tion in the same place. See also Col. iii. 4. Peace, Eph. ii. 14. So he is said to be 
made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, that is, the 
author of all these, in 1 Cor. i. 30. So, in Luke xi. 14. compared with Matt. ix. 




V. Sect. II.] On the Metonymies occurring in the Scriptures. 593 

32. a dumb devil or demon is one that made the person whom he possessed, dumb. 
In like manner, the Gospel is called the power of God unto salvation , in Rom. i. 
16., that is, the instrument of his power. Faith is called our Victory , because by 
it we overcome the world, 1 John v. 4. That which is the means of sustaining or 
preserving life is called our life, Deut. xxiv. 6. or our living, Mark xii. 44. Luke 
viii. 43. and xv. 12. So, glad tidings , are such as make glad, Rom. x. 15. A 
lively hope is that which revives or enlivens, 1 Pet. i. 3. — Wine is a mocker, and 
strong drink is raging, Prov. xx. 1., that is, they make men such. There is the 
same form of speech likewise in Ileb. vi. 1. and ix. 14. where dead icorks are 
deadly works, that is, such as make men obnoxious to death. Deut. xxx. 15. / 
have set before thee this day life and death , that is, have clearly shewed thee what 
is the cause and original of each. John iii. 19. This is the condemnation, that is, 
the cause of it. Rom. vii.7. Is the laic sin? that is,the cause of sin, in itself. 
Rom. viii. 6. To be carnally minded is death, that is, its cause, but to be spiritually 
minded is life and peace, or the cause of those blessings. A like expression occurs 
in Rom. vi. 23. Bread is put for the seed of which bread is made, Eccl. xi. 1. Shame 
is put for that which is the cause of it, or the idols worshipped by the Israelites 
which proved their shame. Jer. iii. 24. PIos. ix. 10. 


3. METONYMY OF THE SUBJECT. 

IV. Sometimes the subject is put for the adjunct, that is, for some 
circumstance or appendage belonging to or depending upon the subject. 

Thus, the heart is frequently used for the will and affections, as in 

Deut. iv. 29. vi. 5. x. 12. Psal. ix. 1. xxiv. 4. li. 10. lxii. 10. cv. 25. cxix. 10. 32. 
112. Prov. xxi. 1. xxiii. 26. Acts iv. 32. For the understanding, mind, thoughts, 
and memory, Deut. iv. 39. vi. 6. xi. 16. 18. xxix. 4. 1 Sam. i. 13. 2 Chron. vi. 8. 
Job xxii. 22. Psal. iv. 4. lxiv. 6. Prov. xix. 21. xxviii. 26. and Luke ii. 51. For the 
conscience, 2 Sam. xxiv. 10. 2 Kings xxii. 19. Eccles. vii. 22. and 1 John iii. 20. 
and for the desires of the soul expressed in prayer, in Psal. lxii. 8. Lam. ii. 19. 
The reins are also frequently put for the thoughts, as in Psal. vii. 9. xxvi. 2. li. 6. 
lxxiii. 21. Prov. xxiii. 16. Jer. xi. 20. xvii. 10. and xx. 12. So, the new or inward 
man is put for the condition or state of a regenerated soul, to which the old or 
outward man is opposed. See Rom. vi. 6. and xii. 2. Eph. iv. 22. 24. 2 Cor. v. 17. 

V. Sometimes the place or thing containing denotes that which is 
contained in such place or thing. 

Thus, the earth and the world are frequently put for the men that dwell there¬ 
in, as in Gen. vi. 11. Psal. xevi. 13. Hab. ii. 14. John i. 29. iii. 16, 17. xv. 18. and 
xvii. 21. 1 Cor. vi. 2. as also in very many passages. In like manner, countries, 

islands, cities, and houses are respectively put for their inhabitants, Gen. xii. 57. 
Psal. c. 1. cv. 38. Isa. xii. 1. 5. xlii. 4. xliii. 3. li. 5. Matt. iii. 5. viii. 34. xi. 21, 22, 
23. Gen. vii. 1. Exod. i. 21. 2 Sam. vii. 11. 1 Chron. x. 6. Acts x. 2. 1 Tim. iii. 4. 
Heb. xi. 7. So the houses of Levi and Israel denote their several families. Exod. 
ii. 1. Ezek. iii. 1. The basket, Deut. xxviii. 5. 17. is the fruit of the basket; a 
table, Psal. xxiii. 5. lxix. 22. and lxxviii. 19. denotes the meat placed on it; the 
cup, the wine or other liquor in it, Jer. xlix. 12. Ezek. xxiii. 32. Matt. xxvi. 27, 
28. Mark xiv. 23. Luke xxii. 17. 20. 1 Cor. x. 16. 21. and xi. 26, 27.; ships, Isa. 
xxiii. 1. 14. the men in them ; the grave, those who are buried in it, as in Isa 
xxxviii. 18. compared with verse 19. and Psalms vi. 5. and cxv. 17. In like man 
ner heaven is put for God himself, in Psal. lxxiii. 9. Matt. xxi. 25. Luke xx. 4 
and xv. 18. 

VI. Sometimes the possessor of a thing is put for the thing possessed. 

Thus, Deut. ix. 1. To possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, means 
jo possess the countries of the Gentiles. See also Psal. lxxix. 7. where Jacob 
means the land of the Israelites. In like manner, the name of God is put for the 
oblations made to him. Josh. xiii. 33. with verse 14. Josh, xviii. 7. and Deut. x. 9. 
Christ is put for his church (or believers, who are termed his peculiar people, Tit. 
ii. 14. 1 Pet. ii. 9.) in Matt. xxv. 35. explained in verse 40. 1 Cor. xii. 12.; and the 
afflictions of Christ are put for the afflictions of the faithful, in Col. i. 24. 

VII. Frequently the object is put for that which is conversant about it. 

Thus glory and strength are put for the celebration of the divine glory and 

strength, in Psal. viii. 2. explained by Matt. xxi. 16.; see also Psal. xevi. 7, 8. A 
burthen is a prediction of divine judgments or punishment about to be inflicted on 
dinners. Isa. xiii. 1. xv. 1. xvii. 1. xix. 1. xxi. 1. xxii. 1. and xxiii. 1. Promise is 

vol. ii. 75 




594 On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II . Ch. 

put for faith which receives the gracious promise of God, in Rom. ix. 8. and Gai 

iv. 28. Sin denotes a sacrifice for sin or sin-offering, Gen. iv. 7. Exod. xxix. 14. 
(Heb. sin) Lev. x. 17. (Heb. sin ) Hos. iv. 8. Isa. liii. 10. (Heb. sin) and 2 Cor 

v. 21. 1 

VIII. Sometimes the thing signified is put for the sign. 

So, the strength of God, in 1 Chron. xvi. 11. and Psal. cv. 4. is the ark, which 
was a sign and symbol of the divine presence and strength, whence it is expressly 
called the ark of the strength of God in Psal. cxxxii. 8. Thus in Ezek. vii. 2/ 
desolation denotes a mourning garment as a token of it. 

IX. When an action is said to he done, the meaning frequently is, 

that it is declared or permitted, or foretold that it shall he done. 

Thus, in the original of Lev. xiii. 3. the priests shall look on him and. pollute 
him ; in our version, shall pronounce him unclean or polluted. The original of 
Ezek. xiii. 23. is, by quickening or enlivening him ; in our translation it is ren¬ 
dered by promising him life. So Gen. xli. 13. me he restored, means, foretold or 
declared that I should be restored. Jer. iv. 10. Ah Lord God ! thou hast greatly 
deceived this people, that is, hast permitted them to be deceived by their false pro¬ 
phets. Ezek. xiii. 19. to slay the souls which should not die, denotes the prophe¬ 
sying falsely that they should die. So Jer. i. 10. / have set thee over the nations 
to root out and to pull down, that is, to prophesy or declare them pulled down. 
Ezek. xx. 25, 20. I gave them statutes ichich were not good, and polluted them in 
their own gifts, that is, I gave them up to themselves, and permitted them to re¬ 
ceive such statutes of the heathen, and suffered them to pollute themselves in 
those very gifts ; which, by the law, they were to dedicate to my service, and dealt 
with them accordingly. Hos. vi. 5. I have hewn them by the prophets, or foretold 
that they should be hewn or slain. So in Acts x. 15. the original rendering is, 
what God hath cleansed, that do not thou pollute (compare Matt. xv. 11.), that is,, 
its in our version, call not thou common or defiled. Hence in Matt. xvi. 19. what¬ 
soever thouslialt bindorlooseon earth, &c. means whatsoever thou shalt declare to 
be my will on earth shall be confirmed in heaven. And in like manner the mean¬ 
ing of John xx. 23. is, whose sins ye shall declare to be remitted or retained by the 
word of God. 2 Matt. vi. 13. lead, us not into temptation , that is, suffer us not to be 
overcome by temptation. 

X. Further, an action is said to he done, when the giving of an oc¬ 
casion for it only is intended. 

Thus, the literal rendering of Jer. xxxviii. 23. is, thou shalt burn this city, that 
is (as translated in our version), shall cause it to be burnt. Hence Jeroboam is re¬ 
corded in 1 Kings xiv. 16. to have made Israel to sin, that is, to have occasioned 
it, by his example and command. In Acts i. 18. Judas is said to have purchased 
afield, that is, occasioned it to be purchased by the money which he cast down in 
the temple. Rom. xiv. 15. destroy not him, that is, be not the cause or occasion 
of his destruction. And in 1 Cor. vii. 16. ivlicther thou shalt save thy husband, 
means, whether thou shalt be the cause of his conversion, and consequently of his 
salvation. 


4 METONYMY OF THE ADJUNCT, IN WHICH THE ADJUNCT IS 

PUT FOR THE SUBJECT. 


XI. Sometimes the accident, or that which is additional to a thing, 
is put for its subject in kind. 

The abstract is put for the concrete. So grey hairs (Heb. hoariness, or grey¬ 
headedness) in Gen. xiii. 38. denote me, who am now an old man, grey and decre¬ 
pit with age. So also, dmjs, and multitude of years, in Job xxxii. 7. are old men. 
The strength of Israel, 1 Sam. xv. 29. is the strong God of Israel. Circumcision 
and uncircumcision, In Rom. iii. 30. signify the circumcised and uncircumcised. 


1 Dr. A. Clarke, in his commentary on this verse, has adduced one hundred and 
right instances from the Old and New Testaments, in which the word sin is put 
ibr a sin-offering: Dr. Whitby (in loc.) has specified only twenty-two examples. 

2 On a forced interpretation of these two clauses (among' others) has the papal 
rhurch erected the dangerous notion that priests may grant particular absolution 
to individuals. See it briefly but ably confuted in Bishop Porteus’s Confutation of 
tits Errors of the Church of Rome, pp. 44, 45. 





V . Sect. II.] On the JMetonymies occurring in the Scriptures. 595 

The election , Rom. xi. 7. is the elect. Abomination, in Gen. xlvi. 34. and Luke xvi. 
15. is an abominable thing. A curse , Gal. iii. 13. is accursed. Light and darkness , 
Eph. v. 8. denote the enlightened and the ignorant. Sin is put for sinners in Isa. 
i. 18. The meaning of which passage, Glassius remlarks, is, that sinners, by having 
their iniquities pardoned, shall be cleansed and purified from the guilt and conderm 
nation of sin : for sin, in itself, cannot be made clean. 

XII. Sometimes the thing contained is put for the thing containing 
it, and a thing deposited in a place for the place itself 

Thus, Gen. xxviii. 22. means this place, where I have erected a pillar of stone, 
shall be God’s house. Josh. xv. 19. Springs of water denote some portion of land, 
where there may be springs. Matt. ii. 11. Treasures are the cabinets or other ves¬ 
sels containing them. A similar expression occurs in Psal. cxxxv. 7. Outer dark¬ 
ness, in Matt. xxii. 13. means hell , the place of outer darkness. Matt. xxv. 10. 
Marriage denotes the place where the nuptial feast was to be celebrated. Mark 
iii. 11. Unclean spirits are men possessed by them. In Luke vi. 12. and Acts xvi. 
13. 16. Prayer evidently means the place of prayer.l Rev. viii. 3. Golden in¬ 
cense , XiSavcorov, means a golden censer, and so it is rendered in our authorised 
English version. 

XIII. Time is likewise put for the things which are done or happen 
m time. 

This is to be understood both of the word time itself, and of names expressing 
portions of time, whether divided naturally or by human institution. Thus, in 1 
Chron. xii. 32. xxix. 30. Esth. i. 13. 2 Tim. iii. 1. Deut. iv. 32. Markxiv.35. and 
John xii. 27. times, day, and hour respectively denote the transactions that took 
place in them. Again, days are said to be good or evil, according to the events 
which happen in them, as in Gen. xlvii. 9. Eccles. vii. 10. and Eph. v. 16. ; and 
that is called a person's day, in which any thing notorious or remarkable befals 
him, whether it be good, as in Hos. i. 11. and Luke xix. 42. 44., or evil, as in Job 
xviii. 20. Psal. cxxxvii. 7. Ezck. xxii. 4. Obad. 12. Micah vii. 4. Psal. xxxvii. 13. 
The days of the Lord, in Job xxiv. 1. Isa. xiii. G. Joel i. 15. and ii. 1, 2. Amos v. 
20. Zeph. i. 14—1G. 18. and ii. 2. respectively denote the days when divine pu¬ 
nishments were to be inflicted ; and hence, by way of eminence, the day of the 
Lord is appropriated to the day of judgment, in Joel ii. 31. Acts ii. 20. 1 Cor. i. 8. 
2 Thess. ii. 2. &c. In the same manner, the harvest and summer are put for the 
fruits gathered at those seasons, Deut. xxiv. 19. Isa. xvi. 9. [Jer. xl. 10. Amos 
viii. 1, 2. 2 Sam. xvi. 2. in which three passages, as also in Isa. xvi. 9. the Hebrew 
is only summer .] And also the passover is put for the lamb which was slain and 
eaten on that solemn festival. Exod. xii. 21. 2 Chron. xxx. 17. Mark xiv. 12. 14. 
Matt. xxvi. 17—19. Luke xxii. 8.11.13.15. 

XIV. In the Scriptures, things are sometimes named or described 
according to appearances , or to the opinion formed of them by men , 
and not as they are in their own nature. 

Thus Hananiah, the opponent of Jeremiah, is called a prophet, not because he 
was truly one, but was reputed to be one, Jer. xxviii. 1. 5. 10. In Ezek. xxi. 3. the 
righteous mean those who had the semblance of piety, but really were not right¬ 
eous. So in Matt. ix. 13. Christ says, I am not come to call the righteous, (that is, 
such as are so in the own estimation) but sinners to repentance. See further Luke 
xviii. 9. and Rom. x. 2, 3. &c. 

In Luke ii. 48. Joseph is called the father of Christ, and in v. 41. is mentioned 
as one of his parents, because he was reputed to be his father, as the same evan¬ 
gelist states in ch. iii. 23.2 Compare John vi. 42, &c. The preaching of the Gos¬ 
pel is in 1 Cor. i. 21. termed foolishness ; not that it was really such, but was ac- 


1 IT poaev^v- From 1 Macc. vii. 37. it appears that the Jews had a similar place 
of prayer at Mizpah. See Wolfius, RosenmUller, Schindler, and others on Luke 
vi. 12. 

2 A similar mode of speech occurs in the Iliad, where Homer repeatedly calls 
Menelaus and Agamemnon, the sons of Atreus, though they were in reality the 
.children of his son, Plisthenes, and consequently the grandchildren of Atreus. In 
consequence of their father’s death, while they were very young, they were edu¬ 
cated by their grandfather ; who, from his attention to them, was universally ac¬ 
knowledged their protector and father. Hence arose their appellation of Atridte, or 
sons of Atreus. 



596 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch 

counted to be so by its opponents. In like manner false teaching is called another 
Gospel in Gal. i. 6. and Epimenides, the Cretan philosopher, is termed a prophet 
in Tit. i. 12. because his countrymen regarded him as such, and after his death 
offered sacrifices to him.l 

His enemies shall lick the dust , Psal. Ixxii. 9. means, that they shall prostrate 
themselves so low towards the earth, that they shall seem to lick the dust. Simi¬ 
lar expressions occur in Isa. xlix, 23. Micah vii. 17. &c. The phrase, coming 
from afar country and from the end of heaven , in Isa. xiii. 5. is taken from the 
opinion which antiently obtained, and was founded on the appearance to the eye, 
viz. that the heavens are not spherical but hemispherical, ending at the extremities 
of the earth, upon which the extremities of heaven appear to rest. Hence the 
ends of the earth denote the remotest places. The same phrase occurs in Deut. 
iv. 32. and xxx. 4. Neh. i. 9. Matt. xxiv. 31. 

XV. Sometimes the action or affection, ivhich is conversant about 

any object, or placed upon it, is put for the object itself. 

Thus, the Senses are put for the objects perceived by them, as hearing for doc¬ 
trine or speech, in Isa. xxviii. 9. (marg. rend.) and liii. 1. (Heb.) In John xii. 38. 
and Rom. x. 16. the Greek word aKotj, translated report, literally means hearing, 
and so it is rendered in Gal. iii. 2. 5. Hearing is also put for fame or rumour in 
Psal. cxii. 7. (Heb.) Ezek. vii. 26. Obad. 1. Hab. iii. 2. (Heb.) Matt. iv. 24. xiv. 1. 
and xxiv. 6. Mark i. 28. and xiii. 7. &c. The Eye, in the original of Numb. xi. 7. 
Lev. xiii. 55. Prov. xxiii. 31. Ezek. i. 4. viii. 2. and x. 9. is put for colours which 
are seen by the eye. Faith denotes the doctrine, received and believed by faith, 
in Acts vi. 7. Gal. i. 23. and iii. 23.25. Eph. iv. 5. 1 Tim. iv. 1. Tit. i. 13. Jude 3 
Rev. ii. 13. — Hope, in Psal. lxv. 5. and lxxi. 5. Jer.xiv. 8. and xvii. 7.13. is God, 
in whom we have hope, or place our confidence. Hope also denotes Christ, or 
the benefits which we receive by him, in Acts xxvi. 6—8. xxviii. 20. Col. i. 27. 1 
Tim. i. 1. Hope is sometimes also put for men, in whom we confide, or from 
whom we expect some good, as in Isa. xx. 5, 6. and for the thing hoped for, as in 
Prov. xiii. 12. Rom. viii. 24. and Gal. v. 5. in which last place the hope of right¬ 
eousness by faith means eternal life, which is promised to the just by faith, and 
also in Tit. ii. 13. — Love is put for the object of affection, Jer. ii. 33. and xii. 7. 
(marginal rendering.) — Desire, Ezek. xxiv. 16. 21. is the thing desired. In like 
manner, the lust or desire of the eyes, 1 John ii. 16. is the object of the eyes which 
we eagerly desire.— So, Fear is put for the object that is feared, in Psal. liii. 5 
Prov. i. 26. Isa. viii. 13. 

XVI. Sometimes the sign is put for the thing signified. 

Thus, Sovereign Poioer and authority are expressed by a Sceptre, Crown, Dia¬ 
dem, Throne, and Shutting and opening ivithout resistance in Gen. xlix. 10. Isa. 
xxii. 22. Ezek. xxi. 26. Zech. x. 11. and Rev. iii. 7. War is denoted by bows, 
spears, chariots, and swords, Psal. xlvi. 9. Lam. v. 9. Ezek. xxi. 3, 4. Matt. x. 34. 
So, to lift up the hand is sometimes to swear, Gen. xiv. 22. Deut. xxxii. 40., and 
sometimes to pray, Lam. iii. 41. 1 Tim. ii. 8. In like manner, to stretch forth the 
hand is to call for audience, Psal. xliv. 20. Prov. i. 24. 

To kiss the hand, or to kiss another, is to yield reverence, Job xxxi. 27. 1 Sam. 
x. 1. Psal. ii. 12. 1 Kingsxix. 18. Hos. xiii. 2. To bow the knee, is to worship , 
Isa. xlv. 23. Phil. ii. 10. Eph. iii. 14. To give the hand, or to strike hands is to 
swear, join in fellowship, engage or become surety for another, Ezek. xvii. 18. 
Gal. ii. 9. Job xvii. 3. Prov. vi. 1. To put on sackcloth, is to mourn, Psal. lxix. 
11. To beat swords into jylough-shares, and spears into pruning hooks , is to live 
in peace and security, Isa. ii. 4. 

XVII. Lastly, the names of things are often put for the things 
themselves. 

Thus, the JYame of God denotes the Almighty himself, Psal. xx. 1. cxv. 1. Prov 
xviii. 10. Isa. xxx. 27. Jer. x. 25. So, in Joel ii. 32. Acts ii. 21. and Rom. x. 13. 
the name of the Lord denotes Jesus Christ. Names are likewise put for persons* 
Acts i. 15. Rev. iii. 4. and xi. 13. In like manner we find, that names are given 
to persons to express their state or condition, although they are not ordinarily 
called by such names, as in Isa. i. 26. Thou shalt be called the city of righteous¬ 
ness or justice, that is, thou shalt be so. Similar expressions occur in Isa. Ixiv. 4. 
Jer. iii. 17. 


1 Diog. Laert. lib. i. c. x. § 11, tom. i. p. 123. ed. Longolii. 




V. Sect. III.] Interpretation of Scripture Metaphors. 


597 


SECTION III. 

ON THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE METAPHORS. 

Nature of a Metaphor. — Sources of Scripture Metaphors. — I. The 
Works of Nature. — II. The Occupations, Customs, and arts of 
Life. — III. Sacred Topics, or Religion and things connected with 
it. — IV. Sacred History. 

A METAPHOR is a trope, by which a word is diverted from its 
proper and genuine signification to another meaning, for the sake of 
comparison, or because there is some analogy between the similitude 
and the thing signified. Ol all the figures of rhetoric, the metaphor 
is that which is most frequently employed, not only in the Scriptures, 
hut likewise in every language; for, independently of the pleasure 
which it affords, it enriches the mind with two ideas at the same time, 
the truth and the similitude. Two passages will suffice to illustrate 
this definition. In Deut. xxxii. 42. we read, I will make mine arrows 
drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh. Here, the first 
metaphor is borrowed from excessive and intemperate drinking, to 
intimate the very great effusion of blood, and the exceeding greatness 
ol the ruin and destruction which would befal the disobedient Israel¬ 
ites : the second metaphor is drawn from the voracious appetite of an 
hungry beast, which in a lively manner presents to the mind the im¬ 
possibility of their escaping the edge of the sword, when the wrath of 
God should be provoked. Again, in Psal. cxxxix. 2. we read, Thou 
understandest my thoughts afar off. In this verse the metaphor is 
taken from the prospect of a distant object: but in a proper sense the 
phrase assures us, that Jehovah, by his prescience, knows our thoughts 
before they spring up in our souls. 

In order to understand metaphors aright, it should be observed that 
the foundation of them consists in a likeness or similitude between the 
thing from which the metaphor is drawn, and that to which it is ap¬ 
plied. When this resemblance is exhibited in one or in a few ex¬ 
pressions, it is termed a simple metaphor. When it is pursued with a 
variety of expressions, or there is a continued assemblage of meta¬ 
phors, it is called an allegory. When it is couched in a short sen¬ 
tence, obscure and ambiguous, it is called a riddle. If it be conveyed 
in a short saying only, it is a proverb ; and if the metaphorical repre¬ 
sentation be delivered in the form of a history, it is a parable. When 
the resemblance is far-fetched, — as to see a voice, (Rev. i. 12.) it is 
termed a catachresis. This last mentioned species of figure, however, 
is of less frequent occurrence in the Scriptures than any of the pre¬ 
ceding. 

The metaphor is of indispensable necessity in the Scriptures; for 
the sacred writers, having occasion to impart divine and spiritual things 
to man, could only do it by means of terms borrowed from sensible 
and material objects, as all our knowledge begins at our senses. 
Hence it is, especially in the poetical and prophetical parts of the 
Old Testament, that the sentiments, actions, and corporeal parts, not 
only of man, but also of inferior creatures, are ascribed to God him- 


598 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture . [Part II. Ch. 

self; it being otherwise impossible for us to form any conception of 
his pure essence and incommunicable attributes. The various sources, 
whence the sacred writers have drawn their metaphors, have been 
discussed at great length by Bishop Lowth, 1 * and his annotator Mi- 
chaelis, and also by Glassius f from whose elaborate works the fol¬ 
lowing observations are abridged. The sources of Scripture meta¬ 
phors may be classed under the four following heads, viz. natural, 
artificial, sacred, and historical. 

I. The works of nature furnish the first and most copious , as well 
as the most pleasing source of images in the sacred writings. 

Thus, the images of light and darkness are commonly made use 
of, in all languages, to denote prosperity and adversity ; and an un¬ 
common degree of light implies a proportionate degree of joy and 
prosperity, and vice versa. Isa. xiii. 10. lix. 9. lx. 19, 20. xxx. 26. 
Jer. xv. 9. Amos viii. 9. Micah iii. 6. Joel ii. 10. The same 
metaphors are also used to denote knowledge and ignorance. Isa. 
viii. 20. ix. 2. Matt. iv. 16. Eph. v. 8. The sun, moon, and stars, 
figuratively represent kings, queens, and princes or rulers, as in Isa. 
xxiv. 23. Ezek. xxxii. 7. 

“ The lights of heaven,” says a late pious and learned writer, 3 “ in 
their order are all applied to give us conceptions of God’s power and 
die glory of his kingdom. In the lxxxivth Psalm (verse 11.) the 
Lord is said to be a sun and shield; a sun to give light to his peo¬ 
ple, and a shield to protect them from the power of darkness. Christ, 
in the language of the prophet, is the sun of righteousness ; who, as 
the natural sun revives the grass and renews the year, brings on the 
acceptable year of the Lord, and is the great restorer of all things in 
the kingdom of grace ; shining with the new light of life and immor¬ 
tality to those, who once sat in darkness and in the shadow of death. 
And the church has warning to receive him under this glorious 
character. Arise , shine ; for thy light is come , and the glory of the 
Lord is risen upon thee! (Isa. lx. i.) When he was manifested to 
die eyes of men, he called himself the light of the world, and pro¬ 
mised to give the same light to those that follow him. In the ab¬ 
sence of Christ as the personal light of the world, his place is sup¬ 
plied by the light of the Scripture, which is still a lamp unto our 
feet, and a light unto our paths. The word of prophecy is as a light 
shining in a dark place; and as we study by the light of a lamp, so 
we must give heed to this light, as if we would see things to come. 

“ The moon is used as an emblem of the church, which receives its 
light from Christ, as the moon from the sun : therefore the renovation 
of the moon signifies the renovation of the church. The angels or 
ruling ministers in the seven churches of Asia, (Rev. ii. and iii.) are 
signified by the seven stars , because his ministers hold forth the word 
of life, and their light shines before men in this mortal state, as the 
stars give light to the world in the night season ; of which light Chris¬ 
tians in general partake, and are therefore called children of the light.” 

Nothing is more grateful to the inhabitants of the East than springs, 

l In his Lectures on Hebrew Poetry, Lect. 6—9. 

9 Philologia Sacra, lib. ii. pp. 916—1243. ed. Dathii. 

3 The Rev. W. Jones, Lectures on the figurative Language of Scripture, Lect 
u. Works, vol. iii. p. 25. 




599 


V. Sect. III.] Interpretation of Scripture Metaphors* 

rivers, and rain: for, as showers rarely fall in their countries* the 
grass and flowers of the field become consumed by the intolerable 
heat, unless watered by showers or canals. Hence, flowing springs, 
copious showers, and nightly dews, which fertilise the fields, furnish 
them with a variety of pleasing images. Isa. xli. 18. and xxxv. I. 
6, 7. The blessings of the Gospel are delineated under the meta¬ 
phors of dew, Isa. xxvi. 19., moderate rains, Hos. vi. 3. gentle streams 
and running waters, Isa. xxvii. 3. and xliv. 3. On the other hand, 
no metaphor is more frequent than that by which sudden and great 
calamities are expressed under the figure of a deluge of waters. 
With this metaphor the Hebrews appear to have been extremely fa¬ 
miliar, as if it were directly taken from the nature and state of the 
country. Immediately before their eyes was the river Jordan, 1 which 
annually overflowed its banks : for the snows of Lebanon and the 
neighbouring mountains, being melted in the beginning of summer, 
the waters of the river were often suddenly augmented by the de¬ 
scending torrents. The whole country also, being mountainous, 
was exposed to frequent floods after the great periodical tempests of 
rain. To this David alludes, Psal. xlii. 7. Immoderate rains, hail, 
floods, inundations, and torrents denote judgments and destruction, 
Isa. viii. 7. Jer. xlvii. 2. Ezek. xxxviii. 22. 

To the class of metaphors derived from natural objects we may re¬ 
fer the anthropopathy , a metaphor by which things belonging to crea¬ 
tures, and especially to man, are ascribed to God, and the prosopopoeia 
or personification, that is, the change of things to persons. Both these 
figures are nearly allied to the metaphor, and still more to the metony¬ 
my ; but they are noticed in this place, as being upon the whole the 
most convenient arrangement. 

1. In the consideration of anthropopathies , the two following im¬ 
portant rules must be constantly kept in mind ; viz. 

[i.] That we understand them in a way and manner suitable to the 
nature and majesty of the Almighty , refining them from all that imper¬ 
fection with which they are debased in the creatures , and so attribute 
them to the Deity. 

Thus, when the members of a human body are ascribed to God, we are not to 
conceive of him as a venerable old man, sitting gravely in heaven to observe and 
censure the things done on earth ; but must understand those perfections, of which 
such members in us are the instruments. The eye , for instance, being that mem¬ 
ber by which we discern or observe anything, is employed to denote God’s perfect 
and exact knoicledge of all things , Job xxxiv. 21. Psal. xi. 4. and Heb. iv. 13.; as 
also his watchful providence , Deut. xi. 12. 1 Kings ix. 3. Psal. xxxiv. 15. In like 
manner, cars are attributed to him, to signify his gracious acceptance of his peo¬ 
ple's prayers, Psal. x. 17. and xxxi. 2. or the exact notice which he takes of the sins 
of others, James v. 4. By his arm we are to understand his power and strength, 
Exod. xv. 16. which is also expressed by his right hand, Exod. xv. 6. and Psal. 
cxviii. 15, 16. So, his work is expressed by his fingers, Exod. viii. 19. and Psal. 
viii. 3. and his love and compassion by his Lowcls, Isa.lxiii. 15. Jer. xxxi. 20. Luke 
i. 78. through the bowels of the mercy of our God, (8ia <rrrXay^;va), whereby the day¬ 
spring from on high hath visited us. There are a thousand similar instances in 
the Scriptures. 

[ii.] Further, when human affections are attributed to Jehovah, we 
must be careful not to interpret them in a manner that shall imply 
the least imperfection in Him ; but must thereby conceive, (1.) 
Either a pure act of his will, free from all 'perturbation to ichich men 


1 Josh. iii. 15. 1 Chron. xii. 15. Ecclus. xxiv. 26. 



600 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch. 

are liable , or else, (2.) The effect of such human affections, the ante¬ 
cedent being put for the consequent, that is, one thing being express¬ 
ed while another thing is understood, which is usually its ehect, or 
at least follows it — a figure of very frequent occurrence in the sa¬ 
cred writings. 

Thus, when God is said to repent, we are not to imagine any change of mind 
in Him, with whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning, or any sorrow 
or trouble that is inconsistent with his perfect happiness ; but, either his purpose 
to undo what he has done, or desist from what he is doing, which are the ordinary 
effects of repentance in man : so that the change is not in the disposition of the 
Supreme Mind, but in the dispensations of his Providence: as in Gen. vi. 6. 1 
Sam. xv. 11. 35. 2 Sam. xxiv. 10. Psal. cvi. 45. Again, God is said in very 
many passages to be angry, to ha vefury, &c. in order to make us apprehend how 
much he hates sin, and will punish sinners. The same remark will apply to other 
affections which are attributed to Him. 

In a similar manner are we to understand all those passages in which human 
actions are ascribed to God, as in Gen. xviii. 21. To go down and see what is 
done in Sodom, is to regard well, and proceed justly, orderly, and leisurely, to 
their punishment; though in the divine promise to be with Jacob, Gen. xxviii. 15. 
it means that the divine favour and protection should accompany him all the way. 
To search the heart and try the reins, is to discern exactly, as in Psal. vii. 9. and 
Jer. xvii. 10. — Lastly, human relations are likewise ascribed to God, to express 
the 'properties of such relations : thus, he is called a King, Psal. xcv. 3. a Father , 
Psal. ciii. 13. Rom. viii. 15. a Husband, Isa. liv. 5. Hosea ii 19. a Shepherd, Psal. 
xxiii. 1.: to express his power and authority, his love, pity, tender care, and watch¬ 
ful providence. 

2. Of the prosopopoeia or personification, there are two kinds : one, 
when actions and character are attributed to fictitious, irrational, or 
even inanimate objects; the other, when a probable but fictitious 
speech is assigned to a real character. 

[i.J The former, Bishop Lowth remarks, evidently partakes of the 
nature of the metaphor, and is by far the boldest of that class of 
figures: it is most frequently and successfully introduced by the sa¬ 
cred writers. 

In Psal. lxxxv. 10. how admirable is the personification of the divine attributes ! 

Mercy and truth are met together ; 

Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 

How just, elegant, and splendid does it appear, if applied only (according to the 
literal sense) to the restoration of the Jewish nation from the Babylonish captivity 1 
But if we consider it in a most sacred and mystical sense, which is not obscurely 
shadowed under the ostensible image, viz. that of the method of redemption by the 
sacrifice and mediation of Jesus Christ, in which the divine perfections were so 
harmoniously displayed, it is beyond measure grand and elevated. Again, what 
can be more sublime or graceful than the personification of wisdom, so frequently 
introduced in the Proverbs of Solomon, particularly in chapter viii. verses 22— 
31. She is not only exhibited as the director of human life and morals, as the in- 
ventress of arts, as the dispenser of honours and riches, as the source of true felicity, 
but also as the eternal daughter of the omnipotent Creator, and as the eternal 
associate in the divine counsels. Similar passages, exquisitely imagined, and from 
the boldness of the fiction, extremely forcible, occur in Job xviii. 13. xxviii. 22. 
Isa. v. 14. xlvii. 1. 5. Lam. i. 1. 6. 17. Jer. xlvii. 6,7. Hos. xiii. 14. Heb. iii. 5. and 
1 Cor. xv. 54.1 

[ii.] The second kind of prosopopoeia, by which a probable but 
fictitious speech is assigned to a real person — though less calculated 
to excite admiration and approbation by its novelty, boldness, and 
variety, than the former, — is nevertheless possessed of great force, 
evidence, and authority. It would, as Bisho p Lowth re marks, be 

1 The late benevolent and learned Mr. Gilpin has pointed out many very striking 
personifications and other metaphorical allusions used by Saint Paul. See his Ser¬ 
mons, vol. iv. p. 405. et scq> 



V. Sect. III.] Interpretation of Scripture Metaphors . 


601 


an infinite task to specify every instance in the sacred poems, which 
on this occasion might be referred to as worthy of notice ; or to re¬ 
mark the easy, natural, bold, and sudden personifications ; the dig¬ 
nity, importance, and impassioned severity of the characters. It 
would be difficult to describe the energy of that eloquence which is 
attributed to Jehovah himself, and which appears so suitable in all 
respects to the Divine Majesty ; or to display the force and beauty 
of the language which is so admirably and peculiarly adapted to 
each character; the probability of the fiction; and the excellence 
of the imitation. 

One example, therefore, must suffice for the present; one more perfect it is not 
possible to produce. It is expressive of the eager expectation of the mother of 
Sisera, from the inimitable ode of the prophetess Deborah. (Judg. v. 28—30.) 

The first sentences exhibit a striking picture of maternal solicitude, both in 
words and actions; and of a mind suspended and agitated between hope and fear. 


Through the window she looked and cried out, 

The mother of Sisera, through the lattice : 

Wherefore is his chariot so long in coming ? 

Wherefore linger the wheels oi his chariot ? 

Immediately, impatient of his delay, she anticipates the consolations of hdr 
friends, and her mind being somewhat elevated, she boasts with all the levity of a 
fond female: 


(Vast in her hopes, and giddy with success 

Her wise ladies answer her ; 

Yea, she returns answer to herself: 

Have they not found ? — Have they not divided the spoil ? 

Let us now observe how well adapted every sentiment, every word, is to the 
character of the speaker. She takes no account of the slaughter of the enemy, of 
the valour and conduct of the conqueror, of the multitude ot the captives, but 

Burns with a female thirst of prey and spoils. 

Nothing is omitted which is calculated to attract and engage the passions of a 
vain and trifling woman — slaves, gold, and rich apparel. Nor is she satisfied with 
the bare enumeration of them ; she repeats, she amplifies, she heightens every 
circumstance ; she seems to have the very plunder in her immediate possession ; 
she pauses and contemplates every particular : 

Have they not found ? — Have they not divided the spoil ? 

To every man a damsel, yea a damsel or two ? 

To Sisera a spoil of divers colours ? 

A spoil of needlework of divers colours, 

A spoil for the neck of divers colours of needlework on either side. 

To add to the beauty of this passage, there is also an uncommon neatness in the 
versification, great force, accuracy, and perspicuity in the diction, the utmost ele¬ 
gance in the repetitions, which, notwithstanding their apparent redundancy, are 
conducted with the most perfect brevity. In the end, the fatal disappointment of 
female hope and credulity, tacitly insinuated by the sudden and unexpected apos¬ 
trophe, _ . 

So let all thine enemies perish, O Jehovah ! 

is expressed more forcibly by this very silence of the person who was just speak¬ 
ing than it could possibly have been by all the powers of language. 

°But whoever wishes to understand the full force and excellence of 
this figure, as well as the elegant use of it in the Hebrew ode, 
must apply to Isaiah, whom we may justly pronounce to be the sub- 
limest of poets. Bishop Lowth considers his fourteenth chapter, as 
die grandest specimen of that prophet’s poetry, and as exemplifying 
almost every form of the prosopopoeia, and indeed of all that consti¬ 
tutes the sublime in composition. An examination of this passage 
will be found in Vol. IV. pp. 164—166. 

II. The Hebrews derived many of their figures from the ordinary 


VOL. II. 


76 


G02 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch. 

occupations and customs of life, as well as from such arts as were prac¬ 
tised at that time. 

This source indeed is common to all nations ; and in proportion as 
they are more polished, and cultivate more numerous arts, they are 
supplied with a greater variety of images. The whole course and 
method of common and domestic life among the antient Hebrews 
was simple in the highest degree. There did not exist that variety of 
studies and pursuits, of arts, conditions, and employments, which af¬ 
terwards obtained among other nations. The Hebrews were a nation 
of husbandmen and shepherds : the patriarchs were possessed of 
great flocks and herds which they tended, though their descen¬ 
dants afterwards applied themselves to agriculture. Every Israelite, 
on the conquest of Canaan, received his allotted portion of land, 
which he cultivated, and which, as it could not be alienated by sale, 
descended without diminution to his posterity, who enjoyed unmo¬ 
lested the produce of his land and labour. Hence, very numerous 
metaphors in the sacred writings are derived from pastoral and rural 
occupations. Thus, kings are said to feed their people, who again 
are compared to a flock of sheep, which the shepherd conducts to 
pasture, and guards from danger. It would extend the limits of this 
section too far, to instance particularly with what embellishments 
of diction, derived from one low and trivial object (as it may appear 
to some) — the barn or threshing-floor — the sacred writers have 
added a lustre to the most sublime, and a force to the most impor¬ 
tant subjects. Yet the following passages we cannot omit to notice, 
on account of their uncommon force and beauty. 

Thus, Jehovah threshes out the heathen, and tramples them beneath his feet. 
(Hab. iii. 12.) He delivers the nations to Israel to be beaten in pieces by an in¬ 
dented flail, or to be crushed by their brazen hoofs. (Joel iii. 14. Heb. Jer. li. 33 
Isa. xxi. 10. Mic. iv. 13.) He scatters his enemies like chaff upon the mountains, 
and disperses them with the whirlwind of his indignation. (Psal. lxxxiii. 13—15. 
Isa. xvii. 13.) But nothing can surpass the magnificent delineation of the Messiah 
coming to take vengeance on his adversaries, expressed by imagery taken from 
the wine-press, which is of frequent occurrence with the sacred poets, and which 
no other poet has presumed to introduce. See Isa. lxiii. 1—3. 

The pastoral and rural allusions in the New Testament are almost equally nu¬ 
merous with those of the Old Testament. Thus the world is compared to a field, 
the children of the kingdom to the wheat , and the children of the wicked to tares. 
(Matt. xiii. 38.) The end of the world is the harvest , and the angels are reapers. 
(Matt. xiii. 39.) A preacher of the word is the soicer. (Matt. xiii. 3.) The word 
of God is the seed. The heart of man is the ground. (Luke viii. 15. Heb. vi. 7.) 
The cares, riches, and pleasures of life are the thorns. (Luke viii. 14. Heb. vi. 8.) 
The preparation of the heart by repentance is ploughing and breaking up the fal¬ 
low ground. (Hos. x. 12.) Death, which cuts down the fairest flowers of the field, 
is a moicer. (Psal. xc. 6.) The minister, who serves under God in his husbandry, 
is the labourer. (Matt. ix. 37, 38. 1 Cor. iii. 9.) The wicked are stubble. (Isa. 
xlvii. 14.) And the temptations and trials of the godly are the sifting of the wheat. 
(Luke xxii. 31.)l 

III. Sacred Topics, that is to say, Religion, and things connected 
with it, furnished many images to the sacred writers. 

Numerous and diversified sacred rites were enjoined to the Israel¬ 
ites by Moses, and their religious worship was conducted with great 
pomp and splendour. 

Thus, the images derived from the temple and i ts magnificent service serve 

1 A Key to the Language of Prophecy, by the Rev. W. Jones, (Works, vol. v. p. 
282.) See also a Concise Dictionary of the Symbolical Language of Prophecy in 
the Appendix to Vol. IV. 




V. Sect. III.] Interpretation of Scripture Metaphors. 


603 


chiefly to denote the glory of the Christian church, the excellency of its worship, 
God’s favour towards it, and his constant presence with it: the prophets speaking 
to the Jews in terms accommodated to their own ideas, as in Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 26. 
compared with Heb. viii. 10. Further, much of the Jewish law is employed in 
discriminating between things clean and unclean ; in removing and making atone¬ 
ment for things polluted or proscribed; and under these ceremonies, as under a 
veil or covering, a meaning the most important and sacred is concealed, as would 
appear from the nature of them, even if we had not other clear and explicit au¬ 
thority for this opinion. Among the rest are certain diseases and infirmities of 
the body, and some customs in themselves evidently indifferent; these, on a cur¬ 
sory view, seem light and trivial; but, when the reasons of them are properly in¬ 
vestigated, they are found to be of considerable importance. We are not to won¬ 
der, then, if the sacred poets have recourse to these topics for imagery, even on 
the most momentous occasions ; as when they display the universal depravity of 
the human heart, (Isa. lxiv. (5.) or upbraid their own people for the corruptness of 
their manners, (Isa. i. 5, 6. 16. Ezek. xxxvi. 17.) or when they deplore the abject 
state of the virgin, the daughter of Sion, polluted and exposed. (Lam. i. 8, 9.17. 
and ii.) If we consider these metaphors, without any reference to the religion of 
their authors, they will doubtless appear in some degree disgusting and inelegant ; 
but if we refer them to their genuine source, the peculiar rites of the Hebrews, 
they will not be found wanting either in force or dignity. 

The pontifical vestments, which were extremely splendid, suggested a variety 
of images expressive of the glory both of the Jewish and Christian church. We 
have an instance of this in Ezek. xvi. 10. 13. 18. and particularly in the following 
passage of the evangelical prophet: 

I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah : 

My soul shall exult in my God, 

For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, 

He hath covered me with the mantle of righteousness; 

As the bridegroom decketh himself with a priestly crown ; 

And as the bride adorneth herself with her costly jewels. 

Isa. lxi. 10. 

In this verse, the elegant Isaiah is describing, in his peculiar and magnificent 
manner, the exultation and glory of the church, after her triumphal restoration. 
Pursuing the allusion, he decorates her with the vestments of salvation, and clothes 
her in the robe of righteousness : ho afterwards compares the church to a bride¬ 
groom dressed for the marriage, to which comparison incredible dignity is added 
by the word Ikohen, a metaphor plainly taken from the priests’ apparel, the force 
of which therefore no modern language can express. No imagery, Bishop Lowth 
further remarks, which the Hebrew writers could employ, was equally adapted 
with this to the display (as far as human powers can conceive or depict the'sub¬ 
ject) of the infinite majesty of God. Jehovah is therefore introduced by the 
Psalmist as clothed, with glory and icitli strength , (Psal. xciii. 1.) and he is girded 
with power , (Psal. lxv. 6.) which are the very terms appropriated to the descrip¬ 
tion of the dress and ornaments of the priests. The epistle to the Hebrews is an 
admirable comment on many parts of the Mosaic ritual. 

IV. The Hebrews derived many of their metaphors from Sacred 
History. 

Thus, as the devastation of the land of Israel is frequently repre¬ 
sented by the restoration of antient chaos, (as in Jer. iv. 23—26. 
Isa. xxxiv. 4. II. and Joel iii. 15, 16.) so the same event is some¬ 
times expressed in metaphors suggested by the universal deluge (as 
in Isa. xxiv. 1. 18—20.), and also from the destruction of Sodom and 
Gomorrah. (Isa. xxxiv. 9.) See also Psal. xi. 6. 

The departure of the Israelites from Egypt, while it affords materi¬ 
als for many magnificent descriptions, is commonly applied in a meta¬ 
phorical manner, to represent other great deliverances : as in Isa. 
xi. 15, 16. xliii. 16—19. xlviii. 21. and li. 10. But the figurative ap¬ 
plication of the history of the Exodus is much plainer in the New 
Testament, There we see Zacharias, in his prophetical hymn, on 
occasion of the birth of John the Baptist, celebrating the blessings 


604 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch. 

of the Christian redemption in terms borrowed from the past redemp¬ 
tion of Israel out of Egypt. 1 

Lastly, when Jehovah is described as coming to execute judgment, 
to deliver the pious, and to destroy his enemies, or in any manner to 
display his divine power upon earth, the description is embellished 
from that tremendous scene which was exhibited on Mount Sinai 2 
at the delivery of the law. Two sublime examples of this sort, to 
mention no more, occur in Psal. xviii. 7—15. and Mic. i. 3, 4. 3 


SECTION IV. 

ON THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE ALLEGORIES. 

The Allegory defined. — Different Species of Allegory. — Rules for 
the Interpretation of Scripture Allegories. 

ANOTHER branch of the figurative language of Scripture is the 
Allegory; which, under the literal sense of the words, conceals a 
foreign or distant meaning. Of this species of figure Bishop Lowth 4 5 
has three kinds, viz. 1 . The Allegory 5 properly so called, and which 
he terms a continued metaphor ; — 2. The Parable , or similitude, 
which is discussed in the following section ; — and, 3. The Mystical 
Allegory , in which a double meaning is couched under the same 
words, or when the same prediction, according as it is differently in¬ 
terpreted, relates to different events, distant in time, and distinct in 
their nature. 

The Mystical Allegory differs from the two first-mentioned species 
in the nature of its materials; it being allowable in the former to make 
use of imagery from different objects, while the mystical allegory is 
exclusively derived from things sacred. There is likewise this further 
distinction, that, in those other forms of allegory, the exterior or osten¬ 
sible imagery is fiction only; the truth lies altogether in the interior or 
remote sense, which is veiled as it were under this thin and pellucid 
covering. But, in the mystical allegory, each idea is equally agreeable 
to truth. The exterior or ostensible image is not a shadowy colour¬ 
ing of the interior sense, but is in itself a reality; and, although it 

1 This interesting and important topic is well illustrated in the “ Lectures on the 
Figurative Language of Scripture,” Lect. vi. — Jones’s Works, vol. iii. pp. 92—100. 

§ See Exod. xix. 16. 18. Deut. iv. 11, 12. 

3 The learned Professor Michaelis, in his additions to Bishop Lowth’s ninth lec¬ 
ture, has endeavoured to prove that the sacred writers drew largely from poetic fa¬ 
ble, which they derived from the Egyptians, in common with the Greeks and Ro¬ 
mans. As it respects the latter, his argument is convincing and satisfactory ; but 
with regard to the Hebrews, as it depends chiefly on his own Latin versions, which 
(the excellent English translator of the Bishop’s lectures remarks) are by no means 
so faithful to the original as our common version, his point by no means appears to 
be demonstrated. On this account the present brief notice of Michaelis’s hypothe¬ 
sis may be deemed sufficient: it is, however, adopted by Bauer in his Hermeneu- 
tica Sacra, pp. 209, 210. 

^ 4 Lectures on Hebrew Poetry, vol. i. lect. 10. and 21. 

5 AWirywpia or Allegory is derived from aXXo ayopurai: i. e. a different thing is 
said from that which is meant. It differs from a metaphor, in that it is not confined 
to a word, but extends to a whole thought, or, it may be, to several thoughts. An 
allegory may be expressed moreover by pictures, by actions, as in Ezek. iii. iv. v 
and Luke xxii. 36. — or by any significant thing. 





V. Sect. IV.] Interpretation of Scripture Allegories . G05 

sustains another character, it does not wholly lay aside its own. As, 
however, the interpretation of the mystical and typical parts of Scrip¬ 
ture is treated of in a subsequent part of this volume 1 we shall, in the 
present section, direct our attention to the allegory, properly and 
strictly so called. 

As every such allegory is a representation of real matters of fact un¬ 
der feigned names and feigned characters, it must be subjected to 
a two-fold examination. “ We must first examine the immediate 
representation, and then consider what other representation it was 
intended to excite. Now, in most allegories the immediate repre¬ 
sentation is made in the form of a narrative ; and since it is the object 
of an allegory to convey a moral, not an historical truth, the narra¬ 
tive itself is commonly fictitious. The immediate representation is 
of no further value, than as it leads to the ultimate representation. It 
is the application or moral of the allegory which constitutes its 
worth.” 2 In the investigation, then, of an allegory, tke following rules 
may assist us to determine its ultimate meaning. 

I. Allegorical Senses of Scripture are not to be sought for where 
the literal sense is plain and obvious. 

This rule is of the greatest importance ; from not attending to it, 
the antient Jews, as the Therapeutae, the author of the book of Wis¬ 
dom, Josephus, and Philo, and, in imitation of them, Origen 3 and 
many of the fathers, (whose example has also been followed by some 
modern expositors,) have respectively turned even historical pas¬ 
sages of Scripture into allegories, together with such other passages as 
already had a proper and literal sense. Hence many ridiculous in¬ 
terpretations have been imposed on passages of Scripture, the proper 
moral sense of which has been either greatly enervated, or entirely 
frittered away, by such misnamed spiritual expositions. 

II. The Design of the ivhole Allegory must be investigated. 

The consideration of this rule will embrace a variety of particulars. 

1. In investigating the Design of an Allegory , the context is first 
to be examined and considered , 4 by comparing the preceding and subse¬ 
quent parts of the discourse. 

In 2 Tim. ii. 20. we read thus : In a great house there are not only vessels of 
gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth ; and some to honour and some to 
dishonour. Now, since the apostle did not intend to say what these words literally 
mean of themselves, it is evident that he employed an allegory, the design of which 
is to be ascertained by the aid of the context. In the preceding verses, 15. and 
16. he had exhorted Timothy to study to shore himself approved unto God, a 
workman tfuit needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, and 
to shun vain and profane babblings. Hence it appears that Saint Paul was speak¬ 
ing of the qualifications of a teacher. The great house then, in which are vessels 
of several kinds, will signify the Christian church, in which are various teachers, 
and of different value. In the following verses, 21. and 22. Timothy is exhorted 
to avoid novel doctrines, to separate himself from false teachers, and to make him- 


1 See Chapters VI. and VIII. infra, on the Mystical and Typical Interpretations 
of Scripture ; and Chapter VII. Section III. on the Double Sense of Prophecy. 

2 Bishop Marsh’s Lectures, part iii. p. 80. The seventeenth and eighteenth lec¬ 
tures, in which the subject of figurative interpretation is ably discussed at conside¬ 
rable length, are particularly worthy of perusal. 

3 Dr. A. Clarke (note on Exod. i. 22.) has given a curious specimen of Origen’s 
inode of allegorising, to which the reader is referred on account of its length. 

4 On the investigation of the Context, see pp. 535—541. supra. 




606 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch 

self a vessel fitted for the master’s use, prepared for every good work. Here, 
again, the apostle is not speaking literally of household goods, but of teachers. 
The design of the allegory, therefore, in the passage above cited, is to intimate, 
that, as in a great house there is a variety of utensils, some of a more precious 
and others of a coarser material, so in the church of God, which is the house of 
God, there are teachers of different characters and capacities. Some of them, 
being faithful, are employed in the honourable work of leading men in the paths 
of truth and piety ; while others, being unfaithful, are permitted to follow the dis¬ 
honourable occupation of seducing those who love error, that the approved may 
be made manifest. 

2. The occasion which gave rise to the Allegory, and which is indi¬ 
cated by the context, is also to be considered. 

Thus, in the Gospels, we meet with numerous instances of persons who asked 
questions of our Saviour, or who entertained erroneous notions : an allegory is 
delivered, by way of reply, to correct the error, and at the same time to instruct 
the inquirer. In John vi. 25—65. many things are announced relative to the eat¬ 
ing of bread : these are to be understood of spiritual food, the doctrines of Christ, 
which are to be received for the same purpose as we take food, namely, that we 
may be nourished and supported. The occasion of this allegorical mode of speak¬ 
ing is related in verse 31. Our fathers , said the Jews, did eat manna in the de¬ 
sert, as it is written , He gave them bread from heaven to eat. I, says Christ. 
am the living bread, which cometh down from heaven. The meaning of the whole 
evidently is, that by eating the flesh of Christ we are to understand the same idea 
as is implied in eating bread, namely, to derive support from it. The argument 
of our Lord, then, may be thus expressed : — The manna which your fathers did 
eat in the wilderness, could only preserve a mortal life. That is the true bread of 
life which qualifies every one who eats it for everlasting happiness. I call myself 
this bread, not only on account of my doctrine, which purifies the soul, and fits it 
for a state of happiness, but also because I shall give my own life to procure the 
life of the world.” 

3. As the context frequently indicates the meaning of an allegory , 
so likewise its scope and interpretation are frequently pointed out 
by some explanation that is subjoined. 

In Luke v. 29. it is related that our Lord sat down to eat with publicans and 
sinners. When questioned by the Pharisees for this conduct, he replied, They that 
are whole need not a physician, hit they that are sick ; and added the following- 
explanation— I am not come to call the righteous, those who arrogantly presume 
themselves to be such, but sinners to repentance. The scope, occasion, and ex¬ 
planation being severally known, the meaning of the allegory becomes evident. 
Sometimes, however, this explanation of an allegory is conveyed in a single word, 
as in 1 Thess. v. 8. Here we are commanded to put on a breast-plate and helmet 
it is added, by way of exposition, the breast-plate of faith and love, and the helmet 
of hope. The sense of the figure is — Prepare yourself for your spiritual warfare 
with faith, love, and hope, lest you suffer loss. 

4. Sometimes the allegory proposed is explained in its several parts 
by the person speaking. 

Thus, in Eph. vi. 11—19. many things aro said of the Christian’s armour ; and 
the girdle, breast-plate, greaves, shield, and sword are distinctly specified. That 
these terms are allegorical is evident. In the tenth verse the exhortation, to be 
strong in the Lord , and in the power of his might, precedes : in the eleventh and 
iollowing verses the apostle explains what he intended to be understood, in its 
several parts : thus, the sword is the word of God, the girdle is integrity, the shield 
is faith, &c. In such passages as this, an explanation is desirable, otherwise the 
allegory it contains could not be interpreted upon any certain principle. 

5. Sometimes also the context incidentally presents some pi'opcr ivord r 
by which the meaning of the whole allegory may be discerned. 

In John xii. 35. our Lord says— a little ichile is the light with you. A 
single proper word is almost immediately subjoined— believe in the light, (verse 36.) 
Hence it appears that by light is meant himself, the divine teacher : it is equally 
plain that to continue in darkness means to continue in ignorance. Another in¬ 
stance occurs in Matt. v. 14. Ye are the light of the world: a city that is set on 
mn hill cannot be hid, Sec. It is afterwards subjoined, that men may see your good 
works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. From this expression, good 
works, which is the key to the whole passage, we perceive that our Lord’s disr- 


V . Sect. IV.] Interpretation of Scripture Allegories . 607 

course treats of that example of a holy life and conversation, which it is the duty 
of Christians to set before others. 

III. The proper or literal meaning of the primary word must he 
ascertained , before we attempt to explain an allegory. 

For this purpose, the primary word itself must first be ascertained, and its force 
expressed, by an appropriate literal word ; and to this sense all the other figurative 
words of the passage should be referred, and explained agreeably to it. The pri¬ 
mary word in an allegory is that, which contains the foundation and reason why 
the passage under consideration is expressed by that particular image : and such 
primary word is to be ascertained both from the scope as well as from the explana¬ 
tion which may be subjoined, and also from the subject or thing itself which is 
treated of. Thus in 1 Cor. v. 6—8. the apostle speaks of leaven in such a manner, 
that the whole of that passage contains an earnest exhortation to a holy life ; for 
the context shows that the design of the allegorical admonition was, that the Co¬ 
rinthians should not be tainted with wickedness and depravity of life. The occa¬ 
sion of the allegory was their admittance of an incestuous person into the church 
at Corinth. Now, as the apostle says, Knoio ye not that a little leaven leavenctk 
the whole lump ? and accommodates the remaining sentences of the passage to 
the same image, the consideration of the primary word will readily lead us to this 
sense : one man may be injurious to the whole congregation by his corrupt exam¬ 
ple. Saint Paul further adds an explanation of his meaning, when he says, Let 
us keep the feast, not icith old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and icick- 
edness, &.c. Here the meaning of eoprafctv (keep the feast) is, not to celebrate the 
festival of the passover as it literally means, but to serve and worship God in 
Christ; in other words, to be a sincere Christian, and in such a manner that, 
being cleansed from all former sins, we should serve and worship God in true 
holiness. 1 In like manner we are to understand the expression, destroy this tem¬ 
ple, and in three days / will raise it up. (John ii. 19.) The primary word temple 
must be changed into a proper or literal one, namely, the body of Christ, as the 
evangelical history suggests ; and to this the rest of the passage must be referred. 

IV. In the explanation of an allegorical passage, historical circum¬ 
stances should he consulted. 

For it sometimes happens that history alone can throw any light 
on the passage. 

Thus, in John xxi. 18. the evangelist evidently refers us to history for an ex¬ 
planation. Our Lord is there represented as saying to Peter — When thou wast 
young thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou xcouldest: but, when thou 
shall be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and 
carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This, adds the historian, spake he, signify¬ 
ing by what death he should glorify God. Now there is nothing related in the 
New Testament which can afford any clue to this passage: but, if we consult 
ecclesiastical history, we shall find that Peter suffered a violent death ; and thus 
every sentence becomes clear. 

So in Matt. xiii. 31—34. the kingdom of God is likened unto a grain of mustard 
seed which gradually springs up and becomes a large plant; and also to leaven , 
which gradually ferments the whole mass, into which it is put. History shows 
that the church of Christ has arisen from small beginnings, and is spreading itself 
through the earth. 

_ O____________________—^_________________ 

1 Mr. Gilpin has given the following lucid exposition of this, in some respects, 
difficult passage : — “I hear,” says the apostle to the Corinthians , 11 that there hath 
been practised among you a very enormous kind of wickedness, which is not heard 
of even among Gentiles — that one of you hath had connection with his father’s 
wife ; and that others, instead of making it a cause of general mourning, and sepa¬ 
rating themselves from so vile a person, seem rather to defend him in his wicked¬ 
ness. — Though absent, I take upon me, through the authority of the Holy Ghost, 
to decide in this matter. I command, therefore, that, on receipt of this epistle, 
you gather the congregation together, and in the name of Jesus Christ solemnly 
expel this person from your communion ; that he may see the heinousness of his 
sin, and after a sincere repentance be restored to God’s favour. — Your defending 
him in his wickedness is an immediate step towards being corrupted yourselves. 
You are under a necessity, therefore, on your own account, to remove this per¬ 
nicious example. Consider your blessed Saviour’s death, and preserve yourselves 
as free as possible from sin, which was the cause of it.” See the New Testament, 
vol. ii, p. 165. 




608 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture . [Part II. Ch. 

In Prov. v. 15—18. we have the following beautiful allegory : — Drink waters 
out of thine own cistern, and running xoaters out of thine own well. Let thy foun¬ 
tains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only 
thine own, and not strangers with thee. Let thy fountain be blessed, and rejoice 
with the wife of thy youth. That this passage is allegorical, is evident from the 
same figure being continued through several sentences and verses. Its sense is 
to be investigated both according to the oriental mode of speaking, (for the in¬ 
habitants of the East, who draw most of their metaphors from natural objects, are 
accustomed to compare their wives to a cistern or pool, whence rivers flow,) and 
also from the proper words subjoined towards the close, rejoice with the ivife of 
thy youth ; as likewise from the series of the discourse, since the author of the Book 
of Proverbs, in the beginning of this chapter, is dissuading from illicit intercourse. 
From these circumstances collectively considered, the sense of the allegory plainly 
is, that no man should follow strange women, but live content with the wife whom 
he hath espoused : lest, influenced by his example, she should deviate from the 
path of virtue. 

V. The nature of the thing spoken of is also to he considered in 
the exposition of an allegory. 

It is necessary that the nature of the thing - should be considered, 
in order that the tendency of every comparison may appear, and also 
the literal meaning which is concealed under the figurative expres¬ 
sions. 

Thus in Matt. v. 13. we read, Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have 
lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted ? It is thenceforth good for nothing but 
to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Now, what is the meaning of 
this admonition ? What is the primary word ? Salt. But with what proper word 
can it be interpreted ? Here the nature of the thing is to be consulted, which shows 
that it is the property of salt to render food savoury, as well as to correct the taste : 
hence it is clear in what sense the disciples are said to be the salt, of the earth ; 
for they were teachers by whom some were corrected and made better. The 
general meaning of the passage is ; — Ye, who embrace my religion, like salt shall 
purify the world; but ye must first be pure yourselves. 

In Luke v. 36. the following passage occurs : JYo man putteth apiece of a new 
garment upon an old ; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece 
that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. Nothing is adduced by 
way of explanation : in a preceding verse the Pharisees had asked Christ, why his 
disciples did not fast, but lived more cheerfully than those of John. Our Saviour 
replied in the words above cited ; nothing, then, can lead us to understand the 
passage but the nature of the subject. Now in common life we know that no one 
voluntarily and readily acts indiscreetly, or in an unbecoming manner. There¬ 
fore, says Christ, since no one in common life acts thus indiscreetly, neither do I 
require my disciples to do so, since there is no need for them to undergo such 
austerities. The time will come (verse 35.) when they will fare hardly enough; 
then they will have sufficient trials. At present neither circumstances, time, nor 
place require it; things must be accommodated to circumstances. The passage 
being thus considered, the meaning of the allegory becomes very evident. 

VI. Comparison is not to be extended to all the circumstances of the 
allegory. 

“ Thus, in the parable of the good Samaritan, the point to be illus* 
tratecl is, the extent of the duty of beneficence. Most of the circumstan¬ 
ces in the parable go to make up merely the verisimilitude of the nar¬ 
ration, so that it may give pleasure to him who hears or reads it. 
But how differently does the whole appear, when it comes to be in¬ 
terpreted by an allegoriser of the mystic schools ! The man going 
down from Jerusalem to Jericho is Adam wandering in the wilder¬ 
ness of this world : The thieves, who robbed and wounded him, are 
evil spirits ; the priest, who passed by without relieving him, is the 
Levitical Law; the Levite is good works ; the good Samaritan is 
Christ; the oil and wine are grace, See. What may not a parable 
be made to mean, if imagination is to supply the place of reason 


\ - Sect. IV.] Interpretation of Scripture Allegories . 609 

and philology ? And what riddle or oracle of Delphos could be more 
equivocal, or of more multifarious significancy, than the Bible, if 
such exegesis be admissible 1 It is a miserable excuse, which inter¬ 
preters make for themselves, that they render the Scriptures more 
edifying and significant by interpreting them in this manner. And 
are the Scriptures then to be made more significant than God has 
made them ? Or to be mended by the skill of the interpreter so as to 
become more edifying than the Holy Spirit has made them ? If there 
be a semblance of piety in such interpretations, a semblance is all. Real 
piety and humility appear to advantage in receiving the Scriptures 
as they are, and expounding them as simply and skilfully as the rules 
of language will render practicable, rather than by attempting to 
amend and improve the revelation which God has made.” 1 

There is, however, one caution which it will be necessary to ob¬ 
serve in the interpretation of allegories ; namely, that we do not ex¬ 
plain one part literally , and another part figuratively. 

Thus the whole of 1 Cor. iii. 9—15. is allegorical: a comparison 
is there instituted between the office of a teacher of religion, and 
that of a builder. Hence a Christian congregation is termed a build¬ 
ing ; its ministers are the architects, some of whom lay the foun¬ 
dation on which others build ; some erect a superstructure of gold 
and silver ; others of wood, hay, and stubble. The sense concealed 
under the allegory is apparent : a Christian congregation is instruct¬ 
ed by teachers, some of whom communicate the first principles, 
others impart further knowledge ; some deliver good and useful 
things ( the truth ) while others deliver useless things ( erroneous doc¬ 
trines , such as at that time prevailed in the Corinthian church). 
That day (the great day of judgment) will declare what superstruc¬ 
ture a man has raised; that is, whether what he has taught be good 
or bad. And as fire is the test of gold, silver, precious stones, w ood, 
hay, stubble, so the great day will be the test of every man’s work. 
Though the whole of this passage is obviously allegorical, yet it is 
understood literally by the church of Rome, who has erected upon 
it her doctrine of the fire of purgatory. How contrary this doctrine 
is to every rule of right interpretation, is too plain to require any 
exposition. 2 

It falls not within the plan of this work to enumerate all the allego¬ 
ries occurring in the sacred writings; some have been incidentally 
mentioned in the present section ; yet, before we proceed to other 
topics, we cannot but notice the admirable allegorical delineation of 
old age by Solomon, Eccl. xii. 2 —6. It is perhaps one of the finest 
allegories in the Old Testament; the inconveniences of increasing 
years, the debility of mind and body, the torpor of the senses, are ex¬ 
pressed most learnedly and elegantly indeed, but with some degree of 
obscurity, by different images derived from nature and common life; 
for by this enigmatical composition, Solomon, after the manner of the 

1 Professor Stuart’s Elements of Interpretation, translated from the Latin of Er- 
nesti, p. 80. Andover (North America), 1822. 12mo. 

2 Bauer, Herm. Sacr. pp. 221—226. Ernesti, Inst. Interp. Nov. Test. pp. 110, 
111. Mori Acroases in Ernesti, tom. i. pp. 301—313. Glassii Phil. Sac., lib. ii. pp. 
1294—1304. Ramiresii de Prado, Pentecontarchus, c. 28. apud Fabricii Observa- 
tiones Select©, pp. 173—179. J. E. Pfeiffer, Institutiones Herm. Sacr. pp. 740 
—753. 

VOL. II. 


77 



610 On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch 

oriental sages, intended to put to trial the acuteness of his readers. 
It has on this account afforded much exercise to the ingenuity of the 
learned ; many of whom have differently, it is true, but with much 
learning and penetration, explained the passage. 

There is also in Isaiah (xxviii. 23—29.) an allegory, which, with 
no less elegance of imagery, is perhaps more simple and regular, as 
well as more just and complete in the colouring, than any of those 
above cited. In the passage referred to, the prophet is examining 
the design and manner of the divine judgments, and is inculcating the 
principle, that God adopts different modes of acting in the chastise¬ 
ment of the wicked, but that the most perfect wisdom is conspicuous 
in all; that he will, as before urged, “ exact judgment by the line, 
and righteousness by the plummetthat he ponders, with the most 
minute attention, the distinctions of times, characters, and circum¬ 
stances, as well as every motive to lenity or severity. All this is ex¬ 
pressed in a continued allegory, the imagery of which is taken from the 
employments of agriculture and threshing, and is admirably adapted 
to the purpose. 1 2 


SECTION Y. 

ON THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE PARABLES. 

I. Nature of a Parable. — II. Antiquity of this Mode of Instruction . 
— III. Rules for the Interpretation of Parables. — IV. Parables , 
why used by Jesus Christ. — V. Remarks on the distinguishing 
Excellencies of Christ's Parables , compared with the most celebrat¬ 
ed Fables of Antiquity. 

A PARABLE (na^aSoX^, from cta£a€aXXsiv, to compare together,) 6 
is a similitude taken from natural things in order to instruct us in things 
spiritual. The word, however, is variously used in the Scriptures, to 
denote a proverb or short saying, (Luke iv. 23.) & famous or received 
saying (1 Sam. x. 12. 3 * * Ezek. xviii. 2.); a thing gravely spoken, 
and comprehending important matters in a few words (Job xxvii. 1. 
Numb, xxiii. 7. 18. xxiv. 3. 15. Psal. xlix. 4. and lxxviii. 2.); a 
thing darkly or figuratively expressed (Ezek. xx. 49. Matt. xv. 15.) ; 
a visible type or emblem, representing something different from and 
beyond itself (Heb. ix. 9. and xi. 19. Gr.) a special instruction (Luke 

1 Lowth’s Preelectiones, No. 10. or vol. i. p. 220. of Dr. Gregory’s Translation. 

2 A verbo irapaBaWav, quod significat conferre, comparare , assimilare (ev.Marc. 
iv. 30.) ductum est nomen irapa6o\rn ; quod similitudinem, collationem Quinctilianus 
(Inst. Or. 1. v. c. 11: 1. viii. c. 3. pp. 298. 302. 470.) interpretatur, Seneca (Ep. lix.) 
imaginem. Itaque collatio , sive, ut Ciceronis (1. 1. de Invent, c. 30.) definitione 
utamur, or alio, rem cum rc ex similitudine confer ens, Graeco nomine parabola ap- 
pellatur. Eo sensu Christus (Marc. iii. 23.) ev napaSoXais locutus dicitur, quando per 
varias similitudines (v. 24—27.) probavit se non Satanse ope, sed altiore virtute 
dsemonia ejicere. G. C. Storr, De Parabolis Christi, in Opusc. Academic, vol. i. 
p. 89. The whole disquisition, to which this section is largely indebted, is well 
worthy of perusal. See also Rambach, Institutiones Hermeneut. p. 187. et seq.; 

J. E. Pfeiffer’s Instit. Hermeneut. Sacr. pp. 753—773.; and Chladenius’s Insti¬ 

tutiones Exergeticoe, p. 190. et seq. 

y In this and the other references to the Old Testament in the above paragraph, 

the original is (ftiasiML) a parable. 





611 


V. Sect. V.] Interpretation of Scripture Parables. 
xiv. 7.) ; and a similitude or comparison. (Matt. xxiv. 32. Mark iii. 

23.y 

According to Bishop Lowth, a parable is that kind of allegory which 
consists of a continued narration of a fictitious event, applied by way 
of simile to the illustration of some important truth. By the Greeks, 
allegories were called a»vai or apologues , and by the Romans fabula 
or fables ; 1 2 and the writings of the Phrygian sage, or those composed 
in imitation of him, have acquired the greatest celebrity. Nor did 
our Saviour himself disdain to adopt the same method of instruction j 
of whose parables it is doubtful whether they excel most in wisdom 
and utility, or in sweetness, elegance, and perspicuity. As the appel¬ 
lation of parable has been applied to his discourses of this kind, the 
term is now restricted from its former extensive signification to a more 
confined sense. This species of composition also occurs very fre¬ 
quently in the prophetic poetry, and particularly in that of Ezekiel. 

II. The use of parables is of great antiquity. In the early ages 
of the world, when the art of reasoning was little known, and the 
minds of men were not accustomed to nice and curious speculations, 
we find that the most antient mode of instruction was by parable and 
fable : its advantages, indeed, are many and obvious. It has been 
remarked by an acute observer of men and morals, that “ little reaches 
the understanding of the mass but through the medium of the senses. 
Their minds are not fitted for the reception of abstract truth. Dry 
argumentative instruction, therefore, is not proportioned to their ca¬ 
pacity: the faculty, by which a right conclusion is drawn, is in them 
the most defective; they rather feel strongly than judge accurately : 
and their feelings are awakened by the impression made on their 
senses.” 3 Hence, instruction by way of parable is naturally adapted to 
engage attention ; it is easily comprehended, and suited to the meanest 
capacity ; and while it opens the doctrine which it professes to con¬ 
ceal, it gives no alarm to our prejudices and passions ; it communicates 
unwelcome truths in the least disagreeable manner ; points out mistakes, 
and insinuates reproof with less offence and with greater efficacy than 
undisguised contradiction and open rebuke. Of this description, we 
may remark, are the parables related by Nathan to David (2 Sam. 
xii. 1—9.), and by the woman of Tekoah to the same monarch. (2 
Sam. xiv. 1—13.) The New Testament abounds with similar 
examples. “ By laying hold on the imagination, parable insinuates 
itself into the affections ; and by the intercommunication of the facul¬ 
ties, the understanding is made to apprehend the truth which was pro¬ 
posed to the fancy.” 4 In a word, this kind of instruction seizes us by 
surprise, and carries with it a force and conviction wdiich are almost 
irresistible. It is no wonder, therefore, that parables were made the 
vehicle of national instruction in the most early times ; that the pro¬ 
phets, especially Ezekiel, availed themselves of the same impressive 


1 Glassii Phil. Sacr. lib. ii. pp. 1304—1306. ed. Dathii. Parkhurst and Schleus- 
ner in voce irapaSo'Xri. 

2 Storr, Oposc. Acad. vol. i. p. 89. et seq. 

3 Mrs. More’s Christian Morals, vol. i. p. 106. 4 Ibid. p. 107. 



612 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part 11. Ch. 

mode of conveying instruction or reproof; and that our Lord, follow¬ 
ing the same example, also adopted it for the same important purposes. 

III. Although a parable has some things in common with an allegory, 
so that the same rules which apply to the latter are in some degree 
applicable to the former; yet, from its peculiar nature, it becomes 
necessary to consider the parable by itself, in order that we may 
understand and interpret it aright. 

1 • The first excellence of a parable is , that it turns upon an image 
well known and applicable to the subject, the meaning of which is clear 
and definite ; for this circumstance will give it that perspicuity which 
is essential to every species of allegory. 

How clearly this rule applies to the parables of our Lord, is obvious to every 
reader of the New Testament. It may suffice to mention his parable of the Ten 
Virgins (Matt. xxv. 1—13.), which is a plain allusion to those things which were 
common at the Jewish marriages in those days : the whole parable indeed is made 
up of the rites used by the Orientals, as well as by the Roman people, at their 
nuptials ; and all the particulars related in it were such as were commonly known 
to the Jews, because they were every day practised by some of them. In like 
manner, the parables of the lamp (Luke viii. 16.), of the soicer and the seed, of 
the tares, of the mustard seed, of the leaven, of the net cast into the sea, all of 
which are related in Matt. xiii. as well as of the householder that planted a vine¬ 
yard, and let it out to husbandmen (Matt. xxi. 33.), are all representations of usual 
and common occurrences, and such as the generality of our Saviour’s hearers were 
daily conversant with, and they were therefore selected by him as being the most 
interesting and affecting. 

If the parables of the sacred prophets be examined by this rule, they will not 
appear deficient; being in general founded upon such imagery as is frequently 
used ; and similarly applied by way of metaphor and comparison in Hebrew poetry. 
Examples of this kind occur in the deceitful vineyard (Isa. v. 1—7.), and in the 
useless vine which is given to the fire (Ezek. xv. and xix. 10—14.) ; for, under 
this imagery, the ungrateful people of God are more than once described. Similar 
instances of opposite comparison present themselves in the parable of the lion's 
whelps falling into the pit. (Ezek. xix. 1—9.), in which is displayed the captivity 
of the Jewish princes; and also in that of the fair, lofty, and flourishing cedar of 
Lebanon (Ezek. xxxi. 3—17.), which once raised its head to the clouds, at length 
cut down and neglected : — thus exhibiting, as in a picture, the prosperity and the 
fall of the king of Assyria. To these may be added one more example, namely, 
that in which the love of God towards his people, and their piety and fidelity to 
him, are expressed by an allusion to the solemn covenant of marriage. Ezekiel 
has pursued this image with uncommon freedom in two parables. (Ezek. xvi. and 
xxiii.); and it has been alluded to by almost all the sacred poets. 

2 . The image, however, must not only be apt and familiar, but must 
also be elegant and beautiful in itself, and all its parts must be per¬ 
spicuous and pertinent; since it is the purpose of a parable, and espe¬ 
cially of a poetic parable, not only to explain more perfectly some pro¬ 
position, but frequently to give it animation and splendour. 

Of all these excellencies there cannot be more perfect examples than the para¬ 
bles which have just been specified : to which we may add the well-known para¬ 
bles of Jotham (Judges ix. 7—15.), of Nathan (2 Sam. xii. 1—14.), and of the 
woman of Tekoah. (2 Sam. xiv. 4—7.) The admirably devised parable of Nathan 
is perhaps one of the finest specimens of the genuine pathetic style that can be 
found in the Old Testament; and David’s eager condemnation of the unsuspected 
offender at the same time displays a striking instance of the delusion of sin and 
the blindness of self-love. u He, who had lived a whole year in the unrepented 
commission of one of the blackest crimes in the decalogue — and who, to secure 
to himself the object for which he had committed it, perpetrated another almost 
more heinous, and that with an hypocrisy suited to his character — he could in 
an instant denounce death on the imaginary offender for a fault comparatively 
trifling.” — u Seeing he saw not, and hearing, he heard not;” he immediately 
saw the iniquity and barbarity of the rich man’s proceedings; his heart was in a 
moment fired with indignation at the thought of it; “ the vehemence of his re- 


613 


V. Sect. V.] Interpretation of Scripture Parables . 

sentiment even over-stepped the limits of his natural justice, in decreeing a pu¬ 
nishment disproportioned to the crime, while he remained dead to his own delin¬ 
quency. A pointed parable instantly surprised him into the most bitter self-re¬ 
proach. A direct accusation might have inflamed him before he was thus pre¬ 
pared ; and in the one case he might have punished the accuser, by whom, in the 
other, he was brought into the deepest self-abasemont. The prudent prophet did 
not rashly reproach the king with the crime, which he wished him to condemn ; 
but placed the fault at such a distance, and in such a point of view, that he first 
procured his impartial judgment, and afterwards his self-condemnation : — an im¬ 
portant lesson, not only to the offender, but also to the reprover.”! 

y* Every parable is composed of three parts, 1. The sensible si - 
militude , which has variously been termed the bark and the protasis 
and consists in its literal sense ; — 2. The explanation or mystical 
sense , also termed the apodosis and the sap or fruit, or the thing sig¬ 
nified by the similitude proposed. This is frequently not expressed : 
for though our Saviour sometimes condescended to unveil the hidden 
sense, by disclosing the moral meaning of his parables (as in Matt, 
xiii. 3—8. 18—23. compared with Luke viii. 4—15. and Matt. xiii. 
24—30. 30—43.); yet lie usually left the application to those whom 
he designed to instruct by his doctrine. Of this description are the 
parables of the grain of mustard seed, of leaven, of the hidden trea¬ 
sure, and the pearl of great price (Matt. xiii. 31—33. 44—40.), be¬ 
tween which and the kingdom of heaven a comparison is instituted, 
the mystical sense of which is to be sought in the similitudes them¬ 
selves. 3. The third constituent part of a parable is the root or 
scope to which it tends. * 2 

4. For the right explanation and application of parables, their gene¬ 
ral scope and design must be ascertained, 

AY here our Saviour lias not himself interpreted a parable, its immediate scope 
and design are to be sought with great attention ; this indeed will generally ap¬ 
pear from the context, being either expressed at its commencement or at its con¬ 
clusion ; or it is sufficiently evident from the occasion on which it was delivered. 
More particularly, the scope of a parable may be ascertained, 

(1.) From the clear declaration prefixed to it; 

As in the parable of the rich glutton (Luke xii. 1G—20.), which is prefaced by 
the following caution in verse 15. Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a 
man's life consistcth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth. Thus in 
Luke xviii. 2—8. the parable of the unjust judge is preceded by this declaration, 
which plainly points out one of its senses : He spake a parable unto them, that 
men ought always to pray, and not to faint. And again, in verse 1). He spake 
this parable (of the Pharisee and publican, verse 10—14.) unto certain which 
trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. 

(2.) From the declaration subjoined to a parable ; 

Thus our Saviour concludes the parable of the unmerciful creditor, who would 
not forgive his debtor the minutest portion of his debt, though much had been 
forgiven him (Matt, xviii. 23—35.), by the following explanation : — So likewise 
shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye for give not every one his brother 
their trespasses. Similar declarations are annexed to the parables of the wedding 
feast (Matt. xxv. 13. Luke xiv. 11.), of the rich glutton (Luke xii. 21.), and of the 
unjust steward. (Luke xvi. 9.) The prophetic writings will furnish similar in¬ 
stances : thus Isaiah (v. 1—7.) having delivered the parable of a vineyard — plant¬ 
ed with the choicest vines, and cultivated with the utmost care, vet which pro- 

! Mrs. More’s Christian Morals, vol. i. p. 108. 

2 In parabolis, si integre accipiantur, tria sunt; radix, cortex , et medulla sive 
fructus. Radix est scopus, in quern tendit parabola. Cortex est similitudo sensi- 
bilis, quae adhibetur, et suo sensu literati constat. Medulla seu fructus est sensus 
parabola: misticus, seu ipsa res ad quam parabolae fit accommodatio, seu quae per 
siinilitudinem propositam significatur. Glassii Philologia Sacra, lib. ii. pars i. tr. 
2. sect. 5. canon 3. col. 488. (Lipsiae, 1725.) It is not a little remarkable that the 
nine very useful canons for the interpretation of parables, by Glassius, should be 
altogether omitted in Professor Dathe’s valuable edition of his work. 



614 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch 

duced only wild fruit— announces at its close, that by the vineyard were intended 
the Jews, and by the wild fruit their enormous wickedness, for which they deserved 
the severest judgments. Nathan, also, in the beautiful parable already cited, sub¬ 
joined a declaration of its scope to the criminal sovereign. In the short parable, 
or apologue, communicated from Jehoash king of Israel to Amaziah king ot Judah 
(2 Kings xiv. 9,10.), the application of it to the latter is explicitly stated at its con¬ 
clusion. 

(3.) Where no declaration is prefixed or subjoined to a par able, its scope must be 
collected from a consideration of the subject-matter, context, or the occasion on ac¬ 
count of rollick the parable was delivered. 

Thus, in the parable of the barren fig-tree (Luke xiii. 5—9.), Jesus Christ has 
indicated nothing concerning its scope. But from the consideration of the context 
of his discourse, and of the occasion of the parable, we learn that it was designed 
to teach the Jews, that unless they repented within the space of time allotted to 
them by Infinite Mercy, severe punishments would await them, and their civil and 
religious polity be destroyed. The immediate occasion of the parable was, his 
disciples telling him of certain Galileans, who had come up to the temple at Je¬ 
rusalem, to worship, and whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. On 
hearing this circumstance, Christ said, Suppose ye, that these Galileans were sinners 
above all the Galileans, because they suffered these things ? 1 tell you, nay : But 

except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Having repeated the last sentence a 
second time, he delivered the parable of the barren fig-tree. 

In like manner, to the parable of the prodigal son nothing is prefixed or sub¬ 
joined ; but the relation occurs immediately after two others, in which it was de¬ 
clared that the return of penitent sinners affords joy in heaven. This however, 
is an important topic, and will require to be more particularly considered. From 
the observations already made on the general nature of parables, it will be easily 
perceived that the objects of our Lord's parables were various ; such as the con¬ 
veying either of instruction or reproof, the correcting or preventing of errors ; 
the instructing of men in the knowledge of some truths which could be viewed 
with advantage only at a distance, or of others, which would have startled them 
when plainly proposed. Further, there were truths which were necessary to be 
conveyed, respecting the establishment of his religion, and the conduct of his dis¬ 
ciples on occasion of that event. These subjects required to be touched with a 
delicate hand ; and a few instances will show that each of them was conducted 
with the highest grace and propriety. 

Thus, the worldly spirit of the Pharisees is delicately yet strikingly reproved in the 
parablesofthe richman whose groundsbrought forth plentifully (Luke xii. 15—21.;) 
which was spoken to show the folly of covetousness, — of the unjust steward (Luke 
xvi.l.),to show the proper use of wealth,—and of the rich man and the beggar (Luke 
xvi.19—31.), to show the danger of abusing it. — The selfishness and bigotry of the 
the same sect, which characteristic in some degree applied to the whole Jewish na¬ 
tion, who “ trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others,"' 
is convicted in the parables of the Pharisee and the Publican praying in the tem¬ 
ple, of the two sons commanded to work in the vineyard, of the guest who chose 
the highest seat at the table, of the lost sheep and money, of the prodigal son, 
and of the good Samaritan. In several of these parables the comparative merit 
of the Jew and Gentile world is justly though faintly stated, on purpose to abase 
the pride of the one and to exalt the humble hopes of the other. 

Another class of parables is designed to deliver some general lessons of wisdom 
and piety : such are the parables of the ten virgins and the talents. The parables 
of the sower and of the tares, and many of the lesser parables, are designed to 
show the nature and progress of the Gospel dispensation, together with the oppo¬ 
sition which would be made to it from the malice of Satan, and the folly and per¬ 
verseness of mankind. With these are closely connected such parables as have 
for their object the rejection of the Jews, and the calling of the Gentiles : under 
this head are comprised the parables of the murmuring labourers, of the cruel and 
unjust husbandmen, the barren fig-tree, and the marriage feast. By considering 
the occasions upon which these and other parables were delivered by the Redeemer 
of the world, we shall be enabled, not only to ascertain their scope and design, 
but also to perceive their wisdom, beauty, and propriety. 

5. Wherever the words of Jesus seem to be capable of different senses y 
we map with certainty conclude that to be the true one which lies most 
level to the apprehension of his auditors. 

Allowing for those figurative expressions which were so very frequent and fa 


615 


V. Sect. V.] Interpretation of Scripture Parables. 

miliar with them, and which therefore are no exceptions to this general rule, this 
necessary canon of interpretation, of all others, demands the most attention. 

6. As every parable has two senses, the literal or external, and the 
mystical or internal sense, the literal sense must be first explained, in 
order that the correspondence between it and the mystical sense may be 
the more readily perceived. 

For instance, “ the parable of the unforgiving servant represents, literally , that 
his lord forgave him a debt of ten thousand talents : — mystically , or spiritually, 
that God remits to the penitent the punishment of innumerable offences. Liter¬ 
ally, it states that this servant, on his refusal to exercise forbearance towards his 
fellow-servant, w r as delivered over to the tormentors : mystically , that God will 
inflict the severest judgments on all who do not forgive others their trespasses. 
The unity of sense in both interpretations is easily perceptible :”1 whence it fol¬ 
lows that every parable must be consistent throughout, and that the literal sense 
must not be confounded with the mystical sense. Hence also it follows, that since 
the scope and application of parables are the chief points to be regarded, 

/ • It. is not necessary, in the interpretation of parables, that we should 
anxiously insist upon every single word; nor ought we to expect too cu¬ 
rious an adaptation or accommodation of it in every part to the spiritual 
meaning inculcated by it; for many circumstances are introduced into 
parables which arc merely ornamental, and designed to make the simili¬ 
tude more pleasing and interesting. 

Inattention to this obvious rule has led many expositors into the most fanciful 
explanations : resemblances have been accumulated, which are for the most part 
futile, or at best of little use, and manifestly not included in the scope of the par¬ 
able. Where, indeed, circumstantial resemblances (though merely ornamental) 
will admit of an easy and natural application, they are by no means to be overlook¬ 
ed : and it is worthy of remark, that in those parables which our Lord himself ex¬ 
plained to his disciples, there are few, if any, of the circumstantial points left 
unapplied ; but here great judgment is necessary neither to do too little, nor to 
attempt too much. 2 In the application, then, of this rule, there are two points to 
be considered : 

(1.) Persons are not to be compared with persons, but things with things ; part 
is not to be compared xcith part, but the xchole of the parable with itself. 

Thus, we read in Matt. xiii. 24. The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man 
which sowed good seed in his field ; and in verse 45. The kingdom of heaven is 
likened unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls. The similitude here is not with 
the men, but with the seed and the pearl; and the construction is to be the same 
as in verse 31. and 33., where the progress of the Gospel is compared to the grain 
of mustard seed, and to leaven. 

(2.) In parables it is not necessary that all the actions of men, mentioned in 
them, should be just actions, that is to say, morally just and honest. 

For instance, the unjust steward (Luke xvi. 1—8.) is not proposed either to jus¬ 
tify his dishonesty, or as an example to us in cheating his lord (for that is merely 
ornamental, and introduced to fill up the story) ; but as an example of his care 
and prudence, in providing for the future. From the conduct of this man, our 
Lord took occasion to point out the management of worldly men, as an exam¬ 
ple of attention to his followers in their spiritual affairs ; and at the same time 
added an impressive exhortation to make the things of this life subservient to 
their everlasting happiness ; assuring them, that if they did not use temporal 
blessings as they ought, they could never be qualified to receive spiritual blessings. 
So again, in Luke xii. 39. and Rev. iii. 3. the coming of Christ is compared to the 
coming of a thief, not in respect of theft, but of the sudden surpriso. “ It is not 
necessary,” says a great master of eloquence, “ that there should be a perfect re¬ 
semblance of one thing in all respects to another ; but it is necessary that a thing 
should bear a likeness to that with which it is compared.” 3 

8. Attention to historical circumstances, as well as an acquaintance 


l Bishop Vanmildert’s Bampton Lectures, p. 236. 2 Ibid. 

3 Non enim res totatoti rei necesse est similis sit; sed ad ipsum, ad quod confere- 
tur, similitudinem habeat, oportet. Cicero ad Herennium, lib. iv. c. 48. tom. i. p. 
122. edit. Bipont. 




616 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch. 

with the nature and properties of the things whence the similitudes are 
taken, will essentially contribute to the interpretation of parables. 

(1.) Some of the parables related in the New Testament are supposed to be 
true histories : in the incidental circumstances of others, our Saviour evidently 
had a regard to historical propriety. Thus, the scene of that most beautiful and 
instructive parable of the good Samaritan (Luke x. 30—37.) is very appositely 
placed in that dangerous road which lay between Jerusalem and Jericho ; no way 
being more frequented than this, both on account of its leading to Peraea, and es¬ 
pecially because the classes or stations of the Priests and Levites were fixed at 
Jericho as well as at Jerusalem : and hence it is that a Priest and a Lcvite are 
mentioned as travelling this way.l It further appears, that at this very time Ju¬ 
dea in general was overrun by robbers, and that the road between Jericho and Je¬ 
rusalem (in which our Lord represents this robbery to have been committed) was 
particularly infested by banditti, whose depredation it favoured, as it lay through a 
dreary solitude. On account of these frequent robberies, we are informed by Je¬ 
rome that it was called the Bloody Way?* 

(2.) Again, in the parable of a nobleman who went into afar country to receive 
for himself a kingdom , and to return (Luke xix. 12.), our Lord alludes to a case, 
which, no long time before, had actually occurred in Judaea. Those who, by he¬ 
reditary succession, or by interest, had pretensions to the Jewish throne, travelled 
to Rome, in order to have it confirmed to them. Herod the Great first went that 
long journey to obtain the kingdom of Judaea from Antony, in which he succeed¬ 
ed : and having received the kingdom ,3 he afterwards travelled from Judaea to 
Rhodes, in order to obtain a confirmation of it from Caesar, in which he was 
equally successful.4 Archelaus, the son and successor of Herod, did the same ; and 
to him our Lord most probably alluded.5 Every historical circumstance is beau¬ 
tifully interwoven by our Saviour in this instructive parable. 

(3.) Of the further benefit to be derived from history in the interpretation of 
parables, the similes in Matt. xiii. 31, 32. will afford a striking illustration : in these 
parables the progress of the Gospel is compared to a grain of mustard seed, and 
to leaven : nothing is subjoined to these verses, by way of explanation. What 
then is their scope ? Jesus Christ was desirous of accustoming his disciples to 
parabolic instruction : from this design, however, we cannot collect the sense of 
the parables ; we have therefore no other resource but history. Since, then, Jesus 
Christ is speaking of the progress of the Christian church, we must consult eccle¬ 
siastical history, which informs us that, from small beginnings, the church of 
Christ has grown into a vast congregation, that is spread over the whole world. 

Ill order that we may enter fully into the meaning of this parable 
of our Lord, it may not be irrelevant to observe that in eastern coun¬ 
tries the mustard-plant (or at least, a species of the tfivcwn, which the 
orientals comprehended under that name,) attains a greater size than 
with us. It appears that the orientals were accustomed to give the 
denomination of trees to plants growing to the height of ten or twelve 
feet, and having branches in proportion. 6 To such a height the mus¬ 
tard-plant grows in Judaea; and its branches are so strong and well 
covered with leaves, as to afford shelter to the feathered tribe. Such 
is the image by which Jesus Christ represents the progress of his 
Gospel. The kingdom of heaven, said he, is like to a grain of mustard 
seed — small and contemptible in its beginning ; which is indeed the 
least of all seeds, that is, of all those seeds, with which the Jews 
were then acquainted : (for our Lord’s words are to be interpreted by 
popular use: and we learn from Matt. xvii. 20. that, like a grain of 
mustard seed was a proverbial expression to denote a small quantity:) 
but when it is groivn, it bccometli a tree, so that the birds of the air 

1 Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. in loc. 2 Jerome, cited by Calmet, in loc. 

3 Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. xiv. c. xiv. §4,5. 4 Ibid. lib. xv. c. vi. § 6, 7. 

5 See an illustration of this parable, as referring to Archelaus, in Vol. III. Part 
II. Chap. II. Sect. I. § III. 

6 See Lightfoot’s and Schoettgenius’s Horte Hebraic© et Talmudic©, in Matt 
xiii. 31, 32. 




V. Sect. V.] Interpretation of Scripture Parables. 617 

tome and lodge in the branches thereof. Under this simple and beau¬ 
tiful figure does Jesus Christ describe the admirable developement 
of his Gospel from its origin to its final consummation. 

(4.) We have said that the understanding of parables is facilitated by an ac¬ 
quaintance with the properties of the things whence the similitudes are derived. 
Besides the diffusive effects of leaven already adverted to, which sufficiently indi¬ 
cate the certain spread of the Gospel, vve may adduce an example from the pro¬ 
phet Jeremiah: who parabolically describing a furious invader (xlix. 19.) says, he 
shall conic up like a lion from the swelling oj Jordan against the habitation of the 
strong. The propriety of this will appear, when it is known that in antient times 
the river Jordan was particularly infested with lions, which concealed themselves 
among the thick reeds upon its banks.! Bet us then imagine one of these mo- 
narchs of the desert asleep among the thickets upon the banks of that river : let us 
further suppose him to be suddenly awakened by the roaring, or dislodged by the 
overflowing of the rapid tumultuous torrent, and in his fury rushing into the up¬ 
land country : and we shall perceive the admirable propriety and" force of the 
prophet’s allusion. 

9. lastly , although in many of his parables Jesus Christ has deli¬ 
neated the future state of the church , yet he intended that they should 
convey some important moral precepts , of ivhich we should never lose 
sight in interpreting parables. 

Thus the parable of the sower (Matt. xiii. 3—24. Mark iv. 3—20. and Luke viii. 
f —16.), has a moral doctrine, for our Lord himself soon after subjoins the follow¬ 
ing important caution : Take heed hoio ye hear. Again, the parable of the tares 
(Matt. xiii. 24. ct seq.) refers to the mixture of the wicked with the good in this, 
world : when, therefore, our Lord intimated (in verses 27—29.) that it is not our 
province to judge those whom he has reserved for his own tribunal; and in the 
30th verse added, let both grow together , he evidently implied that, since God 
tolerates incorrigible sinners, it is the duty of men to bear with them; the propa¬ 
gation of false doctrines is an offence against God, who alone is the judge and 
punisher of them; — man has no right to punish his brethren for their senti- 
ments.2 The parables which are delivered in the same chapter of Saint Mat¬ 
thew’s Gospel, and also in Luke xiii. 19. 21. delineate the excellence of the reli¬ 
gion of Jesus, and are admirably adapted to inspire us with love and admiration 
for its Divine Author. Further, the parable of the labourers in the vineyard 
(Matt. xx. 1—17.) besides predicting the future reception of the Gospel, teaches 
us that no one should despair of the divine mercy so long as he lives, and that 
God will bestow upon the faithful a larger measure of blessedness than they can 
venture to expect, and also that we should not be moved with envy, if others en¬ 
joy a greater portion of gifts or talents than are bestowed upon ourselves. In fact, 
as an able expositor^ has remarked, since our Saviour’s parables frequently have 
a double view, this parable seems not only to illustrate the case of the Jews and 
Gentiles, but also the case of all individuals of every nation, whom God accepts 
according to their improvement of the opportunities they have enjoyed. In like 
manner, the parable of the royal nuptials, related in Matt. xxii. verse 1—15. was de¬ 
signed chiefly to show the Jews, that the offers of grace which they rejected would 

1 “ After having descended,” says Maundrell, “ the outermost bank of Jordan, 
you go about a furlong upon a level strand, before you come to the immediate bank 
of the river. This second bank is so beset with bushes and trees, such as tama¬ 
risks, willows, oleanders, &c. that you can see no water, till you have made your 
way through them. In this thicket, antiently, and the same is reported of it 
at this day, several sorts of wild beasts were wont to harbour themselves ; whose 
being washed out of the covert by the overflowings of the river gave occasion to 
that allusion, He shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan ,” &c. Maun- 
drell’s Journey from Alleppo to Jerusalem, p. 110. (London, 1810.) Agreeable to 
this account, Ammianus Marcellinus states, that “ Innumerable lions wander 
about among the reeds and copses on the borders of the rivers in Mesopotamia.” 
Lib. xviii. c. 7. (tom. i. p. 177. edit. Bipont.) 

2 It is with pleasure the author transcribes the following explicit declaration of 
the learned Roman Catholic writer, Viser. Having cited the passages above ad¬ 
duced, he says : Facile apparct eos huic precepto nequaquam satisfacere , qui vi, 
metu, ac minis, homines student a sua religione abducere. Hermeneutica 
Sacra Nov. Test, pars iii. p. 131. 

3 Gilpin’s Exposition of the New Test. vol. i. p. 78. note t. 

vol. ii. 78 



618 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch. 

be made to the Gentiles. But the latter part of it also seems intended to check tire 
presumption of such as pretend to the divine favour without complying with the 
conditions on which it is promised. It was customary for the bridegroom to pre¬ 
pare vestments for his guests; and the man mentioned in verses 11—13. is said 
to have intruded without the requisite garment. 1 

IV. From the preceding remarks it will have been seen that para¬ 
bles are of more frequent occurrence in the New than in the Old 
Testament: and although some hints have been already offered, 2 to 
account for the adoption of this mode of instruction ; yet, as some 
persons have taken occasion, from the prophecy of Isaiah (vi. 9, 10.), 
as cited by Matthew (xiii. 13—15.), to insinuate that our Lord spake 
in parables in order that the perverse Jews might not understand, it 
may not be irrelevant if we conclude the present strictures on para¬ 
bolic instruction, with a few remarks on the reasons why it was adopt¬ 
ed by our Lord. 

1. The practice was familiar to the Jews in common with the other 
inhabitants of the East, as already stated; and some of our Lord’s 
parables were probably taken from Jewish customs, as the royal nup¬ 
tials (Matt. xxii. 1—15.), the rich glutton (Luke xvi. 19—31.), and 
the wise and foolish virgins. (Matt. xxv. 1—13.) 3 This method of 
teaching, therefore, was intelligible to an attentive and inquiring audi¬ 
tory. See Matt. xv. 10. and Mark iv. 13. 

2. It was customary for the disciples of the Jewish doctors, when 
they did not understand the meaning of their parables, to request an 
explanation from their teachers : in like manner, Christ’s hearers 
might have applied to him, if they had not been indisposed to receive 
the doctrines he taught, and had they not preferred to be held in error 
by the Scribes and Pharisees, rather than to receive instruction from 
his lips. 

3. Parabolic instruction was peculiarly w T ell calculated to veil offen¬ 
sive truths or hard sayings , until, in due season, they should be dis¬ 
closed with greater evidence and lustre, when they were able to hear 
and to bear them, lest they should revolt at the premature disclosure 
of the mystery. Compare Mark iv. 33. with John xvi. 12. 25. 

4. It was a necessary screen from the malice of his inveterate ene¬ 
mies, the chief priests, Scribes and Pharisees who would not have 
failed to take advantage of any express declaration which they might 
turn to his destruction (John x. 24.); but yet they could not lay hold 
of the most pointed parables, which, they were clear-sighted enough 
to perceive, were levelled against themselves. See Matt. xxi. 45. 
Mark xii. 12. and Luke xx. 19. 4 

1 The authorities consulted for this section, independently of those already cited 
incidentally, are Ernesti, Instit. Interp. Nov. Test. p. 112.; Morus, in Ernesti, tom. 
i. pp. 314—320.; Bauer, Hermeneutica Sacra, pp. 226—229.; Glassii Philologia 
Sacra, lib. ii. part i. tract 2. sect. 5. canons 3—9. col. 473—492.; Turretin, de In¬ 
terpret. Script, pp. 214, 215.; Pfeiffer, Herm. Sacr. c. iii. § 13. (Op. tom. ii. pp. 
G35, 636.); Chladenius, Inst. Exeget. pp. 190, 191.; and J. E. Pfeiffer, Inst. Herm. 
Sacr. pp. 753—773. 

2 See p. 611. supra. 

3 Sherigham, in Prsef. ad Joma, cited by Whitby on Matt. xiii. 10. Lightfoot, 
in his Horse Hebraic® et Talmudic®, has pointed out many Jewish sources whence 
it is probable that Jesus Christ took several of his parables. 

4 Dr. Hales’s New Analysis of Chronology, vol. ii. p. 773. 



619 


V. Sect. V.] Interpretation of Scripture Parables. 

5. The parables did not contain the fundamental precepts and 
doctrines of the Gospel, which were delivered in the audience of the 
people with sufficient perspicuity in Matt. v.—vii. and elsewhere, 
but only the mysteries relative to its progress among both Jews and 
Gentiles. 

6. Lastly, the Jews were addressed in parables, because, as their 
wickedness and perverseness indisposed them to receive profit from 
his more plain discourses, Jesus Christ would not vouchsafe to them 
a clearer knowledge of these events. To “ have ears and hear not,” 
is a proverbial expression, to describe men who are so wicked and 
slothful, that they either do not attend to, or will not follow, the clear¬ 
est intimations and convictions of their duty. See instances of this 
expression in Jer. v. 21. and Ezek. xii. 2. 1 To this remark w r e may 
add, with reference to the quotations from Isaiah vi. 9, 10. that it is 
common for God to speak, by his prophets, of events that would 
happen, in a manner as if he had enjoined them. 2 

V. Whoever attentively considers the character of our Saviour, 
merely as a moral teacher and instructor of mankind, will clearly 
perceive his superiority to the most distinguished teachers of antiquity. 
Through the whole of his Gospel, he discovers a deep and thorough 
insight into human nature, and seems intimately acquainted with 
all the subtle malignities and latent corruptions of the human heart, 
as well as with all the illusions and refinements of self-idolatry, 
and the windings and intricacies of self-deceit. How admirably the 
manner, in wffiich he conveyed his instructions, was adapted to answer 
the end and design of them, we have already seen ; we might indeed 
almost venture to appeal to his parables alone for the authenticity of 
our Lord’s mission as a divine teacher : all of them, indeed, are dis¬ 
tinguished by a dignity of sentiment, and a simplicity of expression, 
perfectly becoming the purity and excellence of that religion which 
lie came to establish. The whole system of heathen mythology was 
the invention of the poets; a mere farrago of childish and romantic 
stories, chiefly calculated to amuse the vulgar. As the far greater 
part of their fables and allegories are founded on this fictitious history 
of the gods, so they were plainly subservient to the support of that 
system of idolatry and polytheism which the Gospel was designed to 
overthrow. If any secret meaning was conveyed under these allego¬ 
rical representations, (which seems, however, to be very doubtful,) 
it was at any rate too refined and philosophical to be understood by 
the common people, whose religious knowledge and belief extended no 
farther than the literal sense of the words. The moral instruction, if 
any was intended, must be dug out of the rubbish of poetical images, 
and superstitious conceits. And, as these were founded on a false 
system of the universe, and on unworthy sentiments of God, and his 
moral government, they could never contribute to t he religious improve- 

1 Grotius and Whitby on Matt. xiii. 10. Dr. Whitby h^s collected passages 
showing the proverbial use of having ears and hearing not , from Philo (Alleg. lib. 
ii. p. 72. D. and lib. iii. p. 850. E.),and from Demosthenes. (Orat. in Aristogeton, 
sect. 127.) 

2 See Bishop Lowth’s Note on Isa. vi. 10. 



620 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch. 

ment of mankind either in knowledge or in practice. Let any man 
of true taste and judgment compare the abstruse allegories of Plato, 
or the monstrous fables of the Jewish Talmuds, with the parables of 
our Saviour, he will be at no loss which to prefer; while, tired and 
disgusted with the one, he will be struck with admiration at the beauty, 
elegance, and propriety of the other. 

Further, the parables of Jesus far excel the fables of antiquity in 
clearness and perspicuity, which made them remarkably fit for the 
instruction of the ignorant and prejudiced, for whom they were origi¬ 
nally designed. Our Saviour’s images and allusions are not only taken 
from nature, but especially from those objects and occurrences which 
are most familiar to our observation and experience. It requires no 
laborious search, no stretch of imagination, to discover his meaning, in 
all cases where he intended instruction or reproof, as appears evident 
from the impressions immediately produced on the minds of his 
hearers, according to their different tempers and dispositions. Such 
of his parables indeed, as predicted the nature and progress of the 
Gospel dispensation, and the opposition which it should meet from the 
malice of Satan and the folly of mankind , 1 were purposely left to be 
explained by the events to which they refer, and with which they so 
exactly correspond, that their meaning soon became plain and obvious to 
all. It is, morever, particularly worthy of observation, that the moral 
instructions conveyed by the parables of the Gospel, are of the most 
important nature, and essential to our duty and best interests. They 
do not serve merely to amuse the imagination, but to enlighten the 
understanding, and to purify the heart. They aim at no less an object 
than the happiness of mankind in a future and eternal state. The 
doctrines of the soul’s immortality and a future judgment, are the 
ground-work of our Lord’s parables; and to illustrate and confirm 
these fundamental principles, is their main and leading design. They 
all terminate in this point, and describe the awful scenes of eternity, 
and the interesting consequences of that decisive trial, in a language, 
though simple and unadorned, yet amazingly striking and impressive. 
But the fabulous representations of the heathen poets on this subject, 
were more .fitted to amuse than to instruct: they served rather to 
extinguish than revive the genuine sentiments of nature, and conse¬ 
quently to weaken the influence of this doctrine as a principle of vir¬ 
tuous conduct. 

There is also a pleasing variety in the parables of Jesus. Some 
of them comprehend no dialogue, and scarcely any action, and are 
little more than a simple comparison between the subject to be inves¬ 
tigated and something very well known. In others may be traced the 
outlines of a complete drama. The obscurity which may be thought 
to lie in some of them, wholly arises from our not clearly understanding 
his character , or that of his audience, or the occasion on which he 
spoke ; except where the subject itself rendered some obscurity 
unavoidable. 

1 Of this description, for instance, are the parables of the sower, of the tares, and 
of the labourers in the vineyard. 



621 


V. Sect. V.] Interpretation of Scripture Parables. 

Conciseness is another excellence of die parables of Christ. Scarce 
a single circumstance or expression can be taken away from any of 
them, without injuring the whole. They also comprehend the most 
extensive and important meaning in the shortest compass of narration ; 
and afford at the same time the largest scope to the judgment and 
reflection of the reader. An extraordinary candour and charity like¬ 
wise pervade all the parables of Jesus. He gives the most favourable 
representations of things. In the parable of the lost sheep, he sup¬ 
poses but one of a hundred to go astray ; yet the good shepherd leaves 
the rest, to go in quest of this. In the parable of the ten virgins, he 
supposes the number of the wise to be equal to that of the foolish. In 
that of the prodigal, for one son that takes a riotous course, there is 
another that continued in his duty. In that of the ten talents, two are 
supposed to improve what is committed to them, for one that does not 
improve it. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Abraham 
uses the term Son to the former, though in the place of punishment; 
and he is represented as still retaining kind regards to his brethren. A 
name is delicately withheld from the character that is blameable, while 
one is given to the good. 

An exact propriety and decorum is observed in all the parables of 
Christ, and every thing that is spoken is suited to the character of the 
person who speaks it. His parables surpass all others, in being so 
natural and probable that they have the air of truth rather than of 
fiction . 1 Generosity and decorum are so strongly manifested in the 
character of the compassionate Samaritan, that the Jewish lawyer* 
whose prejudices and passions would be all excited by the very name* 
could not withhold his approbation of it. There is also great candour 
and propriety in the selection and adjustment of the two characters. 
Had a Jew or a Samaritan been represented as assisting a fellow- 
countryman, or a Jew assisting a Samaritan, the story would have been 
less convincing and impressive. “ In the parable of the murmuring 
labourers, the proprietor of the vineyard assembles the labourers in the 
evening all together to receive their wages, begins to pay those 
who were called at the latest hour, and proceeds gradually to the first 
invited. This circumstance with the greatest propriety introduces 
their complaint. It also discovers candour and integrity in the judge, 
in allowing them to be witnesses of his distribution, in attentively 
hearing their objections, and calmly pointing out how groundless and 
unreasonable they were. In the parable of the barren fig-tree, the 
keeper of the vineyard is with great propriety and candour introduced 
as interceding earnestly for a further respite and trial to the tree, and 
enforcing his plea from weighty considerations.” In what an amiable 
and proper light is the generous creditor in the parable represented, 
and with what natural simplicity. “ Then the Lord of that servant 
was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the 
debt.” What ingenuous sorrow appears in the character of the prodi¬ 
gal ? What natural affection, generosity, and forwardness to forgive, 
in the parent ?• 


t Law’s Life of Christ, p. 325. note. 



622 On the Figurative Language of Scripture. [Part II. Ch. 

Besides the regard paid by Jesus Christ to historical propriety in 
the incidental circumstances (which has been already noticed in pp. 
615, 616.), it is a peculiar excellence of the parables of Christ, that 
the actors in them are not the inferior creatures, but men. He leads 
us sometimes to draw instruction from the inferior animals, and the 
process of things in the vegetable world, as well as nature in general. 
But men are the more proper actors in a scene, and speakers in a dia¬ 
logue, formed for the instruction of mankind. Men add to the signifi¬ 
cance without diminishing the ease and familiarity of the narration. 
In the fables of iEsop, and of the Hindoos, 1 as well as of the Jewish 
prophets, inferior creatures, and even vegetables, are introduced as 
actors. 

Another distinguishing character of our Lord’s parables is, the fre¬ 
quent introduction of his own character into them, as the principal 
figure, and in views so various, important, and significant; for instance, 
the sower; the vine-dresser ; the proprietor of an estate ; the careful 
shepherd; die just master; the kind father; the splendid bridegroom ; 
the potent nobleman; the heir of a kingdom ; and the king upon his 
throne of glory judging the whole w r orld of mankind. A striking 
contrast hence arises between the simplicity of the descriptions and 
the dignity of the speaker. 

A further material circumstance which characterises the parables 
of Christ is, that he spake them just as occasions were offered ; in the 
ordinary course of his conversation and instruction ; privately as well 
as publicly; to his own disciples ; to the multitude ; and to the Pha¬ 
risees and chief rulers. An accidental question, or unexpected event, 
appears to have been the occasion of some of them. For instance, 
that of the good Samaritan, when he was asked, “ Who is my neigh¬ 
bour?” that of the rich man, whose ground brought forth plentifully, 
when be was desired to determine a suit concerning an estate ; that 
of the barren fig-tree, when he was told of the Galileans whom Pilate 
bad massacred; that of a certain man who made a great supper, 
when he was present at a splendid entertainment; and those of the 
careful shepherd, the prodigal son, die unjust steward, and the 
inhuman rich Jew, when a great number of publicans and sinners, and 
of Pharisees and Scribes, happened to be present, and the latter mur¬ 
mured against him, and insulted him. No man, except Jesus, ever 
did speak in parables, unpremeditated, and on various occasions. 
No man is now capable of conveying instruction in the like manner. 
No instructor can ever presume to be equal to him, nor so much as to 
imitate or resemble him. 

Again ; the parables of our Lord were admirably adapted to the 
time when, the place in which, and the persons to whom, they were 
delivered ; while they were also fitted for the general instruction of 
mankind in all ages. These compositions of Christ were likewise all 
original. Dr. Lightfoot and others have shown that Jesus often bor¬ 
rowed proverbs and phrases from the Jews. But an inspired teacher 


*See Wilkins’s, or Sir W, Jones’s, Translation of the Fables of Veshnoo-Sarma. 




623 


V. Sect. VI.] On Script ure Proverbs. 

would not surely propose whole parables , that were in common use, 
for his own. Nor does it appear that any body used the parables of 
Christ before his time ; for those which are alleged out of the Talmu- 
dical or other Jewish writers, were all penned some ages after his birth. 
For instance, the parable of the householder and the labourers, 1 which 
is extant in the Jerusalem Gemara, was written an age and a half at 
least after the destruction of the temple. It is more probable, there¬ 
fore, that it was written in imitation of Christ, than borrowed from 
any antient tradition. The same may be said of many others ; as 
Matt, xviii. 17. out of the book of Musar; and of another parable 
like that, Matt. xxv. 1. of the ten virgins. 2 

If Jesus had borrowed whole parables, or discourses, it would 
scarcely have been remarked so often, that he spake as one who had 
authority, and not as the Scribes; nor would the extraordinary wisdom 
of his instructions have so much astonished his auditors. Further; 
the Scribes and Pharisees would have been glad to have exposed him 
by proclaiming to the people, that he was indebted to the Rabbis for 
what gained him the reputation of superior sagacity. This also would 
have been a plausible argument to have retorted upon him, when he 
opposed their traditions. 

To conclude, it is a singular excellency in the Gospel parables, 
that, though they were for the most part occasional, and wisely adapted 
by our Saviour to the characters and circumstances of the persons to 
whom they were originally addressed, yet they contain most whole¬ 
some instructions and admonitions for all ages of the world, and for 
every future period of his church. They are at once excellently 
accommodated to the comprehensions of the vulgar, and capable of 
instructing and delighting the most learned and judicious. In short, 
all the parables of Christ “ are beautiful ; the truest delineation of 
human manners, embellished with all those graces which an unaffected 
lovely simplicity of diction is able to bestow,—graces beyond the 
reach of the most elaborate artifice of composition. But two of the 
number shine among the rest with unrivalled splendour; and we may 
safely challenge the genius of antiquity to produce, from all his stores 
of elegance and beauty, such specimens of pathetic unlaboured de¬ 
scription, as the parables of the prodigal son and the good Samaritan.” 3 


SECTION VI. 

ON SCRIPTURE PROVERBS. 

I. Nature of Proverbs. — Prevalence of this mode of instruction .— 
II. Different kinds of Proverbs. — III. The Proverbs occurring 
in the New Testament , how to be interpreted. 

i. The inhabitants of Palestine, in common with other oriental 
nations, we re much in the use of proverbs, or detached aphorisms; 

l Matt. xx. 1_lH. 2 Le Clerc on Matt. xx. 15. 

3 Dr. Gray’s Delineation of the Parables, pp. 19. 21. (Edinburgh, 1814, 8vo.) 
Monthly Review, O. S. vol. lvii. p. 196. Wakefield’s Internal Evidences of Chris¬ 
tianity, p. 36. Simpson’s Internal and Presumptive Evidences of Christianity, pp. 
403—422. 


I 






624 On the Figurative Language of Scripture . [Part II. Ch. 

that is, concise and sententious common sayings, founded on a close 
observance of men and manners. 

This method of instruction is of very remote antiquity, and was 
adopted by those, who, by genius and reflection, exercised in the 
school of experience, had accumulated a stock of knowledge, which 
they were desirous of reducing into the most compendious form, and 
comprising, in a few maxims, such observations as they apprehended 
to be most essential to human happiness. Proverbial expressions 
were peculiarly adapted to a rude state of society, and more likely to 
produce effect than any other : for they professed not to dispute, but 
to command, — not to persuade, but to compel; they conducted men, 
not by circuitous argument, but led them immediately to the approba¬ 
tion and practice of integrity and virtue. That this kind of instruc¬ 
tion, however, might not be altogether destitute of attraction, and lest 
it should disgust by an appearance of harshness and severity, the 
teachers of mankind added to their precepts the graces of harmony ; 
and decorated them with metaphors, comparisons, allusions, and other 
embellishments of style. 

Proverbial instruction was a favourite style of composition among 
the Jews, which continued to the latest ages of their literature ; and 
obtained among them the appellation of Mashalim or parables, partly 
because it consisted of parables strictly so called, (the nature of which 
has been discussed in the preceding section,) and partly because it 
possessed uncommon force and authority over the minds of the audi¬ 
tors. The Proverbs of the Old Testament are classed by Bishop 
Lowth among the didactic poetry of the Hebrews, of which many 
specimens are extant, particularly the Book of Proverbs, composed 
by Solomon, of which an account is given in the subsequent part of 
this work. 1 The royal sage has, in one of his Proverbs, himself ex¬ 
plained the principal excellencies ofthis form of composition ; exhibit¬ 
ing at once a complete definition of a proverb, and a very happy spe¬ 
cimen of what he describes : 

Apples of gold in a net-work of silver 
Is a word seasonably spoken. 

Prov. xxv. 11. 

Thus intimating, that grave and profound sentiments should be set 
off by a smooth and well-turned phraseology ; as the appearance of 
the most beautiful and exquisitely-coloured fruit, or the imitation of it 
perhaps in the most precious materials, is improved by the circumstance 
of its shining (as through a veil) through the reticulations of a silver 
vessel exquisitely carved. In the above-cited passage he further 
insinuates, that it is not merely a neat turn and polished diction by 
which proverbs must be recommended ; but that truth itself acquires 
additional beauty when partially discovered through the veil of elegant 
fiction and imagery. 

1. The first excellence of a proverb is Brevity , 2 without which 

1 See Vol. IV. Part I. Chap. III. Sect. HI. pp. 116—117. 

2 “ The brevity ofthis kind of composition,” says an elegant critic of antient 
times, “ and the condensing of much thought into a small compass, renders it more 
sententious, more sage, and expressive : as in a small seed, the whole power of 





625 


V. Sect. VI.] On Scripture Proverbs. 

it can retain neither its name nor its nature. The discriminating 
sentiment should be expressed in a few words, not exceeding ten or 
at most twelve words, otherwise it is no longer a proverb, but a de¬ 
clamation ; and it should force itsell upon the mind by a single effort, 
not by a tedious process. Accordingly, the language must be strong 
and condensed, rather omitting some circumstances which may appear 
necessary, than admitting any thing superfluous. Horace himself 
insists on this as one of the express rules of didactic poetry, and has 
assigned the reason on which it is founded : 

Short be the precept, which with ease is gained 
By docile minds, and faithfully retained.l 

Solomon expresses the same sentiment in his own parabolic manner : 

The words of the wise are like goads, 

And like nails that are firmly fixed. Eccles. xii. 11. 

That is, they instantaneously stimulate or affect the mind ; they pene¬ 
trate deeply, and are firmly retained. Even the obscurity, which is 
generally attendant on excessive brevity, has its use ; as it sharpens 
the understanding, keeps alive the attention, and exercises the genius 
by the labour of investigation, while no small gratification results from 
the acquisition of knowledge by our own efforts. 

2. Another excellence, essential to a proverb, is Elegance ; which 
is neither inconsistent with brevity, nor with some degree of obscurity. 
Elegance in this connection respects the sentiment, the imagery, and 
the diction : and those proverbs, which are the plainest, most obvious, 
and simple, or which contain nothing remarkable either in sentiment or 
style, are not to be considered as destitute of their peculiar elegance, 
if they possess only brevity, and that neat, compact form, and round¬ 
ness of period, which alone are sufficient to constitute a proverb. 
Examples of this kind occur in the maxim of David, recorded in 1 
Sam. xxiv. 13. and in that of Solomon, Prov. x. 12. 2 

II. Proverbs are divided into two classes, viz. 1. Entire Sentences ; 
and, 2. Proverbial Phrases , which by common usage are admitted 
into a sentence. 

1. Examples of Entire Proverbial Sentences occur in Gen. x. 9 

and xxii. 14. 1 Sam. x. 12. and xxiv. 13. 2 Sam. v. 8. and xx. 18. 

Ezek. xvi. 44. and xviii. 2. Luke iv. 23. John iv. 37. and 2 Pet. ii. 
22. ; in which passages the inspired writers expressly state the sen¬ 
tences to have passed into proverbs. 

2. Examples of Proverbial Phrases, which indeed cannot be cor¬ 
rectly termed proverbs, but which have acquired their form and use, 
are to be found in Deut. xxv. 4. 1 Kings xx. 11. 2 Chron. xxv. 9. 
Job vi. 5. xiv. 19. and xxviii. 18. Psal. xlii. 7. and lxii. 9. Of this 
description also is that beautiful and memorable sentence, the fear 
OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM. Psal. CXi. 10., which is 

repeated in Prov. i. 7. ix. 10. and in Job xxviii. 28. The book of 

vegetation, which is to produce a tree, is contained. And if any writer should am¬ 
plify the sentence, it would no longer be a proverb, but a declamation.” Deme¬ 
trius Phai.ereus, IIeoi Epyrivcias, sect. ix. 

1 Art of Poetry by Francis, verse 455. 

2JLowth, Prielect. xxiv. pp. 312—318. (edit. 17G3), or vol. ii. pp. 1C2—173. of 
Dr. Gregory’s translation. 

VOL. II. 


79 




626 


On the Figurative Language of Scripture . [Part II. Ch. 

Proverbs likewise contains very many similar sentences ; from among 
which it may suffice to refer to Prov. i. 17. 32. iii. 12. vi. 6. 27. x. 5. 
13. 19. 25. xi. 15. 22. 27. xii. 11. 15. xv. 2. 33. xvii. 1. 10. 19. 28. 
xix. 2. 24. xx. 4. 11. 14. 21. 25. xxii. 6. 13. xxv. 11. 16. 27. xxvi. 4. 

10, 11. 14. 17. 28. xxvii. 6, 7, 8. 10. 14. 17. 22. xxviii. 21. So in the 
book of Ecclesiastes, ch. i. 15. 18. iv. 5. 12. v. 2. 6. 8, 9, 10. vi. 9. vii. 
17. ix. 4. 18. x. 1, 2. 8. 15. 19, 20. xi. 3, 4. 6, 7. xii. 12. And in the 
Prophets , Jer. xiii. 23. xxiii. 28. Ezek. vii. 5. Micah vii. 5, 6. Ilabak. 

11. 6. Mai. ii. 10. Ac. And likewise in the New Testament , as in 
Matt. v. 13—15. vi. 3. 21. 34. vii. 2. 5. 16. ix. 12. 16. x. 10. 22. 24. 
26. xii. 34. xiii. 12. 57. xv. 14. xxiii. 24. xxiv. 28. Mark ix. 50. 
Luke ix. 62. xii. 48. xxiii. 31. Acts ix. 5. xx. 35. 1 Cor. v. 6. x. 12. 
xv. 33. 2 Cor. ix. 6, 7. 2 Thes. iii. 10. Tit. i. 15. 

III. The Proverbs occurring in the New Testament are to be 
explained, partly by the aid of similar passages from the Old Testa¬ 
ment, and partly from the antient writings of the Jews, especially from 
the Talmud ; whence it appears how much they were in use among 
that people, and that they were applied by Christ and his apostles, 
agreeably to common usage. The proverbs, contained in the Old 
and New Testaments, are collected and illustrated by Drusias, and 
Andreas Schottus ; whose works are comprised in the ninth volume 
of the Critici Sacri, and also by Joachim Zehner, who has elucidated 
them by parallel passages from the fathers as well as from the heathen 
writers, in a treatise published at Leipsic in 1601. The proverbs 
which are found in the New Testament have been illustrated by 
Vorstius 1 and Viser, 2 as well as by Lightfoot and Schoetgenius in their 
Hone Hebraicce et Talmudicce , and by Buxtorf in his Lexicon Chap 
daicum Talmudicumet Rabbinicum ; from which last-mentioned works 
Rosenmiiller, Kuinoel, Dr. Whitby, Dr. A. Clarke, and other com¬ 
mentators, both British and foreign, have derived their illustrations of 
the Jewish parables and proverbs. 


SECTION VII. 

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS ON THE FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE OF 

SCRIPTURE. 

I. Synecdoche. — II. Irony. — III. Hyperbole. 

Besides the figures already discussed, and the right understand¬ 
ing of which is of the greatest importance for ascertaining the sense of 
Scripture, Glassius, and other writers, who have treated expressly on 
the tropes and figures of the sacred writings, have enumerated a great 
variety of other figures which are to be found in them. As, how¬ 
ever, many ol these are merely rhetorical ; and though they are 

1 Vorstius’s Diatriba de Adagiis Novi Testament! is printed in Crenius’s Fasci¬ 
culus Tertius Opusculojum qu* ad Historiam et Philologiam Sacram spectant. 
18mo. Rotterdam, pp. 475—576.; and also in Fischer's second edition of Leusden, 
De Dialectis N. T. (8vo. Lipsise), pp. 168—252. 

2 Viser Hermeneutica Sacra Novi Testamenti. part ii. sect. ix. can. 2. pp. 132— 

150 . i p pp 






C27 


\ . Sect. VII.] Figurative Language of Scripture. 

N 

admirably calculated to show how vastly superior the inspired volume 
is to all the productions of the human mind, for the beauty and subli¬ 
mity of its composition; yet, as it would lead us into too wide a field 
oi discussion, were we to introduce such figures at length, our atten¬ 
tion must be directed to a few ol those principal figures which have 
not been mentioned in the preceding pages. 

The most important ol these figures, which remain to he noticed, 
are, 1. Synecdoche; 2. Irony; and, 3. the Hyperbole. 

I. Synecdoche. 

i 

A Synedoche is a trope in which, 1. The whole is put for a part ; 
2. Apart is put for the whole; 3. A certain number for an uncertain 
one ; 4. A general name for a particular one ; and 5. Special words 
for general ones. A very few examples will suffice to illustrate this 
figure. 

1. The whole is sometimes put for a part: 

As, the world for the Roman empire, which was but a small though very re¬ 
markable part of the world, in Acts xxiv. 5. and Rev. iii. 10. The world for the 
earth, which is a part of it, 2 Pet. iii. 6. Rom. i. 8. 1 John v. 19. Thus the whole 
person is put for a part, as man for the soul, Luke xvi. 23. where the rich man, 
Abraham, and Lazarus, are respectively put for their souls ; man, for the body, 
John xix. 42. xx. 2. 13. with Luke xxiv. 3., in which passages Jesus is put for his 
dead body. Time for a part of time, as Dan. ii. 4. which simply means, we wish 
you a long life and reign. Gen. xvii. 19. where the words everlasting covenant 
denote while the Jewish policy subsists, that is, until Messiah come, (Gen. xlix. 
10.) — see also Exod. xxi. 6. where the expression for ever means the year of 
jubilee. 

To this class of Synecdoche may be referred those instances, in which the plu¬ 
ral number is sometimes put for the singular: as the mountains of Ararat (Gen. 
viii. 4.), which term might refer to the bitopped form of that mountainous range. 
The cities w T here Lot dwelt, Gen. xix. 24, 20.; the sides of the house, Amos vi. 
10.; the sides of the ship, Jonah i. 5.; the ass and foal, on which Jesus Christ 
was set, Matt. xxi. 7. compared with Zech. ix. 9.; the prophets, Mark i. 2. John 
vi. 45. Acts xiii. 40.; in all which places only one of those things or persons men¬ 
tioned is to be undertood. So, children is put for child, Gen. xxi. 7., so daughters 
and sons’ daughters, Gen. xlvi. 7., when Jacob had but one daughter, (verse 15.) 
and one grana-daughter, (verse 17.) So the sons of Dan, (verse 23.) when he had 
but one. So the cities of Gilead are mentioned in Judg. xii. 7., whereas Jephthah 
was buried in one city in that region. In like manner, by the sons of Jehoiada is 
intended only Zechariah, 2 Chron. xxiv. 25. compared with verses 20. and 21. ; 
and our Saviour speaks of himself in the plural number, John iii. 11. 

2. Sometimes the part for the whole. 

Thus in Gen. i. 5. 8. 13. 19. 23. 31. the evening and morning, being the princi¬ 
pal parts of the day, are put for the entire day. So the soul, comprehends the en¬ 
tire man, Acts xxvii. 37. Sea similar expressions in Gen. xii. 5. xvii. 14. Exod. 
xii. 19. Lev. iv. 2. Psal. iii. 2. xi. 1. xxv. 13. Isa. lviii. 5. Ezek. xviii. 4. Luke vi. 
9. Acts ii. 41. &c. 

So, the singular number is sometimes put for the plural : 

This chiefly takes place when the Scriptures speak of the multitude collectively, 
or of an entire species. Thus in Gen. iii. 8. tree in the Hebrew is put for trees. Gen. 
xlix. 6. In their anger they slexo a man, and in their self-will they houghed an ox, 
that is, men and oxen. Exod. xiv. 17. (Heb.) I will get me honour upon Pharaoh 
and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen , that is, the whole 
multitude of his chariots which are enumerated in verse 7. So in Exod. xv. 1.21. 
the horse and his rider are put collectively for the horses and horsemen who were 
in the Egyptian army. So the Hivite, Canaanite, and Ilittite, Exod. xxiii. 28., 
the ox and the ass, Isa. i. 3., the stork, the turtle, the crane, the swallow, Jer. viii. 
7., the palmer-worm, Joel i. 4., street, Rev. xxi. 21., are respectively put for the 
Hivites, oxen, storks, &c. &c. It is proper to remark, that in very many instan- 


C28 


Concluding Observations on the [Part II. Ch. 

ces the learned and pious translators of our authorised version have justly rendered 
these singular words in the plural number where the sense evidently required it. 

3. Very frequently a certain or definite number is put for an uncer¬ 
tain and indefinite number: 

Thus we find double for much or sufficient, in Isa. xl. 2. lxi. 7. Jer. xvi. 18. 
Zech. ix. 12. Rev. xviii. 6. Twice for several times, in Psal. lxii. 11. Five for a 
few, 1 Cor. xiv. 19. in which verse ten thousand are put for many. Ten for many, 
Gen. xxxi. 7. and 1 Sam. i. 8. But most frequently we have seven for an indefinite 
number. See Gen. iv. 15. Lev. xxvi. 18. 21. 24. 28. Ruth iv. 15. 1 Sam. ii. 5. 
Psal. xii. 6. cxix. 1G4. Prov. xxiv. 16. xxvi. 25. Isa. iv. 1. Jer. xv. 9. Ezek. 
xxxix. 9. 12. Zech. iii. 9. Matt. xii. 45. One hundred for many, indefinitely, in 
Eccl. vi. 3. viii. 12. Prov. xvii. 10. Matt. xix. 29. Luke viii. 8. A thousand for a 
great many, Exod. xx. 6. xxxiv. 7. Deut. i. 11. 1 Sam. xviii. 7. Psal. cxix. 72. 
Ten thousand for an immense number, 1 Sam. xviii. 7. Psal. iii. 6.; and ten thau- 
sand thousand for a countless host, in Numb. x. 36. (Heb.) Dan. vii. 10. Rev. v. 
11. &c. 

4. A general name is put for a particular one, 

As in Mark xvi. 15. where every creature means all mankind ; as flesh also doos 
in Gen. vi. 12. Psal. cxlv. 21. Isa. xl. 5, 6. lxvi. 23. Matt. xxiv. 22. Luke iii. 6. 
and Rom. iii. 20. 

5. Sometimes special words or particular names arc put for such as 
arc general: 

Thus Jehovah is, in Psal. xlvi. 9. said to break the bow, and cut the spear in 
sunder, and to burn the chariot in the fire : that is, God destroys all the weapons 
of war, and blesses the world with peace. Again, in Dan. xii. 2. we read, Many of 
them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake ; some to everlasting life, and, 
some to shame and everlasting contempt. Here many is put for all. So man , 
generally, is put for all mankind, both male and female, Psal. i. 1. Mark xvi. 16. 
Numerous similar passages might be adduced. So, father is put for any ancestor, 
Psal. xxii. 4. xliv. 1. cvi. 6. Father for grandfather, 2 Sam. ix. 7. Dan. v. 11. 
Mother for grandmother, 1 Kings xv. 10. 13. compared with verses 2. 8. Brother 
for kinsman, Gen. xiii. 8. and xiv. 14. with Gen. xii. 5. Matt. xii. 46. John vii. 3. 
5. In the same manner, son is put for any of the posterity ; thus Laban is said 
to be Nahor’s son, in Gen. xxix. 5. when he was the son of Bethuel, and grandson 
or nephew of Nahor. Compare Gen. xxii. 20. 23. with xxiv. 29. So Rebekah is. 
called Abraham’s brother’s daughter, Gen. xxiv. 48. Father and mother intend 
all superiors, Exod. xx. 12. In like manner the Greeks, who are the most emi¬ 
nent of the heathen nations, are put for the whole Gentile world, in Rom. i. 16. 
Gal. iii. 28. and Col. iii. 11. So bread denotes all the necessaries of life, in Matt, 
vi. 11. and numerous other places. The fatherless and icidoics are put for any 
who are in distress or affliction, Isa. i. 17. 23. James i. 27. &c. 

II. Irony. 

An Irony is a figure, in which we speak one thing and design ano¬ 
ther, in order to give the greater force and vehemence to our meaning. 
An irony is distinguished from the real sentiments of the speaker or 
writer, by the accent, the air, the extravagance of the praise, the cha¬ 
racter of the person, or the nature of the discourse. 

Very numerous instances of irony are to be found in the Scripture, 
which might be produced ; but the following will suffice to show the 
nature of this figure. 

Thus, the prophet Elijah speaks in irony to the priests of Baal — Cry aloud, for 
he is a God : either he is talking, or he is pursuing ; or he is on a journey, or 
per adventure he sleeps, and must be aicaked. (1 Kings xviii. 27.) So the prophet 
Micah bids Ahab go to battle against Ramoth-Gilead and prosper. (1 Kings xxii. 
15.) We meet with an irony in Job xii.2. No doubt but ye are the people, and wis¬ 
dom shall die with you. That well known passage in Eccles. xi. 9. may also be 
considered as an irony. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth ; and let thine heart 
cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the way of thine heart and in thi 
sight of thine eyes. Nay, the Almighty himself appears to speak ironically in 
Gen. iii. 22. And the Lord God said, Behold the man is become as one of us, to 
know good and evil; and also in Judges x. 14. Go and cry unto the gods which 


629 


\ . Sect. VII.] Figurative Language of Scripture . 

yc have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. And in the 
same manner we may apprehend Christ’s rebuke to the Jewish doctors, when he 
says (Mark vii. 9.) Full xccll ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may 
keep your own tradition ; where, by the word /caXwy, which our translators render 
full well, it is evident that our Saviour intends quite the contrary of what his lan¬ 
guage seems to import. Saint Paul also has a fine example of irony in 1 Cor. iv. 
8. JYow ye arc full, now ye arc rich, yc have reigned as kings without us ; and 
1 would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. 

Under this figure we may include the Sarcasm , which may be de¬ 
fined to be an irony in its superlative keenness and asperity. As an 
instance of this kind, we may consider the soldiers’ speech to our 
Lord ; when, after they had arrayed him in mock majesty, they bow¬ 
ed the knee before him, and said, Hail, King of the Jews . (Matt, 
xxvii. 29.) So again, while our Redeemer was suspended on the 
cross, there were some who thus derided him, Let Christ, the King 
of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. 
(Mark xv. 32.) 

III. Hyperbole. 

This figure, in its representation of things or objects, either mag¬ 
nifies or diminishes them beyond or below their proper limits: it is 
common in all languages, and is of frequent occurrence in the Scrip¬ 
ture. 

Thus, things, which are very lofty, are said to reach up to heaven. 
Deut. i. 2S. ix. 1. Psal. evii. 26. So, things, which are beyond the 
reach or capacity of man, are said to be in heaven , in the deep, or be¬ 
yond the sea , Deut. xxx. 12. Rom. x. 6, 7. So, a great quantity or 
number is commonly expressed by the sand of the sea, the dust of the 
earth, and the stars of heaven, Gen. xiii. 16. xli. 49. Judges vii. 12. 1 
Sam. xiii. 5. ] Kings iv. 29. 2 Cliron. i. 9. Jer. xv. 8. Ileb. xi. 12. 
In like manner we meet, in Numb. xiii. 33. with smaller than grass¬ 
hoppers, to denote extreme diminutiveness : 2 Sam. i. 23. swifter than 
eagles , to intimate extreme celerity. Judges v. 4. the earth trembled, 
verse 5. the mountains melted. 1 Kings i. 40. the earth rent. Psal. vi. 
6. I make my bed to swim. Psal. cxix. 136. rivers of tears run down 
mine eyes. So we read of angels' food, Psal. lxxviii. 25. The face 
of an angel, in Acts vi. 15.; the tongue of an angel, in 1 Cor. xiii. 1. 
See also Gal. i. 8. and iv. 14. In Ezek. xxi. 6. we read sigh with the 
breaking of thy loins, that is most deeply. So in Luke xix 40. we 
read that the stones would cry out , and in verse 44. they shall not 
leave in thee one stone upon another ; that is, there shall be a total 
desolation. 1 

l Glassii Phil. Sacr. tom. ii. pp. 55, 56. 897—916. 1243—1276. 1283—1294. Tur 
retin. de Interp. S. S. o. 206. 



( 630 ) 


[Part II. 


CHAPTER VI. 


ON THE SPIRITUAL INTERPRETATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

It has been a favourite notion with some divines, that the mystical 
or spiritual interpretation of the Scriptures had its first origin in the 
synagogue, and was thence adopted by our Lord and his apostles 
when arguing with the Jews ; and that from them it was received by 
the fathers of the Christian church, from whom it has been transmit¬ 
ted to us. The inference deduced by many of these eminently learn¬ 
ed men is, that no such interpretation is admissible : but, that there is 
a mystical or spiritual sense in the sacred writings, we have already 
had occasion to remark, and to vindicate its propriety. 1 This method 
of interpreting the Bible, indeed, “ like all other good things, is liable 
to abuse ; and that it hath been actually abused, both in antient and 
modern days, cannot be denied. He, who shall go about to apply, in 
this way, any passage, before he hath attained its literal meaning, may 
say in itself what is pious and true, but foreign to the text from which 
he endeavoureth to deduce it. St. Jerome, it is well known, when 
grown older and wiser, lamented that, in the fervours of a youthful 
fancy, he had spiritualised the prophecy of Obadiah before he under¬ 
stood it. And it must be allowed that a due attention to the occa¬ 
sion and scope of the Psalms would have pared off many unseemly 
excrescences, which now deform the commentaries of St. Augustin 
and other fathers upon them. But these and other concessions of 
the same kind being made, as they are made very freely, men of 
sense will consider, that a principle is not therefore to be rejected., 
because it has been abused; since human errors can never invalidate 
the truths of God.” 2 

The literal sense, it has been well observed, is undoubtedly, first 
in point of nature , as well as in order of signification ; and conse¬ 
quently, when investigating the meaning of any passage, this must be 
ascertained before we proceed to search out its mystical import: but 
the true and genuine mystical or spiritual sense excels the literal in 
dignity, the latter being only the medium of conveying the former, 

1 See pp. 496—498. supra. The present chapter is abridged from Rambach's 
Institutions Hermeneutic® Sacr®, pp. 67—82. compared with his “ Commentatio 
Hermeneutica de Sensfts Mystici Criteriis ex genuinis principiis deducta, neccssa- 
riisque cautelis circumscripta.” 8vo. Jen®, 1728. 

2 Bishop Horne’s Commentary on the Psalms, vol. i. Preface. (Works, ii. p. x.) 
u The importance, then, of figurative and mystical interpretation can hardly be 
called in question. The entire neglect of it must, in many cases, greatly vitiate 
expositions, however otherwise valuable for their erudition and judgment. In ex¬ 
plaining the prophetical writings and the Mosaic ordinances, this defect will be 
most striking ; since, in consequence of it, not only the spirit and force of many 
passages will almost wholly evaporate, but erroneous conceptions may be formed 
of their real purport and intention.” Bp. Van Mildert’s Bampton Lectures, p. 240. 
Rambach has adduced several instances, which strongly confirm these solid obser¬ 
vations, Institut. Henn. Sacr. p. 81. 



631 


Ch. VI.] On the Spiritual Interpretation of Scripture. 

which is more evidently designed by the Holy Spirit. For instance, 
in Numb. xxi. 8, 9. compared with John iii. 14. the brazen serpent 
is said to have been lifted up, in order to signify the lifting up of Je¬ 
sus Christ, the Saviour of the world ; and consequently that the type 
might serve to designate the antitype. 1 

Though the true spiritual sense of a text is undoubtedly to be most 
highly esteemed, it by no means follows that we are to look for it in 
every passage of Scripture ; it is not, however, to be inferred that 
spiritual interpretations are to be rejected, although they should not 
be clearly expressed. The spiritual meaning of a passage is there 
only to be sought, where it is evident, from certain criteria, that such 
meaning was designed by the Holy Spirit. The criteria, by which 
to ascertain whether there is a latent spiritual meaning in any passage 
of Scripture, are two-fold : either they are seated in the text itself or 
they are to be found in some other passages. 

In the former case, vestiges of a spiritual meaning are discernible , 
when things , which are affirmed concerning the person or thing imme¬ 
diately treated of are so august and illustrious that they cannot in any 
way be applied to it , in the fullest sense of the words. For the word 
ol God is the word of truth: there is nothing superfluous, nothing 
deficient in it. The writings of the prophets, especially those of 
Isaiah, abound with instances of this kind. Thus, in the 14th, 40th, 
41st, and 49th chapters of that evangelical prophet, the return of the 
Jews from the Babylonish captivity is announced in the most lofty 
and magnificent terms. He describes their way as levelled before 
them, valleys filled up, mountains reduced to plains, cedars and other 
shady trees, and fragrant herbs, as springing up to refresh them on 
their journey, and declares that they shall suffer neither hunger nor 
thirst during their return. The Jews, thus restored to their native 
land, he represents as a holy people, chosen by Jehovah, cleansed 
from all iniquity, and taught by God himself, he. he. Now, when 
we compare this description with the accounts actually given of their 
return to Palestine by Ezra and Nehemiah, we do not find any thing 
corresponding with the events so long and so beautifully predicted by 
Isaiah : neither do they represent the manners of the people as re¬ 
formed agreeably to the prophet’s statement. On the contrary, their 
profligacy is frequently reproved by Ezra and Nehemiah in the most 
pointed terms, as well as by the prophet Haggai. In this descrip¬ 
tion, therefore, of their deliverance from captivity, we must look be¬ 
yond it to that infinitely higher deliverance, which in the fulness of 
time was accomplished by Jesus Christ: “ who, by himself once 
offered, hath thereby made a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, ob¬ 
lation, and atonement for the sins of the whole world,” and thus, 

“ hath opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.” Similar ad¬ 
ditional instances might easily be adduced: but, as they are connect¬ 
ed with the question relative to the double sense of prophecy which is 
more properly discussed in a subsequent page, 2 we proceed to show 


1 Rambach, Institutiones Hermenutic® Sacroe, p. 72. 

2 See Chap. VII. Sect. II. pp. 641—643. infra. 




632 


On the Spiritual Interpretation [Part II. 

in what cases it will be proper to have recourse to other passages of 
Scripture, in order to find out the latent spiritual meaning of a text. 

I. Sometimes the Holy Spirit clearly and expressly asserts that one 
thing or person was divinely constituted or appointed to be a figure 
or symbol of another thing or person ; in which case the indisputable 
testimony of eternal truth removes and cuts off every ground of doubt 
and uncertainty. 

For instance, if we compare Psalms cx. 4. with Heb. vii. 1. we 
shall find that Melchisedec was a type of Messiah, the great high-priest 
and king. So Hagar and Sarah were types of the Jewish and Chris¬ 
tian churches. (Gal. iv. 22—24.) Jonah was a type of Christ’s 
resurrection (Matt. xii. 40.): the manna , of Christ himself, and of 
his heavenly doctrine. (John vi. 32.) The rock in the wilderness, 
whence water issued on being struck by Moses, represented Christ 
to the Israelites (1 Cor. x. 4.) ; and the entrance of the high-priest 
into the Holy of Holies, on the day of expiation, with the blood of 
the victim, is expressly stated by Saint Paul to have prefigured the 
entrance of Jesus Christ into the presence of God, with his own 
blood. (Heb. ix. 7—20.) 

H. Sometimes, however, the mystical sense is intimated by the 
Holy Spirit in a more obscure manner: and without excluding the 
practice of sober and pious meditation, we are led by various intima¬ 
tions (which require very diligent observation and study) to the know¬ 
ledge of the spiritual or mystical meaning. This chiefly occurs in the 
following ca,*-es : 

I. When the antitype is proposed under figurative names taken from 
the Old Testament. 

Thus, in 1 Cor. v. 7. Christ is called the paschal lamb : — in 1 Cor. xv. 45. he 
is called the last Adam ; the first Adam, therefore, was in some respect a type or 
figure of Christ, who in Ezekiel xxxiv. 23. is further called David. In like man¬ 
ner, the kingdom of Antichrist is mentioned under the appellations of Sodom, 
Egypt, and Babylon, in Rev. xi. 8. and xvi. 19. 

2. When, by a manifest allusion of words and phrases, the Scripture 
refers one thing to another. 

Thus, from Isa. ix. 4. which alludes to the victory obtained by Gideon (Judges 
vii. 22.) we learn that this represents the victory which Christ should obtain by the 
preaching of the Gospel, as Vitringa has largely shown on this passage. Com¬ 
pare also Matt. xxi. 38. with Gen. xxxvii. 19, 20. 

3. A passage is to be spiritually interpreted, when the arguments of 
the inspired writers either plainly intimate it to have a spiritual mean¬ 
ing, or such meaning is tacitly implied. 

For instance, when St. Paul is arguing against the Jews from the types of Sarah, 
Hagar, Melchisedec, &c. he supposes that in these memorable Old Testament 
personages there were some things in which Christ and his mystical body the 
church were delineated, and that these things were admitted by his opponents; 
otherwise his argument would be inconclusive. Hence it follows, that Isaac, Jo¬ 
seph, and other persons mentioned in the Old Testament, of whom there is no 
typical or spiritual signification given in the Scriptures, in express terms , wore 
types of Christ in many things that happened to them, or were performed by them. 
In like manner, St. Paul shows (1 Cor. ix. 9, 10.) that the precept in Deut. xxv. 4. 
relative to the muzzling of oxen, has a higher spiritual meaning than is suggested 
by the mere letter of the command. 

Such are the most important criteria, by which to ascertain whether 
a passage may require a spiritual interpretation, or not. But although 


633 


Cii. VI.] Of Scripture. 

these rules will afford essential assistance in enabling us to determine 
this point, it is another and equally important question, in what man¬ 
ner that interpretation is to be regulated. 

In the consideration of this topic, it will be sufficient to remark, 
that the general principles already laid down, 1 2 with respect to the 
figurative and allegorical interpretation of the Scriptures, are applica¬ 
ble to the spiritual exposition of the sacred writings. It only remains 
to add, that all mystical or spiritual interpretations must be such as 
really illustrate, not obscure or perplex the subject. Agreeably to 
the sound maxim adopted by divines, they must not be made the 
foundation of articles of faith, but must be offered only to explain or 
confirm what is elsewhere more clearly revealed f and above all, 
they must on no account or pretext whatever, be sought after in mat¬ 
ters of little moment. 

In the spiritual interpretation of Scripture, there are two extremes 
to be avoided, viz. on the one hand, that we do not restrict such in¬ 
terpretation within too narrow limits ; and, on the other hand, that we 
do not seek for mystical meanings in every passage, to the exclusion 
of its literal and common sense, when that sense is sufficiently clear 
and intelligible. The latter of these two extremes is that to which 
men have in every age been most liable. Hence it is, that we find 
instances of it in the more antient Jewish doctors, especially in Philo, 
and among many of the fathers, as Cyprian, Jerome, Augustine, and 
others, and particularly in Origen, who appears to have derived his 
system of allegorising the sacred writings from the school of Plato. 
Nor are modern expositors altogether free from these extravagances. 
Some of these mistaken interpretations we have already noticed r 3 
and, if our limits permitted, other instances might easily be adduced, 
in which a similar excess of spiritualising is to be found. 

In these strictures, the author trusts he shall not be charged with 
improperly censuring “ that fair and sober accommodation of the his¬ 
torical and parabolical parts to the present times and circumstances, 
or to the elucidation of either the doctrines or precepts of Christianity, 
which is sanctioned by the word of God and which he has attempt¬ 
ed to illustrate in the preceding criteria for ascertaining the mystical 
or spiritual meaning of the Scriptures. Such an accommodation, it 
is justly remarked, is perfectly allowable, and may be highly useful; 
and in some cases it is absolutely necessary. “ Let every truly pious 
man, however, be aware of the danger of extending this principle 
beyond its natural and obvious application; lest he should wander 
himself, and lead others also astray from that clearly traced and well- 
beaten path in which we are assured that even ‘ a wayfaring man 
though a fool, shall not err.’ Let no temptations, which vanity, a 
desire of popularity, or the more specious, but equally fallacious. 


1 See Chapter V. Sections I. III. and IV. pp. 581—588. and 598—609. supra. 

2 « Est regula theologorum, scnsum mysticum non esse argumentativum ; hoc 
est, non suppeditare firma ac solida argumenta, quibus dogmata fidei inadificentur. 
Rambach, Inst. Herm. Sacr. pp. 72, 73 

3 See pp. 502, 503. supra. 

VOL. II. 


80 



634 


On the Spiritual Interpretation of Scripture. [Part II. 

piea of usefulness may present, seduce him from his tried way. On 
the contrary , let him adhere with jealous care to the plain and unforced 
dictates of the word of God ; lest by departing from the simplicity of 
the Gospel, he should inadvertently contribute to the adulteration of 
Christianity, and to the consequent injury which must thence arise to 
the spiritual interests of his fellow-creatures .” 1 

1 Christian Observer for 1805, vol. iv. p. 133. The two preceding pages of this 
journal contain some admirable remarks on the evils of spiritualising the sacred 
writings too much. The same topic is also further noticed in volume xvi. for 1817, 
p. 319. et seq. The whole of Bishop Horne’s Preface to his Commentary on the 
Psalms is equally worthy of perusal for its excellent observations on the same ques¬ 
tion. The misapplication and abuse of spiritual interpretation are also pointed out 
^ by Bishop Van Mildert, Bampton Lectures, p. 241. et seq. 




c 



V 


i 


i 


i 









/ 



Ch. VII.] 


( 635 ) 


CHAPTER VII. 

ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE SCRIPTURE PROPHECIES. 

SECTION I. 

GENERAL RULES FOR ASCERTAINING THE SENSE OF THE PRO¬ 
PHETIC WRITINGS. 

Prophecy, or the prediction of future events, is justly consider¬ 
ed as the highest evidence that can be given of supernatural com¬ 
munion with the Deity. The force of the argument from prophecy, 
for proving that the divine inspiration of the sacred records has already 
been exhibited ; and the cavils ot objectors, from its alleged obscurity, 
has been obviated . 1 Difficulties, it is readily admitted, do exist in 
understanding the prophetic writings : but these are either owing to 
our ignorance of history and of the Scriptures, or because the pro¬ 
phecies themselves are yet unfulfilled. The latter can only be un¬ 
derstood when the events foretold have actually been accomplished : 
but the former class of difficulties may be removed in many, if not 
in all, cases ; and the knowledge, sense, and meaning of the prophets 
may, in a considerable degree, be attained by prayer, reading, and 
meditation, and by comparing Scripture with Scripture, especially 
with the writings of the New Testament, and particularly with the 
book of the Revelation . 2 With this view, the following general rules 
will be found useful in investigating the sense and meaning of the pro¬ 
phecies, as well as their accomplishment. 

I. “ The sense of the prophecy is to be sought in the events of the 
world , and in the harmony of the prophetic writings , rather than in the 
bare terms of any single prediction .” 3 

In the consideration of this canon, the following circumstances 
should be carefully attended to : 

(1.) Consider well the times when the several prophets flourished , in 

1 See Vol. I. pp. 313—380. For an account of the Prophets, see Vol. IV. Part I. 
Chap. IV., and for an analysis of their writings, with critical remarks thereon, see 
also Vol. IV. Part 1. Chap. V. VI. VII. 

2 There is scarcely an expression in this book which is not taken out of Daniel or 
some other prophet; Sir Isaac Newton has observed, that it is written in the same 
style and language with the prophecies of Daniel, and has the same relation to 
them which they have to one another, so that all of them together make but one 
complete prophecy ; and in like manner it consists of two parts, an introductory 
prophecy, and an interpretation thereof. (Observations on the Apocalypse, chap, 
ii. p. 254.) The style of the Revelations, says the profoundly learned Dr. Light- 
foot, u is very prophetical as to the things spoken, and very hebraizing as to the 
speaking of them. Exceeding much of the old prophets’ language and manner [is] 
adduced to intimate New Stories : and exceeding much of the Jews’ language and 
allusion to their customs and opinions, thereby to speak the things more familiarly 
to be understood.” Harmony of the New Testament, p. 154. (Lond. 1655.) See 
also Langii Hermeneutica Sacra, pp. 148—150. 

3 Bishop Horsley. This learned prelate has shown in his sermon on 2 Pet. i. 20. 

that the clause — No prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation — 
may be more precisely thus expressed : — “ Not any prophecy of Scripture is of 
self-interpretation, or is its own interpreter: because the Scripture prophecies are 
not detached predictions of separate independent event s, but are united in a regular 
and entire system, all terminating in one great object, — the promulgation of the 
Gospel, and the complete establishment of the Messiah’s kingdom.” Sermons, vol. 
ii. pp. 13—16. i 




636 


General Rules for ascertaining the [Part II. Ch. 

what place and under what Icings they uttered their predictions, the du¬ 
ration of their prophetic ministry, and their personal rank and con¬ 
dition, and, lastly, whatever can be known respecting their life and 
transactions. 

These particulars, indeed, cannot in every instance be ascertained, the circum¬ 
stances relating to many of the prophets being very obscure : but, where they can 
be known, it is necessary to attend to them, as this will materially contribute to 
the right understanding of the prophetic writings.l Thus, in order to understand 
correctly the prophecy of Isaiah, we should make ourselves acquainted with the 
state and condition of the people of Israel under the kings Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, 
Ahaz, and Hezekiah. With this view, the books of Kings (2. xiv.—xxi.) and 2 
Chron. (xvi.—xxii.) ought to be repeatedly perused and studied; because they 
contain an accurate view of the state of those times. 

(2.) The situation of the particular places, of which the prophets 
speak, must also be kept in mind, as well as that of the neighbouring 
places ; there being in the prophetic ivritings frequent allusions to the 
situation and antient names of places. 

When places are mentioned as lying north, south, east, or west, it is generally 
to be understood of their situation with respect to Judaea or Jerusalem ; when the 
context does not plainly restrict the scene to some other place. For instance, 
Egypt and Arabia are every where called the land of the south, because they are 
situate to the south of Jerusalem: thus in Daniel (ch. xi.) the king of the south, 
signifies the king of Egypt, and the king of the north, the monarch of Syria. The 
sea is often put for the west, the Mediterranean Sea being to the west of Judaea : 
by the earth, the prophets often mean the land of Judaea, and sometimes the great 
continent of all Asia and Africa, to which they had access by land : and by the 
isles of the sea, they understood the places to which they sailed, particularly all 
Europe, and probably the islands and sea-coasts of the Mediterranean. The ap¬ 
pellation of sea is also given to the great rivers Nile and Euphrates, which, over¬ 
flowing their banks, appear like small seas or great lakes. The Egyptian Sea, 
with its seven streams, mentioned in Isa. xi. 15. is the Nile with its seven mouths : 
the sea, mentioned in Isa.xxvii.l. and Jer. li. 36. is the Euphrates; and the desert 
of the sea, in Isa. xxi. 1. is the country of Babylon, watered by that river. In like 
manner, the Jewish people are described by several particular appellations, after 
the division of the kingdom in the reign of Jeroboam: thus, the ten tribes, being 
distinct from the other two, and subject to a different king, until the time of the 
Assyrian captivity, are respectively called Samaria, Ephraim, and Joseph; be¬ 
cause the city of Samaria, which was situated in the allotment of the tribe of 
Ephraim , who was the son of Joseph, was the metropolis of the kings of Israel. 
Compare Isa. vii. 2. 5. 8, 9. Psal. Jxxxi. 5. Hos. vii. 11. Amos v. 15. and vi. 6. 
They were also called Israel and Jacob, because they formed the greater part of 
Israel’s or Jacob’s posterity. The other two tribes of Judah and Benjamin are 
called the kingdom of Judah, the house of David, Jerusalem or Sion, (Isa. vii. 13. 
and xl. 2. Psal. exxvi. 1. and Isa. lii. 8.), because those two tribes adhered to the 
family of David, from whose posterity their kings sprung, and the capital of their 
dominions was Jerusalem, within whose precincts was mount Sion. After their 
return, however, from the Babylonish captivity, the names of Israel and Judah are 
promiscuously applied to all the descendants of the twelve tribes who were thus 
restored to their native country. This is the case in the writings of the prophets 
Haggai, Zechariab, and Malachi, who all flourished after that event. In addition 
to the situations and names of places, whatever relates to the history of those 
times must be ascertained, as far as is practicable, by consulting not only the 
historical books of Scripture, and the writings of Josephus (whose statements 
must sometimes be taken with great caution, as he has not always related the 
sacred history with fidelity), but also by comparing the narratives of Herodotus, 
Diodorus Siculus, and other profane historians, who have written on the affairs 
of the Chaldaeans, Babylonians, Egyptians, Tyrians, Medes and Persians, and 
other Oriental nations, with whom the posterity of Jacob had any intercourse. 
Quotations from these writers may be seen in all the larger commentaries on the 
Bible: Dr. Prideaux s Connection of Sacred and Profane History, and Bishop 
Newton’s Dissertations on the Prophecies, are both particularly valuable for the 


l On the chronological order, &c. of the prophets, see Vol. IV. Part I. Chap. IV 
pp. 145, 146. 




637 


VII. Sect. I.] Sense oj the Prophetic Writings. 

illustrations of the sacred predictions which they have respectively drawn from 
profane authors. In the Geographical Index, at the end of the third volume of 
1 11 s work, under the articles Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Media, and Persia, we 
have given an Abstract of the Profane History of the East, from the time of Solo¬ 
mon until the Babylonish Captivity, to facilitate the better understanding of the 
history of the Hebrews, described in the writings of the prophets. 

(3.) As the prophets treat not only oj past transactions and present 
occurrences, hut also for etel future events, in order to understand them., 
we must diligently consult the histories of the following ages, both sacred 
and profane, and carefully see whether we can trace in them the fulfil- 
iient oj any prophecy. 

The event is the best interpreter of a prediction : this inquiry into history, 
however, demands not only great labour, but also great industry and equal judg¬ 
ment, in order that the events may be referred to those prophecies with which 
they harmonise. These events must not be far-fetched; nor can they always be 
ascertained, because the circumstances alluded to by the prophets are often un¬ 
known to us, being yet future. Hence a considerable portion of the prophets, es¬ 
pecially of the book of Revelation, is not only not understood, but cannot at present 
be comprehended. Some conjectures perhaps may be offered : but these should 
be advanced with caution, as far as they throw light upon prophecy; and, wdiere 
this is wanting, we must withhold our assent from such conjectures. 

(4.) The ivords and phrases oj a prophecy must be explained, where 
they are obscure; if they be very intricate, every single word should be 
expounded; and, if the sense be involved in metaphorical and emblem¬ 
atical expressions, (as very frequently is the case), these must be ex¬ 
plained according to the principles already laid down. 

No strained or far-fetched interpretation, therefore, should be admitted ; and that 
sense of any word or phrase is always to be preferred, which is the clearest and 
most precise. 

(5.) Similar prophecies of the same event must be caref ully compared, 
in order to elucidate more clearly the sense of the sacred predictions. 

For instance, after having ascertained the subject of the prophet’s discourse and 
the sense of the words, Isa. liii. 5. (He icas wounded, literally pierced through, 
for our transgressions) may be compared with Psal. xxii. 16. (They pierced my 
hands and my feet), and with Zech. xii. 10. (They shall look on me xchom they 
have pierced.) In thus paralleling the prophecies, regard must be had to the pre¬ 
dictions of former prophets, which are sometimes repeated with abridgment, or 
more distinctly explained by others; and also to the predictions of subsequent 
prophets, who sometimes repeat, with greater clearness and precision, former pro¬ 
phecies, which had been more obscurely announced. 

II. In order to understand the prophets, great attention should be 
paid to the prophetic style, which is highly figurative, and particularly 
abounds in metaphorical and hyperbolical expressions. 

By images borrowed from the natural world, the prophets often understand 
something in the w T orld politic. Thus, as the sun, moon, stars, and heavenly bo¬ 
dies, denote kings, queens, rulers, and persons in great power ; and the increase of 
splendour in those luminaries denotes increase of prosperity, as in Isa. xxx. 26. 
and lx. 19. On the other hand, their darkening, setting, or falling signifies a 
reverse of fortune, or the entire destruction of the potentate or kingdom to which 
they refer. In this manner the prophet Isaiah denounced the divine judgments 
on Babylon, (Isa. xiii. 10. 13.) and on Idumaea (xxxiv. 4—6.) ; and Jeremiah, on 
the Jews and Jerusalem. (Jer. iv. 23, 24.) The destruction of Egypt is predicted 
in similar terms by Ezekiel (xxxii. 7, 8.); and also the terrible judgments that 
would befal the unbelieving Jews, by Joel. (ii. 28—31.) And Jesus Christ him¬ 
self employed the same phraseology in foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem by 
the Romans. (Matt. xxiv. 29.) 

In further illustration of this rule it may be observed, that the prophetical writ¬ 
ings contain numerous figures and similitudes that appear strange to our habits 
and modes of thinking ; but which in their times were perfectly familiar. These 
.figures and similitudes, therefore, must not be interpreted according to our notions 
of things, but agreeably to the genius of Oriental writing: for instance, very nu¬ 
merous metaphors are taken from agriculture and the pastoral life, which were 


638 


General Rules for ascertaining the [Part II. Ch 

common pursuits among the Jews, some of the prophets themselves having been 
herdsmen or shepherds. However humble such employment may appear to us, 
they were not accounted servile at the time the prophets flourished. Other repre¬ 
sentations of events, that were to come to pass under the New Testament dispen¬ 
sation, are drawn from the sacred rites of the Jews. Thus, the conversion of 
Egypt to the Gospel is foretold (Isa. xix. 19. 21.) by settingup an altar , and offer¬ 
ing sacrifice to the Lord ; and the conversion of the Gentiles in general (Mai. i. 
11.) by the offering up of incense. The service of God under the Gospel'is set 
forth (Zech. xiv. 16.) by going up to Jerusalem , and keeping the feast of taberna¬ 
cles there ; and the abundant effusion of the Holy Spirit, in the miraculous gifts 
which attended the preaching of the Gospel, is represented (Joel ii. 28.) by pro¬ 
phesying , and dreaming dreams , and seeing visions. In this passage the prophet 
did not intend to say, that these things should literally and actually take place 
under the Christian dispensation : but, in order that his meaning might be the 
better understood by those whom he addressed, he expressed the abundant measure 
of gifts and Gospel light by images drawn from those privileges which were at 
that time most highly valued by the Jews. 

Although the prophets thus frequently employ words in a figurative or meta¬ 
phorical meaning, yet we ought not, without necessity , to depart from the primi¬ 
tive sense of their expressions : and that necessity exists, only when the plain and 
original sense is less proper, as well as less suitable to the subject and context, or 
contrary to other passages of Scripture. But, even in this case, we must carefully 
assign to each prophetical symbol its proper and definite meaning, and never vary 
from that meaning. 

III. As the greater part of the prophetic writings was first composed 
in verse , and still retains much of the air and cast of the original , an 
attention to the division of the lines , and to that peculiarity of Hebrew 
poetry by which the sense of one line or couplet so frequently corresponds 
with another , will frequently lead to the meaning of many passages ; one 
line of a couplet , or member of a sentence , being generally a commentary 
on the other. 

Of this rule we have an example in Isa. xxxiv. 6. 

The Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, 

And a great slaughter in the land of Idumaea. 

Here the metaphor in the first verse is expressed in the same terms in the next 
the sacrifice in Bozrah means the great slaughter in the land of Idumaea, of which 
Bozrah was the capital. Similar instances occur in Isa. xliv. 3. and lxi. 10. and 
in Micah vi. 6. in which the parallelism is more extended. Concerning the nature 
of Prophetic Poesy, see pp. 468—470 of the present volume. 

IV. Particular names are often put by the prophets for more general 
ones , in order that they may place the thing represented , as it were , be¬ 
fore the eyes of their hearers : but in such passages they are not to be 
understood literally. 

Thus, in Joel iii. 4., Tyre and Sidon, and all the coast of Palestine , are put, by 
way of poetical description, for all the enemies of the Jews ; and the Greeks and 
Sabeans for distant nations. In like manner the prophet Amos (ch. ix. 12.), when 
speaking of the enemies of the Jews, mentions the remnant of Edom , or the Idu- 
mceans. 

V. It is usual with the prophets to express the same thing in a great 
variety of expressions; xohence they abound in amplifications , each rising 
above the other in strength and beauty. 

For instance, when describing drought or famine, they accumulate together 
numerous epithets, to represent the sorrow that would accompany those calamities ; 
on the other hand, when delineating plenty, they portray, in a great variety of 
expressions, the joy of the people possessed of abundance of grain ; and in like 
manner, the horrors of war and the blessings of peace, the misery of the wicked 
and the blessedness of the righteous, are contrasted with numerous illustrations. 
It were unnecessary to cite examples, as we can scarcely open a single page of the 
prophetic writings without seeing instances ; but in reading such passages it is not 
to bo supposed that each individual phrase possesses a distinct and peculiar sense. 

VI. The order of time is not always to be looked for in the prophetic 


vil. Sect. I.] Sense of the Prophetic Writings. 


639 


writings : for they frequently resume topics of which they have formerly 
treated, after other subjects have intervened, and again discuss them. 

Jeremiah and Ezekiel may, in particular, be cited as instances of this abruptness 
of style, who spoke of various things as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, and 
as occasion required ; and whose discourses, being first, dispersed, were afterwards 
collected together without regard to the order of time. In the midst of the men¬ 
tion of particular mercies promised to, or of judgments denounced against, the 
people of God, the prophets sometimes break forth into sublime predictions con¬ 
cerning the Messiah : these digressions appear extremely abrupt and incoherent 
to those who do not consider how seasonable the mention of Christ may be, in 
conjunction with that of the mercies of God, (of which he is the foundation and 
pinnacle, the ground and consummation,) and with the threats of the judgments of 
God, in which he was his people’s grand consolation.! A careful examination 
however, of the plan and distribution of the different prophetical books will always 
enable the diligent reader to trace the arrangement and scope of the respective 
prophecies. Where, indeed, a new prediction or discourse is distinguished from 
a former one by a new title, as in Haggai i. 1. and ii. 1.10. 20., it is an easy task to 
trace such arrangement and scope : but where the prophets do not introduce any 
new titles (Hosea for instance) it becomes very difficult. Vitringa has laid it down 
as a canon,2 that in continued predictions, which are not distinguished one from 
another by titles or inscriptions, we should carefully attend both to the beginning 
and end of the prophetic sermon, as well as to the period of time in which the 
seene of the prophetic vision is fixed, and to the period in which it ends. This 
will tend to illustrate the sermons or discourses of Isaiah, in the forty-first and 
following chapters of his prophecy. 

It is however probable that those prophecies — whose terminus a quo demon¬ 
strates the beginning of the time of Christ’s kingdom, and the terminus ad quern 
the end of that time, — give a narration of the principal events that shall befal 
the church in a continued series, unless any thing intervene which may require 
>is to go back to former times. Upon this foundation depends the interpretation 
of Isa. liv. 1. to lx. 22. The commencement of this prophecy unquestionably be¬ 
longs to the beginning of Messiah’s kingdom; the term or end falls upon the 
most flourishing state of that kingdom, which is to follow the conversion of the 
Jewish nation, and the vindication of the afflicted church ; which deliverance, as 
well as the flourishing state of Christ’s kingdom, are described in Isa. lix. 19—21. 
and lx. throughout. 

VII. The prophets often change both persons and tenses, sometimes 
speaking in their own persons, at other times representing God, his peo¬ 
ple, or their enemies, as respectively speaking, and without noticing the 
change of person ; sometimes taking things past or present for things fu¬ 
ture, to denote the certainty of the events. 

Of this observation we have a signal instance in that very obscure prediction 
contained in Isa. xxi. 11, 12. which, according to Bishop Lowth’s translation, is 
as follows: 

THE ORACLE CONCERNING DUMAII. 

A voice crieth unto me from Seir : 

Watchman, what from the night P 

Watchman, what from the night ? 

The watchman replieth : t 

The morning cometh, and also the night. 

If ye will inquire, inquire ye : come again. 

This prophecy, from the uncertainty of the occasion on which it was uttered, 
as well as from the brevity of the expression, is very obscure; but, if we observe 
the transitions , and carefully distinguish between the person speaking and the 
person spoken to , we shall be able to apprehend its general import. It expresses 
the inquiries, made of a prophet of Jehovah by a people who were in a very dis¬ 
tressed and hazardous condition, concerning the fates which awaited them. The 
Edomites as well as the Jews were subdued by the Babylonians. They anxiously 
inquire of the prophet, how long their subjection is to last. He intimates that the 
Jews should be delivered from captivity, but not the Edomites. The transition 
being thus observed, the obscurity disappears. 

1 Boyle on the Style of the Holy Scriptures, Works, vol. ii. p. 271. 

2 Typus Doctrince Propheticse, p. 179. 



640 


General Rules for ascertaining the , fyc. [Part II. Ch. 

Isa. ix. G., liii. throughout, Ixiii. throughout, Zech. ix. 9. and Rev. xviii. 2. (to 
mention no other instances) may be adduced as examples of the substitution of 
the past or present, in order to denote the certainty of things yet future : attention 
to the scope and context of the prophetic discourse will here also, as in the pre¬ 
ceding rule, enable the reader to distinguish the various transitions with sufficient 
accuracy .1 

It may here be further observed, that, in the computation of time, a day is used 
by the prophets to denote a year : a week, seven years ; and that, when they speak 
of the latter, or last days, they invariably mean the days of the Messiah, or the 
time of the Gospel dispensation. The expression that day often means the same 
time, and always some period at a distance. , 

VIII. When the prophets received a, commission to declare any thing, 
the message is sometimes expressed as if they had been appointed to do 
it themselves. 

This remark, lias, in substance, been already made. It is intro¬ 
duced again, in order to illustrate the phraseology of the prophetic 
writings. One or two additional examples will show the necessity 
of attending to it in interpreting the predictions of the sacred writ¬ 
ings. 

Thus, when Isaiah was sent to tell the Jews, that their heart would become fat, 
and their ears heavy, and that they would be guilty of shutting their eyes, so as not 
to understand and believe the truth ; the message is thus expressed : Go and tell 
this people, hear ye indeed, hut understand not, and sec ye indeed, but perceive 
•not. This implies, that they would not employ the faculties which they possessed, 
so as to understand and believe the Gospel. The reason of this is assigned : Make 
the heart of this people fat, and make their cars heavy, and shut their eyes, lest 
they sec with their eyes and hear zoith their ears, and under stand with their heart, 
and convert and he healed. (Isa. vi. 9, 10.) This is merely a prediction of wbat 
they would do : for when this prophetic declaration was accomplished, the Sa¬ 
viour quoted the passage, and expressed its genuine sense : In them, is fulfilled the 
prophecy of Isaias, which saith : For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their 
ears arc dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed : lest at any time, they 
should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand zoitk 
their heart, and should he converted, and I should heal them. (Matt. xiii. 15.) This 
condition is still more explicitly stated in John iii. 19. This is the condemnation, 
that light is come into the zcorld, and men loved darkness rather than light, be¬ 
cause their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil, luiteth the light, nei¬ 
ther comcth to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. The Lord said to Jere¬ 
miah, I have put my zcords in thy mouth ; see I have this day set thee over the 
nations, to root out, and to pull dozen, and to destroy, and to throw down, and to 
build, and to plant. (Jer. i. 10.) The meaning of this message is, that the pro¬ 
phet was appointed to declare to the nations, that they shall be rooted out, fulled 
down, and destroyed, and that others would be planted in their place, and built 
up. When Ezekiel beheld the glory of the God of Israel, he observes, that it was 
according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, when I came to destroy 
the city. (Ezek. xliii. 3.) That is, when he came to prophesy that the city 
should be destroyed. 

IX. As symbolic actions and prophetic visions greatly resemble para¬ 
bles, and were employed for the same purpose, viz. more powerfully to 


1 This change of tense, however, is not exclusively confined to predictions of fu¬ 
ture events : it is sometimes used by the prophets to represent duties as performed 
which ought to be done : thus, in Mai. i. 6 . A son honours (ought to honour) his 
father. But it is more frequently employed by the writers of the New Testament 
to express both our Christian privileges, and the duties to which they oblige us. 
Thus, Matt. v. 13. Ye are (ought to be) the salt of the earth. Rom. ii. 4. The 
goodness of God leadeth (ought to lead) thee to repentance. 2 Cor. iii. 18. We 
all, with open face beholding, (enjoying the means of beholding) as in a glass the 
glory of the Lord, arc (ought to be) changed into the same image from glory to glo¬ 
ry. Similar instances may be seen in f Cor. v. 7. Col. iii. 3! Ileb. xiii. 14. 1 Pet. 
i. G. 1 John ii. 15. iii. 9. and v. 4. 18. Dr. Taylor’s Key to the Apostolic Writings, 
§ 274. (Bishop Watson’s Tracts, vol. iii. p. 421.) 



641 


VII. Sect. II.] Of Prophecy in general. 

instruct and engage the attention of the people, they must be interpreted 
in the same manner as parables1 

We must therefore chiefly consider the scope and design of such symbolic ac¬ 
tions and prophetic visions, without attempting too minute an explanation of all 
the poetical images and figures with which the sacred writers adorned their style, 
r or instance, in Zecli. i. 7—11., it is not necessary to inquire what is meant by 
the man riding upon a red horse, and standing among the myrtle trees : this 
vision represents so many angels returning probably from the kingdoms over 
which they presided) to give to Jehovah an account of their expedition and mi- 
nistry. The horses, it has been conjectured, denote their power and celerity ; and 
the different colours the difference of their ministries. The scope of the vision, 
howev er, is sufficiently plain : the angels tell that all the earth w r as sitting still 
and at rest ; the Persian empire and other nations connected with Judsea, enjoying 
peace at that time, though the Jews continued in an unsettled state.2 


SECTION II. 

OBSERVATIONS ON THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF PROPHECY IN 

GENERAL. 

. t 

A PROPHECY is demonstrated to be fulfilled when we can prove 
that the event has actually taken place, precisely according to the 
manner in which it was foretold, either from sacred history, where 
that is practicable, or from profane authors of unimpeachable veracity; 
whose characters stand so high, that they cannot possibly be suspect¬ 
ed of having forged any thing to favour the idea of its accomplish¬ 
ment. In order to ascertain whether a prediction has been fulfilled, 
we must first endeavour to find out the general scheme of the pro¬ 
phecy in question, by a careful comparison of the parts with the 
whole, and with corresponding prophecies both earlier and later; and 
to classify the various things spoken of, lest the judgment be perplex¬ 
ed with a multitude of references. And, secondly, in our deductions 
from the prophecies thus arranged, those predictions, and their re¬ 
spective accomplishments are principally to be selected and urged, 
which chiefly tend to remove all suspicion of their taking place by 
accident, or being foretold by some happy conjecture. Now this 
may be done, by showing the vast distance of time between the pro¬ 
phecy and the event foretold ; the agreement of very many, even of 
the minutest circumstances, so that, when completed, the description 
determinately applies to the subject; and, lastly, the dependence of 
actions upon the uncertain will of man, or upon opportunity presenting 
itself: for all these things are of such a nature, that no unassisted 
human intellect either can or could possibly foresee them. These two 
general observations being premised, we now proceed to offer a few 
canons by which to ascertain the accomplishment of prophecy. 

1. The same prophecies frequently have a double meaning , and refer 
to different events, the one near, the other remote; the one temporal , the 
other spiritual or perhaps eternal. The prophets thus having several 
events in view, their expressions may be partly applicable to one , and 
partly to another, and it is not always easy to mark the transitions. 

1 On the construction of parabolic language, see pp. 612—617. of this volume. 

2 Archbishop Newcome on Zech. i. 7—11. 

VOL. II. SJ 





642 


Observations on the Accomplishment [Part II. Ch 

What has not been fulfilled in the first , ice must apply to the second; 
and what has already been fulfilled, may often be considered as typical 

of what remains to be accomplished. 

The double sense of prophecy has been opposed with much ingenuity by Mr 
Whiston, Dr. Sykes, Dr. Benson, and Mr. Faber, in this country, and by Father 
Balthus in France, as well as by most of the German theologians, who severally 
contend that the antient prophecies contain only one sense : but, that the rule 
above stated is correct, we apprehend will appear from the following remarks and 
illustrations. 

“ Throughout the whole of prophetical Scripture, a time of retribution and of 
vengeance on God’s enemies is announced. It is called “ the day oj the Lord ,’ 
“ the day of wrath and slaughter ; of the Lord's anger , visitation and judgment 
“ the great day ;” and “ the last day." At the same time, it is to be observed, 
that this kind of description, and the same expressions, which are used to repre¬ 
sent this great day, are also employed by the prophets to describe the fall and 
punishment of particular states and empires ; of Babylon, by Isaiah (ch. xiii.) ; 
of Egypt, by Ezekiel (ch. xxx. 2—4. and xxxii. 7, 8.); of Jerusalem, by Jeremi¬ 
ah, Joel, and by our Lord (Matt, xxiv.) : and in many of these prophecies, the 
description of the calamity, which is to fall on any particular state or nation, is 
so blended and intermixed with that general destruction, which, in the final days 
of vengeance, will invade all the inhabitants of the earth, that the industry and 
skill of our ablest interpreters have been scarcely equal to separate and assort 
them. Hence it has been concluded, by judicious divines, that these partial pro¬ 
phecies and particular instances of the divine vengeance, whose accomplishment 
we know to have taken place, are presented to us as types, certain tokens, and 
forerunners, of some greater events which are also disclosed in them. To the 
dreadful time of universal vengeance, they all appear to look forward, beyond 
their first and more immediate object. Little indeed can we doubt that such is to 
be considered the use and application of these prophecies, since we see them thus 
applied by our Lord and his apostles.” 1 

The second psalm is primarily an inauguration hymn, composed by David, the 
anointed of Jehovah, when crowned with victory, and placed triumphant on the 
sacred hill of Sion. But, in Acts iv. 25. the inspired apostles with one voice de¬ 
clare it to be descriptive of the exaltation of the Messiah, and of the opposition 
raised against the Gospel, both by Jews and Gentiles. — The latter part of the 
sixteenth psalm is spoken of David’s person, and is unquestionably, in its first and 
immediate sense, to be understood of him, and of his hope of rising after death to 
an endless life : but it is equally clear from Acts ii. 25—31. that it was spoken of 
Christ, the son of David, who was typified by that king and prophet. — The twen¬ 
ty-second psalm, 2 though primarily intended of David when he was in great dis¬ 
tress and forsaken by God, is yet, secondarily and mystically, to be understood of 
our blessed Saviour during his passion upon the cross ; and so it is applied by 
himself. (Matt, xxvii. 46.) And it is further observable, that other passages 
of this psalm (v. 8. 16.18.) are noticed by the Evangelist, as being fulfilled at that 


1 Dr. Woodhouse on the Apocalypse, pp. 172, 173. One of the most remarkable 
of these prophecies, he observes, is that splendid one of Isaiah, ch. xxxiv.; the im¬ 
portance and universality of which is to be collected from the manner in which it 
is introduced : “ All nations and people , the uwrld and all things in it," are sum¬ 
moned to the audience. It represents “ the day of the Lord's vengeance ,” and the 
year of the recompenses for the controversy of Sion (ver. 8.) ; it descends on all 
nations and their armies, (ver. 2.) The images of wrathful vengeance and utter 
dissolution are the same which are presented under the sixth seafin the Revelation 
of St. John. (vi. 12—17.) The hosts of heaven are dissolved ; the heavens are 
rolled together as a scroll of parchment; the stars fall like a leaf from a vine, or a 
fig from its tree. And yet Idumea is mentioned by the prophet as the particidar 
object of vengeance : such seems to be the typical completion and primary appli¬ 
cation of this prophecy : but it has evidently a more sublime and future prospect, 
and in tnis sense the whole world is its object: and using the same symbols and 
figurative expressions with the prophecy of the sixth seal, with those of the four¬ 
teenth, fifteenth, and, above all, sixteenth chapters of the Apocalypse, and with 
others of the Old and New Testaments, it must, with them, be finally referred to 
the great day of the Lord s vengeance for its perfect completion.” Ibid. p. 174. 

2 Dr. Randolph has a beautiful exposition of this Psalm at the end of vol. i. of 
his View of Christ’s Ministry, pp. 503—515. 



643 


VH. Sect. II.] Of Prophecy in general. 

time (Matt, xxvii. 35.43.); now it is certain that they could not be fulfilled unless 
they had been intended in this mysterious sense of Jesus Christ. The forty-fifth 
psalm is, in the original, a song of loves, an epithalamium on the nuptials of King 
olomon and the King of Egypt’s daughter ; but from Heb. i. 8. we are assured 
■ tat it is addressed to Christ; and therefore in a remote and spiritual sense, it 
celebrates the majesty and glory of his kingdom, his mystical union with his 
church, and the admirable benefits that would be conferred upon her in the times 
of the Gospel. 

It would be no difficult task to adduce many other psalms in which 
the double sense is most clearly to be discerned : l 2 but we shall pro¬ 
ceed to cite a few instances from the writings of the prophets. 

(1.) Isa. vii. 14. — In the primary but lower sense of this prophecy, the sign 
was to assure Ahaz that the land of Judtea would speedily be delivered from 
the kings of Samaria and Damascus, by whom it was invaded. But the introduc- 
t ion of the prophecy, the singular stress laid upon it, and the exact sense of the 
terms in which it was expressed, make it in a high degree probable that it had 
another and more important purpose: and the event has clearly proved that the 
sign given had, secondarily and mystically, a respect to the miraculous birth of 
Christ, and to a deliverance much more momentous than that of Ahaz from his 
then present distressful situation.2 

(2.) Isa. xi. 6. — What is here said of the wolf dwelling with the lamb, &c. is 
understood as having its first completion in the reign of Hezekiah, when profound 
peace was enjoyed after the troubles caused by Sennacherib ; but its second and 
lull completion is under the Gospel, whose power in changing the hearts, tempers, 
and lives of the worst of men, is here foretold and described by a singularly beau- 
til ul assemblage of images. Of this blessed power there has, in every age of 
Christianity, been a cloud of witnesses ; although its most glorious tera predicted 
in this passage, may not yet be arrived. The latter part of the same chapter, in 
which there are many beautiful allusions to the Exode from Egypt, seems to refer 
principally to the future restoration of the Jews from their several dispersions, 
and to that happy period when they and the Gentiles shall stand together under 
the banner of Jesus, and unite their zeal in extending the limits of Ins kingdom. 
This is a favourite theme with Isaiah, who is usually and justly designated the 
Evangelical Prophet, and who (ch. xl.) predicted the deliverance of the Jews from 
the Babylonish captivity, and their restoration to the land of Canaan ; — events 
which were primarily and literally accomplished, but which by the evangelist 
Matthew (iii. 3.), and by our Lord himself (Matt. xi. 10.), are said to have been 
fulfilled by John the Baptist’s preaching in the wilderness of Judina; and which, 
secondarily and spiritually, foretold the deliverance of mankind from the infinitely 
greater bondage of sin. 

(3.) Once more. — Hos. xi. 1. Out of Egypt have I called my son. This passage 
in its literal sense, was meant of God’s delivering the children of Israel out of 
Egypt; but, in its secondary and mystical sense, there can be no doubt that an 
allusion was intended by the Holy Spirit to the call of the infant Christ out of the 
same country. (Matt. ii. 15.) 

Thus it is evident that many prophecies must he taken in a double 
sense , in order to understand their full import; and this twofold ap¬ 
plication of them, by our Lord and his apostles, is a full authority for 
us to consider and apply them in a similar way. In order to ascer- 

1 Bishop Horne, in the preface to his admirable commentary on the Psalms, has 
noticed a considerable number of those divine odes, which bear a double meaning, 
the propriety of which he has fully vindicated. Works, vol. ii. pp. x.—xx. See 
also Dr. Apthorp’s Warburtonian “ Discourses on Prophecy,” vol. i. pp. 77—89; 
and Dr. Nares’s Warburtonian Lectures, entitled “ A Connected and Chronologi¬ 
cal View of the Prophecies relating to the Christian Church,” pp. 155—162. 176, 
177. Almost the -whole of the Psalms are applied by Bishop Horsley to the Mes¬ 
siah, in his “ Book of Psalms translated from the Hebrew,” 2 vols. 8vo. But Bishop 
Marsh has endeavoured to show that there are no double meanings, or, as he terms 
them, secondary senses, in prophecy. Lectures on Divinity, part iv. lect. 22. 

2 There is a good philological illustration of this prediction in Dr. Randolph’s 
Proelectiones Theologicie, in vol. ii. (pp. 446. et seq.) of his View of Christ's 
Ministry 



644 Observations on Accomplishment of Prophecies [Pan II. Ch. 

tain whether a prophecy is to be taken in a double sense, the follow¬ 
ing rules have been laid down by the celebrated Vitringa. 1 

(1.) That we may attain an accurate and distinct knowledge of 
the subject of a prediction, we must carefully attend to all the attri¬ 
butes and characters which are applied to the subject of the prophecy : 
if the subject be not specifically mentioned by name, it must be dis¬ 
covered by its characteristics; of this description are many of the 
prophecies concerning Christ, particularly Psalms ii. xxii. xlv. lx. 
Isa. liii. Zech. iii. 8. If the subject be named, we must inquire 
whether it is to be taken properly or mystically, or partly properly 
and partly mystically; as in Psalm Ixxii. 

(2.) We must not, however, depart from the literal sense of the 
subject, when called by its own proper name, if all the attributes, or 
the principal and more remarkable ones, agree to the subject of the 
prophecy. This rule will be found of considerable use in interpret¬ 
ing the prophecies concerning Israel, Judah, Tyre, Babylon, Egypt, 
aud other countries and places. 

(3.) If the attributes by no means agree with the subject express¬ 
ed in a prophecy by its oavii name, we must direct our thoughts to 
another subject which corresponds to it, and which assumes a mystic 
name, on account of the agreement between the type and antitype. 
Examples of this occur in the prophecies concerning Edom (Isa. 
lxiii. 1—6.), David (Ezek. xxxiv. 24—31.), and Elijah. (Mai. iv. 5.) 

(4.) If, in prophecies, the subject be expressed by name, which 
may bear both a proper and a mystical interpretation, and the attri¬ 
butes of the prophetic discourse be of a mixed kind, so that some of 
them agree more strictly with the subject mystically taken, while 
others are more correctly predicated of it in a literal and grammati¬ 
cal sense : — in such cases, we must take the subject of the prophe¬ 
cy to be, not simple, but complex : and the prophet, actuated by di¬ 
vine illumination, expresses himself in such a manner as designedly 
to be understood of both senses, and to intimate to the reader that 
the mystical or allegorical sense is enveloped in the literal sense. 

Thus, many of the prophecies concerning Babylon, Edom, Egypt, and Tyre, 
contain such august and magnificent expressions, as, if taken properly, will admit, 
of a very poor and barren exposition : and therefore it must be presumed that the 
Holy Spirit designed something more, and to lead our minds to the mystical Ba¬ 
bylon, &c. In like manner, such grand things are sometimes spoken concerning 
the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, and mention is made of such 
distinguished blessings being bestowed upon them, as necessarily lead us to look 
for a further and more complete fulfilment in the redemption by Jesus Christ, and 
the spiritual blessings of grace bestowed upon the people of God, under the gos¬ 
pel dispensation. Isa. Iii. 1—3. and Jer. iii. 14—18. to cite no other examples, 
present very striking illustrations of this remark. Hence it follows that, 

(5.) Prophecies of a general nature are applicable by accommo¬ 
dation to individuals; most of the things, which are spoken of the 
church, being equally applicable to her individual members. 

(6.) Prophecies of a particular nature, on the other hand, admit, 
and often require, an extended sense : for instance, Edom, Moab, or 
any of the enemies of God’s people, are often put for the whole; 

2 In his Typus Doctrine Prophetic®, cap. ii. Dr. Apthorpe has translated eigh¬ 
teen of Vitringa’s canons (which are admirably illustrated by numerous examples 
in his valuable commentary on Isaiah) in his Lectures or Prophecy, vol. i. pp. 90— 
106. Jahn has given several additional examples. Introd. ad. Vet, Fcedus, pp 
332 -334. 



645 


VII. Sect. II.] Of Prophecy in general. 

what is said ot one being generally applicable to the rest. And, in 
like manner, what is said either to or concerning God’s people, on 
any particular occasion, is ol general application ; as all, who stand 
in the same relation to God, have an interest in the same prophecies. 

(7.) In continued prophecies, which are not distinguished one from 
another, we should carefully attend, first, to the beginning and end of 
each discourse, and secondly , to the epoch of time which commences 
the scene of the prophetic vision, and the term in which it ends. 

The first observation is of principal use in the discourses of Isaiah, from the 
fortieth chapter to the end of the book. This distinction, often difficult and some¬ 
what obscure, is of great moment in the interpretation of the prophecies, that we 
may not consider as a continued discourse what ought to bo divided into several 
distinct topics'. The last part of this canon is indispensable in explaining the 
Psalms and Prophetic Visions. See Psal. xxiv. 1. Isa. vi. 1. 

II. Predictions, denouncing judgments to come, do not in themselves 
speak the absolute futurity of the event, but only declare what is to be 
expected by the persons to whom they are made, and what will certainly 
come to pass, unless God in his mercy interpose between the threatening 
and the event. 

11 So that comininations do speak only the debitum poence, and the necessary 
obligation to punishment: but therein God doth not bind up himself as he doth 
in absolute promises ; the reason is, because comininations confer no right to any, 
which absolute promises do, and therefore God is not bound to necessary perform¬ 
ance of what he threatens. Indeed the guilt or obligation to punishment is 
necessary, where the offence hath been committed, to which the threatening was 
annexed: but the execution of that punishment doth still depend upon God’s ar- 
bitrarious will, and therefore he may suspend or remove it upon serious addresses 
made to himself in order to it. For, since God was pleased not to take the present 
forfeiture of the first grand transgression, but made such a relaxation of that penal 
law, that conditions of pardon were admittable, notwithstanding sentence passed 
upon the malefactors, there is strong ground of presumption in human nature, that 
God’s forbearance of mankind, notwithstanding sin, doth suppose his readiness to 
pardon offenders upon their repentance, and therefore that all particular threaten¬ 
ing of judgments to come do suppose incorrigibleness in those against whom they 
are pronounced ; upon which the foundation of hope is built, that, if timely re¬ 
pentance do intervene, God will remove those judgments which are threatened 
against them :” 1 2 of these conditional comminatory predictions we have examples 
in Jonah’s preaching to the Ninevites (Jonah iii. 4—10.), and in Isaiah’s denun¬ 
ciation of death to llezekiah. (Isa. xxxviii. 1.) See also a similar instance in Jer„ 
xx.xviii. 14—23. 

III. Predictions then express divine purposes, when many prophets in 
several ages concur in the same prediction. — 

Because it is hardly seen but all those tacit conditions, which are supposed in 
general promises or comininations, may be altered in different ages: but, when 
the conditions alter, and the predictions continue the same, it is a stronger evi¬ 
dence that it is some immutable counsel of God, which is expressed in those pre¬ 
dictions. And in this case one prediction confirms the foregoing, as the Jews say 
of prophets, “ one prophet that hath the testimony of another prophet, is supposed 
to he true but it must be with this supposition, that the other prophet was be¬ 
fore approved to be a true prophet. Now, both these meet in the prophecies con¬ 
cerning our Saviour ; for to him bear all the prophets witness, and in their several 
acres they had several things revealed to them concerning him ; and the uniformity 
and perfect harmony of alfthese several prophecies by persons at so great distance 
from each other, and being of several interests and employments, and in several 
places, yet all giving light to each other, and exactly meeting at last in the accom¬ 
plishment, do give us yet a further and clearer evidence, that all those several beams 
came from the same sun, when all those scattered rays were at last gathered 
into one body again at the appearance of the Sun of Righteousness in the world. 3 

1 Stillingfleet’s Origines Sacra), book ii. chap. vi. § 10. pp. 120,121. 8th edit. 
Jahn, Enchiridion Hermeneutica) Sacroe, pp. 148, 149. 

2 Stillingfleet, p. 120. 







646 Observations on Accomplishment of Prophecies [Part II. Ch. 


SECTION III. 

OBSERVATIONS ON THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF PROPHECIES CON¬ 
CERNING THE MESSIAH IN PARTICULAR . 1 

I. ESUS CHRIST being the great subject and end of Scripture re¬ 
velation, we ought every where to search for prophecies concerning him. 

We are assured by Christ himself that the Scriptures testify of him (John v. 39.), 
and that in Moses, the Psalms, and Prophets, there are things concerning him (Luke 
xxiv. 25—27. 44.): further, we have the declaration of an inspired apostle, that 
to him give all the prophets witness (Acts x. 43.), and of an angel of God, that 
“ the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev. xix. 10.) It may there-* 
fore be remarked generally, that whatsoever is emphatically and characteristically 
spoken of some certain person, not called by his own name, in the psalms or pro¬ 
phetical books, so that each predicate can be fully demonstrated in no single sub¬ 
ject of that or any other time, must be taken as said and predicted of the Messiah. 
The twenty-second psalm, and the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah’s prophecy, may 
be adduced as illustrations of this rule, which will not mislead any student or 
reader of the sacred volume. The four remarks in page 644. may be advan¬ 
tageously employed in the application of this rule. 

II. The interpretation of the word of prophecy, made by Jesus Christ 
himself and by his inspired apostles , is a rule and key by which to in¬ 
terpret correctly the prophecies cited or alluded to by them. 

The propriety of this canon must be obvious : for as every one is the best inter¬ 
preter of his own words, so the Holy Spirit, (under whose influence the antient 
prophets wrote and spoke,) in more recent prophecies, refers to former predictions, 
and often uses the same words, phrases, and images, thus leading us to understand 
the true sense of those oracles. 3 For instance, the prophecy (in Isa. viii. 14.) that 
the Messiah would prove a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence, is more plainly 
repeated by Simeon (Luke ii. 34.) and is shown to have been fulfilled by St. Paul 
(Rom. ix. 32, 33.), and by St. Peter (1 Pet. ii. 8.); and the sixteenth psalm is ex¬ 
pressly applied to Jesus Christ by the latter of these apostles. (Acts ii.25—31.)3 

III. In the Prophecies and Psalms, whatever is predicated of a per¬ 
son not named, in terms expressive of such excellence, glory, and other 
characteristics, as are suitable in their just emphases to no other subject , 
must be interpreted as spoken and predicated of the Messiah. 

It is thus that the writers of the New Testament interpret and allege the antient 
prophecies ; instances may be given in Deut. xviii. 18. Psalms viii. xvi. xxii. xl. 
Ixix. lxxviii. cxviii.22, 23. Isa. iv. 2. vii. 14, 15. xlii. 1. liii. Zech. iii. 8. and xii. 
10. It is worthy of remark that the writers of the New Testament directly apply 
to the Son of God the most magnificent descriptions and attributes of the Fa¬ 
ther in the Old Testament; as Psal. lxviii. 18. xcvii. 17. cii. 26, 27. Isa. xlv. 22 
—24.; which teach us to acknoicledge the mystery of God. , and of the Father , and 
of Christ , in whom are hid. all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col. ii. 2, 3.) 

IV. Since it is certain that there are, in the prophetic parts of the 
Scriptures, distinct delineations of the whole counsel of God concerning 
Ilessiali’s kingdom, those interpreters act rightly, who, in prophecies 
that evidently treat of the kingdom of Christ and its affairs, industri¬ 
ously attend to the events concerning the Christian church, which arc 
known from, history, and apply them accordingly ; provided this be done 
without doing violence to the Scripture, since “ Jehovah doetli nothing, 
but he revealeth his secrets unto his servants the prophets .” (Amos iii. 7.) 

1 Bishop Marsh (Divinity Lectures, part iv. lect. xx. and xxi.) has several admi¬ 
rable observations on the connection subsisting between the truth of Christianity and 
the prophecies relating to the Messiah : nearly the whole of Lecture xxi. is occupied 
with examples of predictions literally and strictly foretelling the coming of Christ. 

"2 Bishop Lowth has some fine remarks on this topic towards the close of his 
eleventh Lecture. 

3 The petty cavils and evasions of Ruperti and other modern commentators, who 
deny (without being able to disprove) the above canon, is well exposed by Dr. J. 

V. Smith, on the Person of Christ, vol. i. pp. 222, 223. 




G47 


VII. Sect. III.] Concerning the Messiah in particular. 

• 

The prophecies of Daniel and John are concurrent in very many circumstances 
concerning the church of Christ; and it is only by the application of this rule that 
learned and pious men have been able to trace the accomplishment of many parts 
of their predictions. 

V. Where the prophets describe a golden age of felicity, they clearly 
foretel Gospel times. 

At the time the prophets respectively flourished, the Israelites and Jews were, 
in general, notoriously wicked, although, even in the worst of times, there was a 
considerable number who feared Jehovah. Hence, while the prophets denounce 
national judgments upon the wicked, (in which temporal afflictions the righteous 
would necessarily be involved,) they at the same time hold out to the lalter, f > 
strengthen their trust in God, predictions of future and better times ; and, with 
promises of some great and temporal deliverance, they invariably connect a display 
of the yet greater though future deliverance of the Messiah ; the peace and hap¬ 
piness, that are to prevail in consequence of that deliverance, are portrayed in such 
a beautiful assemblage of images, and delineate so high a state of felicity, that, as 
there is no period in the history of the world, prior to the Christian dispensation, 
to which they can in any way be applied, these predictions of future happiness and 
peace must necessarily be understood exclusively to refer to Gospel times. Many 
passages might be adduced from the prophetic writings in confirmation of this 
rule. It will however suffice to adduce two instances from Isaiah, ch. ix. 2—7. 
and xi. 1—9. In the former of these passages, the peaceful kingdom of the Mes¬ 
siah is set forth, its extent and duration ; and in the latter, the singular peace and 
happiness which should then prevail, are delineated in imagery of unequalled 
beauty and energy.l 

VI. Things, foretold as universally or indefinitely to come to pass 
under the Gospel, are to be understood, — as they respect the duty, — 
of all persons; but, — as they respect the event,—only of God's people. 

Thus, when the peace, that is foretold to prevail in Gospel times, is stated to 
be so great that men should then beat their swords into plough-shares, and their 
spears into pruning hooks ; that nation should not lift up sword against nation , 
neither learn war any more (Isa. ii. 4.) ; and that the wolf should lie down with the 
lamb, and the leopard with the kid, (Isa. xi. C. and lxv. 25. with other passages that 
might be adduced); — all these highly figurative expressions are to be understood 
of the nature, design and tendency of the Gospel, and what is the duty of all its 
professors, and what would actually take place in the Christian world, if all who 
profess the Christian doctrine did sincerely and cordially obey its dictates. And, 
so far as the Gospel does prevail upon any, it reclaims their wild and unruly na¬ 
tures } from being furious as wolves, they become meek as lambs, and from raging 
like lions, they become gentle and tender as kids ; so far are they from hurting or 
injuring others, that they dare not entertain any the slightest thoughts of malevo¬ 
lence or revenge, towards their most inveterate enemies. 

VII. As the antient prophecies concerning the Messiah arc of iiou 
kinds, some of them relating to his first coming to suffer, ivhile the rest 
of them concern his second coming to advance his kingdom, and restore 
the Jews ; — in all these prophecies, we must carefully distinguish be¬ 
tween his first coming in humiliation to accomplish his mediatorial work 
on the cross, and his second coming in glory to judgment. 

This distinction is sufficiently obvious in those passages which treat of either 
coming separately, as in Isa. vii. 14. ix. 6. liii. &c., which treat of his first coming 
in the flesh ; and in Isa. ii. 10—21., which refers to his second, coming to judgment. 
To the former must be referred all those passages which relate to his humiliation. 
But it is more difficult to distinguish each advent in those passages, in which the 
prophet makes an immediate transition from the one to the other. For instance, 
in Isa. xl. 1—9., the prediction relates to the first advent of Christ, but in v. 10. 
his second coming to judgment is noticed, express mention being made of the so¬ 
lemn work of retribution, which is peculiar to judgment. Again, in Jer. xxiii. 5-- 
7. the promise of sending the Son of God into the world is, in v. 8. joined with a 
prophecy concerning the conversion of the Jews, w’hich is yet future. A similar 
instance of uniting the two advents of Christ occurs in Mai. iii. 1—5. By distin¬ 
guishing, however, between them, we shall be bett er able to combat the objections 

1 Rambach, Inst. Herm. pp. 175—177. J. B. Carpzov, Prim® Line® Hermeneu¬ 
tic®, pp. 25, 26. 



G48 Observations on the Accomplishment of Prophecies. [Part II 

of the Jews, who apply to the Messiah all those predictions which refer to a state 
of exaltation, while they overlook all those plain, though less numerous prophe¬ 
cies, in which is described Messiah’s first coming in a state of humiliation. 

Before we dismiss the important subject of prophecy, there are two 
cautions, which must uniformly be kept in view in studying the pro¬ 
phetic writings. 

1. The first is, that we do not apply passing events as actually ful¬ 
filling particular prophecies. 

It has justly been remarked, that “ a commentator upon the predictions of Dan¬ 
iel and John can never be too much upon his guard against the fascinating idea, 
that he may expect to find every passing event of his own day there predicted. 
Before he ventures to introduce any exposition founded upon present circumstan¬ 
ces, he ought to make it clearly appeajr that it both accords with the chronological 
order so carefully preserved in those prophecies, that it strictly harmonises with 
the language of symbols, and that it demonstrates every part of the prediction to 
tally exactly with its supposed accomplishment.”! 

2. The other caution is, that we do not curiously pry beyond what is 
expressly written , or describe as fulfilled prophecies which are yet future. 

Such secret things as unaccomplished prophecies belong unto the Lord our God ; 
and it is a vain waste of time to weary ourselves with conjectures respecting the 
precise mode of their accomplishment. Upon these points, when we go beyond 
what is written, we exceed our commission : and it has almost invariably been 
found, that a commentator, who attempted to show how a prophecy was about to 
be fulfilled, was by the event convicted of error. We may safely and positively 
declare what will come to pass, and we may even say hoio it will come to pass, so 
long as we resolutely confine ourselves to the explicit declarations of Scripture; but 
to point out the manner in which an event will be accomplished, any further than 
the word of God hath revealed the manner of it, is to pry too curiously into what 
he hath purposely concealed, and to aim at becoming prophets, instead of content¬ 
ing ourselves with being humble and fallible expositors of prophecy. What the 
Bible hath declared, that we may without hesitation declare : beyond this, all is 
mere vague conjecture. 2 

On the subject of apparent contradictions between prophecies and. 
their accomplishment, see the Appendix to Vol. I. pp. 548—550. 3 

1 Faber’s Dissertation on the Prophecies, vol. ii. p. 277. 2 Ibid. vol. i. p. 77. 

3 In addition to the writers cited in the course of this chapter, it may be stated 
that the fulfilment of prophecy is fully considered by Bishop Newton, in his u Dis¬ 
sertations,” 2 vols. 8vo. See also Sir Isaac Newton’s Observations on Daniel, and 
the Apocalypse, 4to. A. H. Franckii Introductio ad Lectionem Prophetarum (Ha- 
1® Magdeburgic®, 1724. 8vo.) pp. 1—88. In pp. 91—247. he has applied his gene¬ 
ral principles to the interpretation of the prophet Jonah ; Glassii Philologia Sacr. 
lib. i. tract, iv. col. 311—324. (4to edit. Lipsi®, 1725) ; Rambachii Observations 
Selectae de Parallelism Sacro, pp. 219—235., and his Instit. Hermeneutic® Sacr®, 
pp. 741—745. 779—791. J. E. Pfeifferi, Inst. Herm. Sacr. pp. 79—812 ; Langii 
Hermeneutic® Sacra, pp. 133—150 ; Turretinde Sacr® Scriptur® Interpretatione, 
cap. iv. pp. 244—255.: in pp. 250—295. he has given an admirable illustration of 
the principles laid down by him in the preceding chapter by expounding chap¬ 
ters i. and ii. of the prophecy of Joel; Pareau, Institutio Interpretis Veteris Testi- 
menti, pp. 468—519 ; Principes Generaux pour l’Intelligence des Propheties (Paris 
1763. 8vo.) ; Bishop Warburton’s Divine Legation of Moses, book vi. (Works, vol. 
vi. p. 47. et seq.) ; Dr. Hey’s Norrisian Lectures, vol. i. pp. 235—240 ; — Dr. 
Smith’s View of the Prophets, 12mo.; Bishop Hurd’s Introduction to the Study of 
the Prophets (Works, vol. v.); Dr. Macknight’s Translation and Commentary on 
the Epistles, vol. iv. (4to. edit.) or vi. (8vo. edit.) essay viii. sect. v. ; Mr. Frere’s 
Combined View of the Prophecies of Daniel, Esdras, and St. John, 8vo.; and the 
Rev. Wm. Jones’s Lectures on the Figurative Language of Scripture. (Works, vol. 
iii.) These writers have all been consulted on the present occasion ; and to the list 
of them may be added Bishop Sherlock’s Discourses on Prophecy; Mr. Kett’s 
History the Interpreter of Prophecy ; Bishops Halifax and Bagot, Drs. Apthorpe 
and Pearson, and Mr. Nares, in their respective Warburtonian Lectures on Prophe¬ 
cy ; Mr. Richard’s eloquent and learned Bampton Lectures for 1800, entitled “ The 
Divine Origin of Prophecy illustrated and defended,” (Oxford, 1800. 8vo.) and 
Smith’s Select Discourses, disc. vi. pp. 167—280. 4to. edit. 




Ch. VIII.] 


( 649 ) 


CHAPTER VIII. 

OX THE INTERPRETATION OF TYPES. 

I. Nature of a Type. — II. Different species of Types. — 1. Legal 

Types. — 2. Prophetical Types. — 3. Historical Types .— ill. 

Rules for the Interpretation of Types. — IV. Remarks on the In¬ 
terpretation of Symbols. 

I. A TY PE, in its primary and literal meaning, simply denotes a 
rough draught, or less accurate model, from which a more perfect 
image is made ; but, in the sacred or theological sense of the term, a 
type may be defined to be a symbol of something future and distant, 
or an example prepared and evidently designed by God to prefigure 
that future thing. What is thus prefigured is called the antitype. 1 

1. The first characteristic of a type is its adumbration of the thing 
typified. 

One thing may adumbrate another, — either in something which it 
has in common with the other : as the Jewish victims by their death 
represented Christ, who in the fulness of time w r as to die for man¬ 
kind : — or in a symbol of some property possessed by the other ; as 
the images of the cherubim, placed in the inner sanctuary of the 
temple, beautifully represented the celerity of the angels of heaven, 
not indeed by any celerity of their own, but by wings of curious con¬ 
trivance, which exhibited an appropriate symbol of swiftness : — or 
in any other way, in which the thing representing can be compared 
with the thing represented ; as Melchizedek the priest of the Most 
High God represented Jesus Christ our priest. For though Melchi¬ 
zedek was not an eternal priest, yet the sacred writers have attri¬ 
buted to him a slender and shadowy appearance of eternity, by not 
mentioning the genealogy of the parents, the birth or death of so il¬ 
lustrious a man, as they commonly do in the case of other eminent 
persons, but under the divine direction concealing all these particu¬ 
lars. 

2. The next requisite to constitute a type, is that it be prepared 
and designed by God to represent its antitype . 2 

This forms the distinction between a type and a simile : for many 
things are compared to others, which they were not made to resem¬ 
ble, for the purpose of representing them. For, though it is said 
that “ all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of 
grass” (1 Pet. i. 24.), no one can consider the tenderness of grass as 
a type of human weakness, or the flower of grass as a type of human 
glory. The same remark must be applied also to a metaphor, or 

1 Outram de Sacrificiis, lib. i. c. 18. or p. 215. of Mr. Allen’s accurate translation. 
This work is of singular value to the divinity student; as affording, in a compara¬ 
tively small compass, one of the most masterly vindications of the vicarious atone¬ 
ment of Christ that ever was published. 

2 “ It is essential,” observes Bp. Vanmildert,“ to a type, in the scriptural accep¬ 
tation of the term, that there should be a competent evidence of the divine inten¬ 
tion in the correspondence between it and the antitype, — a matter not left to the 
imagination of the expositor to discover, but resting on some solid proof from 
Scripture itself, that this was really the case.” Bampton Lectures, p. 239. 

VOL. II. 82 





650 


On the Interpretation of Types. [Part II. 

that species of simile in which one thing is called by the name of 
another ; for, though Herod from his cunning is called a fox (Luke 
xiii. 32.), and Judah for his courage a lion’s whelp (Gen. xlix. 9.), 
yet no one supposes foxes to be types of Herod, or young lions types 
of Judah. 

3. Our definition of a type includes also, that the object represent¬ 
ed by it is something future. 

Those institutions of Moses, which partook of the nature of types, 
are called “ a shadow of things to come” (Col. ii. 17.) ; and those 
things which happened unto the fathers for types are said to have 
been written for our admonition, “ upon whom the ends of the world 
are come.” (1 Cor. x. 1. 11.) In the same sense the Mosaic law, 
which abounded with numerous types, is declared to have had “ a 
shadow of good things to come.” (Heb. x. 1.) And those things 
which by the command of God were formerly transacted in the ta¬ 
bernacle, are described as prefiguring what was afterwards to be 
done in the heavenly sanctuary. (Heb. ix. 11, 12. 23, 24.) Hence it 
appears, that a type and a symbol differ from each other as a genus 
and species. The term symbol is equally applicable to that which re¬ 
presents a thing, past, present, or future: whereas the object repre¬ 
sented by a type is invariably future. So that all the rites which 
signified to the Jews any virtues that they were to practise, ought to 
be called symbols rather than types ; and those rites, if there were 
any, which were divinely appointed to represent things both present 
and future, may be regarded as both symbols and types ; — symbols, 
as denoting things present; and types, as indicating things future. 

4. We may further remark, that a type differs from a parable, in 
being grounded on a matter of fact, not in a fictitious narrative, but 
is much of the same nature in actions, or things and persons, as an 
allegory is in words; though allegories are frequently so plain, that it 
is scarcely possible for any man to mistake them ; and thus it is, in 
many cases, with respect to types. 

Where, indeed, there is only one type or resemblance, it is in some 
instances not so easily discernible; but where several circumstances 
concur, it is scarcely possible not to perceive the agreement subsist¬ 
ing between the type and the antitype. Thus, the ark was a type of 
baptism ; the land of Canaan, of heaven ; the brazen serpent, and 
the prophet Jonah, of our Saviour’s crucifixion and resurrection. 

II. In the examination of the sacred writings, three species of 
types present themselves to our consideration ; viz. legal types , or 
those contained in the Mosaic law ; prophetical types , and historical 
types. 

1. Legal Types. — It evidently appears, from comparing the his¬ 
tory and economy of Moses with the whole of the New Testament, 
that the ritual law was typical of the Messiah and of Gospel bless¬ 
ings : and this point has been so clearly established by the great 
apostle of the Gentiles in his Epistle to the Hebrews, that it will 
suffice to adduce a very few examples, to show the nature of Legal 
Types. 

Thus, the entire constitution, and offerings of the Levitical priesthood, topi¬ 
cally prefigured Christ the great high priest (Heb. v. vii. viii.) : and espeeiallyhhe 
Geremonies observed on the great day of atonement. (Lev. xvi. with Heb. ix. 


651 


Ch. VIII.] On the Interpretation of Types . 

throughout, and x. 1—22.) So, the passover and the paschal lamb typified the 
sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Exod. xii. 3. et seq. with John xix. 36. and 1 Cor. v. 7.): 
so, the feast of pentecost, which commemorated the giving of the law on Mount 
Sinai, (Exod. xix. xx.) prefigured the effusion of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, 
who were thus enabled to promulgate the Gospel throughout the then known 
world. (Acts ii. 1—11.) And it has been conjectured* that the feast of tabernacles 
typifies the final restoration of the Jews. In like manner, the privileges of the 
Jews were types of those enjoyed by all true Christians ; “ for their relation to 
God as his people, signified by the name Israelite (Rom. ix. 4.), prefigured the 
more honourable relation, in which believers, the true Israel, stand to God.— 
1 heir adoption as the sons of God, and the privileges they were entitled to by 
that adoption, were types of believers being made partakers of the divine nature 
by the renewing of the Holy Ghost, and of their title to the inheritance of heaven. 
— The residence of the glory , first in the tabernacle and then in the temple, was 
a figure of the residence of God by His Spirit in the Christian church, His temple 
on earth, and of His eternal residence in that church brought to perfection in 
Heaven. — The covenant with Abraham was the new or Gospel covenant, the 
blessings of which were typified by the temporal blessings promised to him and to 
his natural seed: and the covenant at Sinai, whereby the Israelites, as the wor¬ 
shippers of the true God, were separated from the idolatrous nations, was an em¬ 
blem of the final separation of the righteous from the wicked. — In the giving of 
the law, and the formation of the Israelites into a nation or community, was re¬ 
presented the formation of the city of the living God, and of the general assembly 
of the church of the first-born. — Lastly, the heavenly country, the habitation of the 
righteous, was typiliedby Canaan, acountry given to the Israelites by God’s promise 1 2 3 * 5 *, 

2. Prophetical Types are those by which the divinely inspired pro¬ 
phets prefigured or signified things either present or future, by means 
of external symbols. 

Of this description is the prophet Isaiah’s going naked (that is, without his pro¬ 
phetic garment) and barefoot (Isa. xx. 2.), to prefigure the fatal destruction of the 
Egyptians and Ethiopians. —The hiding of a girdle in a rock on the banks of the 
Euphrates, which, on being subsequently taken thence, proved to be rotten, to denote 
the destruction which would speedily befal the abandoned and ungrateful Jewish 
people, (Jer. xiii. 1—7. compared with the following verses) : — the abstaining from 
marriage (Jer. xvi. 2.), mourning (ver. 5.), and feasting (ver. 8.), to indicate the 
woeful calamities denounced by Jehovah against his people for their sins. Similar 
calamities are prefigured by breaking a potter’s vessel. (Jer. xviii. 2—10.) By 
making bonds and yokes (Jer. xxvii. 1—8.) is prefigured the subjugation of the 
kings of Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, Tyre, and Sidon, by Nebuchadnezzar: and 
in like manner, Agabus’s binding his own hands with Paul’s girdle intimated the 
apostle’s captivity at Jerusalem. (Acts xxi. 10, ll.)3 

To this class of types may be referred prophetical and typical visions of future 
events : some of these have their interpretation annexed : as Jeremiah’s vision of 
the almond tree and a seething pot (Jer. i. 11—16.), Ezekiel’s vision of the resur¬ 
rection of dry bones (Ezek. xxxvii.), with many similar instances recorded in the 
sacred writings. Other typical visions, however, will in all probability be ex¬ 
plained only by their actual accomplishment; as Ezekiel’s vision of the temple 
and holy city (ch. xl. to the end), and especially the Revelation of Saint John : 
which will then be most clear and intelligible when the whole is fulfilled ; as we 
can now plainly read the calling of the Gentiles in many parts of the Old Testa¬ 
ment, which seemed so strange a thing, before it was accomplished, even to those 
who were well acquainted with the writings of the prophets. See an instance of 
this in Acts xi. 1—18. 

3. Historical Types are the characters, actions, and fortunes of 
some eminent persons recorded in the Old Testament, so ordered by 
Divine Providence as to be exact prefigurations of the characters, 

1 Bv the Rev. Dr. Elrington, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin. See the grounds 
of this conjecture ably supported in Dr. Graves’s Lectures on the Pentateuch, vol, 
ii. pp. 393—395. notes. 

2 Dr. Macknight on Rom. ix. 4. note 1. 

3 Other examples of, and observations on, prophetical types, may be seen in Dr, 

Nares’s Warburtonian Lectures on the Prophecies concerning the Messiah, pp. 70 

—86. 117—125. 




652 On the Interpretation of Types. [Part II. 

actions, and fortunes of future persons who should arise under the 
Gospel dispensation. 

In some instances, the persons whose characters and actions prefigured future 
events, were declared by Jehovah himself to be typical, long before the events 
which they prefigured came to pass : these have been termed innate , or natural his¬ 
torical types. But, in other instances, many persons really typical were not known 
to be such, until after the things which they typified had actually happened : these 
have been called inferred types, because in general they are consequentially ascer¬ 
tained to be such by expositors and interpreters of the Scriptures, by fair proba 
bilities agreeable to the analogy of faith. The most remarkable typical persons 
and things mentioned in the Old Testament are Adam, Abel, Noah, Melchizedec, 
Isaac, the ram sacrificed by Abraham, Joseph, the pillar of fire, the manna, the 
rock in the desert whence water flowed, the scape-goat, the brazen-serpent, Mo¬ 
ses, Aaron, Joshua, Sampson, Samuel, David, Solomon, Jonah, and Zerubbabel. 
It would swell this chapter almost into a commentary upon very numerous pas¬ 
sages of Scripture, were we to attempt to show how clearly these characters, &c. 
correspond with their great antitype the Lord Jesus Christ: the principal only 
have been enumerated, and we refer the reader to the writers mentioned below, 
by whom they have been best explained. 1 

III. From the preceding remarks and statements it will be obvious, 
that great caution is necessary in the interpretation of types ; for un¬ 
less v r e have the authority of the sacred writers themselves for it, w 7 e 
cannot conclude with certainty that this or that person or thing, which 
is mentioned in the Old Testament, is a type of Christ on account of 
the resemblance which we may perceive between them : but w r e may 
admit it as probable. “ Whatever persons or things recorded in the 
Old Testament, were expressly declared by Christ, or by his apos¬ 
tles, to have been designed as prefigurations of persons or things re¬ 
lating to the New Testament, such persons or things so recorded in 
the former, are types of the persons or things, with which they are 
compared in the latter. But if w r e assert, that a person or thing w r a$ 
designed to prefigure another person or thing, where no such prefigu¬ 
ration has been declared by divine authority , we make an assertion 
for which we neither have , nor can have, the slightest foundation. 
And even when comparisons are instituted in the New Testament 
between antecedent and subsequent persons or things, we must be 
careful to distinguish the examples, where a comparison is instituted 
merely for the sake of illustration , from the examples where such a 
connection is declared, as exists in the relation of a type to its anti¬ 
type.” 2 In the interpretation of types, therefore, 

1. There must he aft application of the Type to the Antitype. 

u To constitute one thing the type of another, as the term is generally under¬ 
stood in reference to Scripture, something more is wanted than mere resemblance. 
The former must not only resemble the latter, but must have been designed to 
resemble the latter. It must have been so designed in its original institution. It 
must have been designed as something preparatory to the latter. The type, as 

well as the antitype, must have been pre-ordained ; and they must have been 
- ■ 1 --———— ...... - ■ - / 

1 The subject of historical types is fully elucidated by Huet in his Demonstratio . 
Evangelica , cap. 170. vol. ii. pp. 1056—1074. Amst. 1680; by Dr. Macknisfht in 
his Essay on the right Interpretation of the Language of Scripture, in vol. iv. or 
vi. (4to. or 8vo.) of his translation of the Apostolical Epistles, Essay viii. sect. 1 — 
r»; and by Mr. M‘Ewen in his u Grace and Truth, or the Glory and Fulness of 
the Redeemer, displayed, in an attempt to explain, illustrate, and enforce the most 
ramarkable types, figures, and allegories of the Old Testament.” 12mo. Edinburgh, 
1803. Though fanciful in some of his expositions, this author may nevertheless 
be consulted with advantage. 

2 Bishop Marsh’s Lectures, part iii. p. 115. 



C53 


Ch. VITI.] On the Interpretation of Types. 

pre-ordained as constituent parts of the same general scheme of Divine Provi¬ 
dence. It is this previous design and this pre-ordained connection , which consti¬ 
tute the relation ot type and antitypo. When these qualities fail, where the pre¬ 
vious design and the pre-ordained connection are wanting, the relation between 
any two things, however similar in themselves, is not the relation of type to anti- 
type. 1 In further explanation of this canon it may be remarked, that in a type 
every circumstance is far from being typical, as in a parable there are several in¬ 
cidents, which are not to be considered as parts of the parable, nor to be insisted 
upon as such. From not considering the evident relation which ought to subsist 
between the type and the antitype, some fanciful expositors, under pretence that 
the tabernacle ot Moses was a figure ot the church or of heaven, have converted 
even the very boards and nails of it into types. Thus Cardinal Bellarmine,2 found 
the mass to be typified by Melchizedec’s bringing forth bread and wine, he being 
a priest ot the Most High God. The same great adversary of the Protestants (in 
his Treatise de Laicis ) in like manner discovered that their secession under 
Luther “ was typified by the secession of the ten tribes under Jeroboam ; while 
the Lutherans with equal reason retorted that Jeroboam was a type of the Pope, 
and .that the secession of Israel from Judah typified, not the secession of the Pro¬ 
testants under Luther, but the secession of the church of Rome from primitive 
Christianity. But, to whichever of the two events the secession under Jeroboam 
may be supposed the most similar (if similarity exist there at all beyond the mere 
act of secession,) wo have no authority for pronouncing it a type of either. We 
have no proof ot previous design and of pre-ordained connection between the sub¬ 
jects of comparison ; we have no proof that the secession of the Israelites under 
Jeroboam was designed to prefigure any other secession whatever.”3 From the 
same inattention to considering the necessarily evident relation between the type 
and the antitype, the Hebrew monarch Saul, whose name is by interpretation 
Death, has been made a type of the moral law, which Saint Paul terms the “ mi¬ 
nistration of death.” (2 Cor. iii. 7.) In like manner, the period, which elapsed be¬ 
tween the anointing of David an<I the death of Saul, has been made to typify the 
time of Christ’s ministry upon earth !! And the long war between the house of 
Saul and the house of David, (2 Sam. iii. 1.) in which David waxed stronger and 
stronger, and the house of Saul weaker and weaker, has been represented as 
strikingly portrayed in the lengthened contests between the righteousness of 
faith and that of works, so often alluded to in the epistles, especially in those ad¬ 
dressed to the Romans and Galatians !! ! * 3 4 

It were no difficult task to adduce numerous similar examples of 
abuse in the interpretation of types : but the preceding will suffice to 
show the danger of falling into it, and the necessity of confining our 
attention to the strict relation between the type and the antitype. 
In further illustration of this canon it may be remarked, that in ex¬ 
pounding typical passages three points should be always kept in 
mind, viz. — 

(I.) The Type must in the first instance he explained according to 
its literal sense ; and if any part of it appear to he obscure , such ob¬ 
scurity must be removed: as in the history of Jonah, who icas swallowed 
by a great fish, and cast ashore on the third day . 

(2.) The Analogy between the thing prefiguring and the thing pre¬ 
figured must be soberly shown in all its parts. 

The criteria for ascertaining this analogy are to be found first in the sacred 
icritings themselves ; for whenever the Holy Spirit refers any thing to analogy, 
either expressly or by implication, there we may rest assured that such analogy 
was designed by God. We shall also derive material assistance, in the interpre¬ 
tation of types, from the exercise of legitimate reasoning and deduction, — not 
the crude notions urged by every person of warm devotional feelings or vivid 
imagination, but such fair reasoning as depends upon the scope and circumstances, 


1 Bishop Marsh’s Lectures, part iii. p. 113. 2 De Missa, lib. i. cap. 9. 

3 Bishop Marsh’s Lectures, part iii. p. 117. 

4 The reader who may be desirous of seeing the above extravagant typifications 
troated at length, will find them minutely stated, with other similar particulars 
equally extravagant, in the “ Bible Magazine,” voh iv. pp. 22—29. 





654 


On the Interpretation of Types. [Part II. 

and which harmonises with the nature of things. For instance, would we ascer¬ 
tain the spiritual analogy of the coverings of the tabernacle, we must previously 
direct our attention to its scope or primary design, which was to be as it were the 
palace of the Most High, who was there worshipped by the Israelites during their 
journeyings in the wilderness : whence it is clear that the tabernacle adumbrated 
the church of the living God, which is termed the House of God. (1 Tim. iii. J5.) 
The harmony or agreement of the thing typifying and the thing typified is then 
to be elicited: and on consideration it will be found, that as the tabernacle was 
planned under the immediate direction of Jehovah, (whose spirit rested on the 
artificers Bezaleel and Aholiab,) and, when finished, was said to be the dwelling- 
place of the God of Israel; so the true church of Christ is under his immediate 
care and protection, his Holy Spirit having descended plenarily on the apostles by 
whom it was founded, and his gracious influences and teachings being also pro¬ 
mised to all ministers of the Gospel, and to all true Christians, who live in the en¬ 
joyment of communion with God. And as in the tabernacle there were found 
bread, light, &c. these probably were emblematical of the ample provision made 
in Christ for the direction, support and salvation of the soul of man. Beyond this 
typical interpretation of the tabernacle we cannot safely go, without deviating 
into all the vagaries of imagination. 

2. There is often more in the Type than the Antitype. 

God designed one person or thing in the Old Testament to be a type or shadow 
of things to come, not in all things, but only in respect to some particular thing 
or things : hence we find many things in the type, that are inapplicable to the 
antitype. The use of this canon is shown in the epistle to the Hebrews, in which 
the ritual and sacrifices of the Old Testament are fairly accommodated to Jesus 
Christ the antitype, although there are many things in that priesthood which do 
not accord. Thus the priest was to offer sacrifice for his own sins (Heb. v. 3.), 
which is in no respect applicable to Christ. (Heb. vii. 27.) Again the Mosaic 
priesthood is (vii. 18.) weak and unprofitable , neither of which characters can be 
applied to the Redeemer, who continueth ever , and hath an unchangeable priest- 
hood. (vii. 24,25.) 

3. Frequently there is more in the Antitype than in the Type. 

The reason of this canon is the same as that of the preceding rule : for, as no 
single type can express the life and particular actions of Christ, there is necessa¬ 
rily more in the antitype than can be found in the type itself; so that one type 
must signify one thing, and another type another thing. Thus one goat could not 
typify Christ both in his death and resurrection : therefore two were appointed 
(Lev. xvi. 7.), one of which was offered, and prefigured his “ full, perfect, and 
sufficient atonementwhile the other, which was dismissed, typified his triumph 
over death and the grave. In like manner, Moses was a type of Christ as a Re¬ 
deemer, in bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt, and Joshua, in bringing 
them into Canaan, which was a type of heaven, — the true country of all sincere 
Christians. 

4. Where there are many partial Types of one and the same thing y 
me are in such cases to judge of the antitype , not from one Type , hut 
from all of them jointly considered. 

The reason of this canon also depends upon the three former ones : for, as the 
persons and events mentioned in the New Testament were prefigured at sundry 
times, and in divers manners (Heb. i 1.), if we would form a correct judgunent of 
the thing prefigured by types, we must not examine or meditate upon one type 
singly, but upon many of them collectively taken together. The propriety'of 
this rule is so obvious as to render any further illustration unnecessary : we may 
however remark, that such a comparison of several types of the same evangelical 
truth will not only afford admirable illustrations of it; but will also show the im¬ 
becility of the types themselves as contrasted with the pre-eminent excellence of 
the great antit} 7 pe, and at the same time teach us to prosecute our investigations 
with becoming humility. 

5. In interpreting the Old Testament types, we must accurately exa¬ 
mine whether the shadow , or the truth represented hy a shadow , he pro¬ 
posed; in other words , whether the prophets uttered'their predictions 
concerning the Messiah under the shadow of types, or in express terms , 
namely , speaking of him in a literal sense. 

This canon is rendered necessarj 7 by the well known fcustom of prophetical die- 


055 


Ch. VIII.J On the Interpretation of Types. 

tion ; in which the prophets frequently make sudden transitions from the type to 
the antitype, from corporeal to spiritual things. An example of such transition 
occurs m Psal. ii. 7., which, though literally to be understood of David, is pro¬ 
phetically and typically applicable to Jesus Christ; and so it was understood and 
applied by Saint Paul. (Acts xiii. 33.) 

6. The wicked, as such, arc not to be made Types of Christ. 

For how can a thing, which is bad in itself, prefigure or typify a thing that is 
good ? Yet, for want of attending to this obvious and almost self-evident propo¬ 
sition, some 1 2 expositors have interpreted the adultery of David, and the incest of 
Amnon, as typical of the Messiah ! and the oak on which Absalom was suspended 
by the hair of his head, has beep made a type of the cross of Christ !2 It is not, 
however, to be denied, that the punishments of some malefactors are accommo¬ 
dated to Christ as the antitype. Thus Deut. xxi. 23. is by Saint Paul accommo¬ 
dated typically to him, Gal. iii. 13. Jonah, we have already observed, was a type 
of Christ, by his continuance three days and three nights in the belly of the great 
fish : but the point of resemblance is to be sought, not in his being there as the 
punishment of his disobedience to the divine command, but in his coming forth, 
at the expiration of that time, alive, and in perfect vigour ; which coming forth 
prefigured the resurrection of Christ. 

7. One thing is sometimes a Type of two, and even of contrary things, 
but in different respects. 

Thus the deluge, in which Noah and his family were preserved, was to believers 
a type of baptism (1 Pet. iii. 21.) : but in regard to the wicked who perished it 
prefigured the sudden and unexpected destruction of the wicked at the great day 
of judgment. (Matt. xxiv. 37—39. Luke xvii. 2G, 27.) To this head also may be 
referred those passages in which Christ, who is called a rock and a corner-stone, 
is said to be a rock of salvation to believers, but, to the wicked and disobedient, a 
stone of stumbling and a rock of offence. 

8. In Types and Antitypes, an enallage or change sometimes takes 
place; as when the thing prefigured assumes the name of the type or 
figure; and, on the contrary, when the type of the thing represented as¬ 
sumes the name of the antitype. 

Of the first kind of enallage we have examples in Ezek. xxxiv. 23. xxxvii. 24, 
25. and Hos. iii. 5.; in which descriptions of Messiah’s kingdom he is styled Da¬ 
vid ; because as he was prefigured by David in many respects, so he was to de¬ 
scend from him. In like manner Christ is called a lamb , (John i. 29. 36. and 
Rev. xix. 7. 9.) because the paschal lamb was an eminent type of him. So, the 
Christian church is sometimes called Mount Sion and Jerusalem (Gal. iv. 26. Heb. 
xii. 22. Rev. xxi. 2.), because these places were types of her. 

Of the second kind of enallage we have instances : — 1. In prophetical types, 
in which the name of a person or thing, properly agreeing with the antitype, and 
for which the type was proposed, is given to any one : as in Isa. vii. 3. and viii. 1 
—3. So the wife of the prophet Hosea, and his legitimate children, are by the 
command of Jehovah termed a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms, 
(Hos. i. 2.) on account of the Israelites, who were the antitype, and were guilty 
of spiritual whoredom or adultery. See Hos. i. 4. 6. 9. 2. In historical types, as 
when hanging was called in the Old Testament the curse of the Lord because it 
was made a type of Christ, who was made a curse for our sins, Gal. iii. 13. 

9. That we may not fall into extremes in the interpretation of types, 
we must, in every instance, proceed cautiously, “with fear and trem¬ 
bling, ” lest ice imagine mysteries to exist ivhcrc none were ever intended. 

No mystical or typical sense, therefore, ought to be put upon a plain passage of 
Scripture, the meaning of which is obvious and natural; unless it be evident from 
some other part of Scripture that the place is to be understood in a double sense. 
When Saint Paul says, (Gal. iii 24. Col. ii. 17.) that the law was a schoolmaster 
to bring men to Christ, and a shadow of things to come, we must instantly ac¬ 
knowledge that the ceremonial law in general was a type of the mysteries of the 
Gospel. Nothing can be more contrary to that sober judgment which is so strenu¬ 
ously urged by the apostle (Rom. xii. 3.), than to seek for types where there are 


1 Azorius, the Spanish Jesuit, in his Institutiones Morales, lib. viii. c. 2.; and 
Cornelius k Lapide, in Prefat. ad Pentateuch, canon 40. 

2 Gretzer, Dc Cruce, lib. i. c. 6. 




656 


On the Interpretation of Types. [Part II. 

not the smallest marks or traces of any ; and that too, by contradicting the plain 
and literal meaning of Scripture, and not unfrequently in direct opposition to 
common sense. “ Should not the prudence and moderation of Christ and his 
■apostles in this respect be imitated ? Is it not pretending to be wiser than they 
were, to look for mysteries where they designed none ? How unreasonable is it to 
lay an useless weight on the consciences of Christians, and to bear down the true 
and revealed , under the unwieldy burthen of traditional mysteries.”! 

IV. Closely connected with the interpretation of types is the ex¬ 
pounding of Symbols; which, though often confounded with them, 
are nevertheless widely different in their nature. By symbols 1 2 we 
mean “ certain representative marks, rather than express pictures; 
or, if pictures, such as were at the time characters , and, besides pre¬ 
senting to the eye the resemblance of a particular object, suggested 
a general idea to the mind. As, when a horn was made to denote 
strength , an eye and sceptre , majesty , and in numberless such instan¬ 
ces ; where the picture was not drawn to express merely the thing 
itself, but something else, which was, or was conceived to be, anala- 
gous to it. This more complex and ingenious form of picture-writing 
was much practised by the Egyptians, and is that which we know by 
the name of Hieroglyphics .” 3 

It has been doubted whether symbolical language should be re¬ 
ferred to figurative or spiritual interpretation ; in the former case, it 
would have occupied a place in the discussion respecting the figura¬ 
tive language of Scripture; but, on consideration, it will appear that 
it is most nearly allied to mystical interpretation. For a symbol dif¬ 
fers from a type in this respect, that the former represents something 
past or present , while a type represents something future. The 
images of the cherubim over the propitiatory were symbols; the bread 
and wine in the last supper also were symbols. The commanded 
sacrifice of Isaac was given for a type; the sacrifices of the law were 

1 Beausobre’s Introduction to the New Testament. (Bishop Watson’s Tracts, vol. 
iii. p. 140.) In the preceding observations on the interpretation of types, the au¬ 
thor has chiefly been indebted to Glassii Philologia Sacra, lib. ii. part i. tract ii. 
sect. iv. col. 442—472., which has been unaccountably omitted by Prof. Dathe in 
his otherwise truly valuable edition of that work ; Langii Hermeneutica Sacra, 
pp. 97—119.; J. E. Pfeiffer, Inst. Herm. Sacr. pp. 775—795.; Viser, Hermeneuti¬ 
ca Sacra Novi Testamenti, part ii. pp. 184—188. The subject of types is particu¬ 
larly considered and ably illustrated in Dr. Outram de Sacrificiis, particularly lib. 
i. cap. 18. and lib. ii. c. 7. (pp. 217—228. 361—384. of Mr. Allen’s translation al¬ 
ready noticed) ; Mr. Faber’s Horae Mosaicae, vol. ii. pp. 40—173.; Bishop Chan¬ 
dler’s Defence of Christianity from the Prophecies of the Old Testament, &c. chap, 
iii.', and Mr. Wilson’s popular Inquiry into the Doctrine of Scripture Types. 
Edinburgh, 1823. 8vo. But the fullest view of this subject is stated by Dr. Graves 
to be found in the Rev. Samuel Mather’s work on the Figures and Types of the 
Old Testament. Dublin, 1683. 4to. 

2 Before an alphabet was invented, and what we call literary writing was formed 
into an art, men had no way to record their conceptions, or to convey them to 
others at a distance, but by setting down the figures and tropes of such things as 
were the objects of their contemplation. Hence, the way of writing in picture was 
as universal, and almost as early, as the way of speaking in metaphor ; and from 
the same reason, the necessity of the thing. In process of time, and through many 
successive improvements, this rude and simple mode of picture-writing was suc¬ 
ceeded by that of symbols , or was enlarged at least and enriched by it. Bishop 
Hurd’s Introduction to the Study of the Prophecies, serm. ix. (Works, vol. v p. 
238.) 

3 Bishop Plurd’s Introduction to the Study of the Prophecies, &erm. ix. (Works, 
vol. v. p. 239.) 



657 


Ch. VIII.] On the Interpretation of Types. 

types. So far, Bishop Warburton has remarked, symbols and types 
agree in their genus , that they are equally representations, but in their 
species they differ widely. It is not required, he further observes, 
that the symbol should partake of the nature of the thing represented : 
the cherubim shadowed out the celerity of angels, but not by any 
physical celerity of their own ; the bread and wine shadowed out the 
body and blood of Christ, but not by any change in the elements. 
But types being, on the contrary, representations of things future, and 
so partaking of the nature of prophecy , were to convey information 
concerning the nature of the antitypes, or of the things represented; 
which they could not do but by the exhibition of their own nature. 
And hence we collect, that the command to offer Isaac, being the 
command to offer a real sacrifice , the death and sufferings of Christ, 
thereby represented, were a real sacrifice. 1 

As the same rules, which regulate the general interpretation of the 
tropes and figures occurring in the Scriptures, are equally applicable 
to the interpretation of symbols, it will be sufficient to refer to a former 
part of this volume, 2 in which that topic is particularly discussed. 
Much light will also be thrown upon the symbolical language of 
Scripture, by a careful collation of the writings of the prophets with 
each other; for “ the symbolical language of the prophets is almost a 
science in itself. None can fully comprehend the depth, sublimity, 
and force of their writings, who are not thoroughly acquainted with 
the peculiar and appropriate imagery they were accustomed to use. 
This is the main key to many of the prophecies ; and, without know¬ 
ing how to apply it, the interpreter will often in vain essay to discover 
their hidden treasures.” 3 Lastly, the diligent comparison of the New 
Testament with the Old will essentially contribute to illustrate the 
symbolical phraseology of the prophets. For instance, we learn what 
what is intended by the water promised to the Israelites in Isa. xliv. 
3., and to which the thirsty are invited in ch. Iv. 1., from John iv. 10. 
and vii. 37—39. ; where it is explained of the Holy Spirit and his 
gifts which were afterwards to be dispensed. 4 

1 Divine Legation of Moses, book ix. ch. ii. (Works, vol. vi. p. 289. 8vo. edit.) 

2 See pp. 581—589. supra. 

3 Bp. Vanmildert’s Lectures, p. 240. . , „ , 

4 See a Concise Dictionary of the Symbolical Language of Prophecy, tnjra, Vo;. 

|V. Index I. 

VOL. II. S3 



( 658 ) 


[Part II 


CHAPTER IX. 

ON THE DOCTRINAL INTERPRETATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

_A.S the Holy Scriptures contain the revealed will of God to man, 
they not only offer to our attention the most interesting histories and 
characters for our instruction by example, and the most sublime pro¬ 
phecies for the confirmation of our faith, but they likewise present to 
our serious study, doctrinal truths of the utmost importance. Some 
of these occur in the historical, poetical, and prophetical parts of the, 
Bible : but they are chiefly to be found in the apostolic epistles, which, 
though originally designed for the edification of particular Christian 
churches or individuals, are nevertheless of general application , and 
designed for the guidance of the universal church in every age. For 
many of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity are more copiously 
treated in the epistles, which are not so particularly explained in the 
gospels : and as the authors of the several epistles wrote under the 
same divine inspiration as the evangelists, the epistles and gospels 
must be taken together, to complete the rule of Christian faith. The 
doctrinal interpretation, therefore, of the sacred writings is of para¬ 
mount consequence ; as by this means we are enabled to acquire a 
correct and saving knowledge of the will of God concerning us. In 
the prosecution of this important branch of sacred literature, the fol¬ 
lowing observations are offered to the attention of the student. 

I. The meaning of the sacred writings is not to be determined ac¬ 
cording to modern notions and systems : but we must endeavour to car¬ 
ry ourselves bach to the very times and places in which they were written , 
mid realise the ideas and modes of thinking of the sacred writers. 

This rule is of the utmost importance for understanding the Scrip¬ 
tures ; but is too commonly neglected by commentators and exposi¬ 
tors, who, when applying themselves to the explanation of the sacred 
writings, have a preconceived system of doctrine which they seek in 
the Bible, and to which they refer every passage of Scripture. Thus 
they rather draw the Scriptures to their system of doctrine, than 
bring their doctrines to the standard of Scripture ; a mode of inter¬ 
pretation which is altogether unjust, and utterly useless in the attain¬ 
ment of truth. The only way by which to understand the meaning 
of the sacred writers, and to distinguish between true and false doc¬ 
trines, is, to lay aside all preconceived modern notions and systems, 
and to carry ourselves back to the very times and places in which the 
prophets and apostles wrote. In perusing the Bible, therefore, this 
rule must be most carefully attended to : — It is only an unbiassed 
mind that can attain the true and genuine sense of Scripture. 1 

II. A knowledge of the authors of the different books of Scripture , 
particularly of the JVew Testament , is essentially necessary to our un¬ 
derstanding their writings. 

Although all the authors of Scripture were inspired, yet, in regard 
to their manner of writing, they were each left to follow his own 

1 Turretin, de Interp. Sacr. Script, pp. 312. 314. See also some sensible remarks 
on these perversions of the sacred writings in the Christian Observer for 1818, vol 
xvii. p. 317. 



Gh. IX.] On the Doctrinal Interpretation of the Scriptures. 659 

genius, turn of thought, and mode of expression. Attention to this 
diversity of composition will enable us to read their works with 
pleasure and advantage. 1 2 3 4 The knowledge of their personal situation 
and circumstances will not only sometimes account for their selection 
of matter, and omission of or expatiating on some topics; but will 
also explain many particular allusions in their writings, whose force 
and beauty will thus become more evident. 

l or instance, the evangelist Mark is generally supposed to have been the com¬ 
panion of the apostle Peter, and thence to have had great advantages for composing 
a gospel. This will account for his omission of circumstances tending to the 
honour of Peter, and for enlarging on his faults, particularly his denial of°Christ,, 
which is related more minutely by Mark than by any other evangelist.2 In like 
manner an intimate acquaintance with the life and transactions of Saint Paul 
will elucidate a variety of passages in his epistles. Witsius in his Meletemata 
Leidensia , Bishop Pearson in his Annales Paulini , Dr. Macknight’s3 and Mr. Be- 
van s Life of the Apostle Paul,4 Mrs. More’s Essay on the Character and Writ¬ 
ings of St. Paul, and above all , Mr. Townsend’s Harmony of the New Testament 
(noticed in the concluding page of this volume), will be found of great utility in 
studying his epistles. 

III. td knowledge of the time ivhen the several doctrinal books, par¬ 
ticularly the epistles, were written, is useful, both to show the reason 
and propriety of the instructions therein given, and also to explain 
why such various instructions were given concerning the same things. 

We may instance circumcision and other ceremonies, concerning 
which the apostle exhorts the Romans to receive the weak, <fcc. about 
ceremonies and indifferent things (Rom. xiv. throughout, and xv. 1 
—3.) : but, when writing to the Galatians and Colossians, he utterly 
condemns the use of circumcision, &c. (Gal. v. 2—6. Col. ii. 8—23.) 
The reason of these apparently contradictory commands is, the differ¬ 
ence of time when the several epistles were written. 

IV. Regard must also be had to the peculiar state of the churches , 
cities, or persons, to whom particular epistles, especially those of Saint 
Paul, were addressed ; as the knowledge of such state frequently leads 
to the particular occasion for which such epistle was written. 

“ Although the general design of the whole of Scripture was the 
instruction of the world, and the edification of the church in every 
age, still there was an immediate and specific design with regard to 
every book. This appears particularly obvious in reference to the 
epistles. With the exception of those properly called catholic or ge¬ 
neral epistles, and of a few written to individuals, they were address¬ 
ed to particular societies of Christians, and they were adapted to the 
exact state of those societies, whether consisting chiefly of Jewish or 
of Heathen converts ; whether recently organised as churches, or in 
a state of flourishing maturity; whether closely cemented together 
by the strength of brotherly love, or distracted by the spirit of fac¬ 
tion ; whether steadfast in adherence to the truth, or inclining to the 
admission of error. Now, if these considerations were present to the 
mind of the inspired writer of an epistle, and served to regulate the 

1 Gerard’s Institutes, p. 118. 

2 In Mr. Jones’s New and Full Method of settling the Canon (part iii. pp. 79— 
81.), there are several examples of passages in the other Gospels that are honour¬ 
able to Peter, which are not mentioned in Saint Mark’s Gospel. 

3 In his Commentary on the Epistles, vol. iv. 4to. or vol. vi. 8vo. 

4 Life of the Apostle Paul, as related in Scripture, but in which his epistles are 
inserted in that part of the history to which they are respectively supposed to bfr- 
long, 8vo., 1807. 



<500 On the Doctrinal Interpretation of the Scriptures . [Part II. 

strain and the topics of his address, it is evident that they must by 
no means be disregarded by us in our attempts to ascertain the genu¬ 
ine and intended sense.” 1 2 A knowledge therefore, of the state of the 
particular churches, to which they addressed their epistles, is of the 
greatest importance, not only to enable us to ascertain the scope of 
any particular epistle, but also for the purpose of reconciling doctri¬ 
nal passages which, to a cursory reader, may at first sight appear 
. contradictory. 

For instance, the Galatian churches, not long after their members had been con¬ 
verted to the faith of the Gospel, were persuaded by some Judaising teachers that 
it was absolutely necessary they should be circumcised, and observe the entire law 
of Moses : hence great dissensions arose among the Galatian Christians. These 
circumstances led Saint Paul to write his Epistle to them ; the design of which 
was, to prove the Jewish ceremonial law to be no longer obligatory, to convince 
them of the moral and spiritual nature of the Gospel, and thus to restore mutual 
good-will among them. 

Again, Rom. xiv. 5. and Gal. iv. 10, 11. are apparently contradictory to each 
other. In the former passage we read— u One man esteemeth one day above 
another ; another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in 
his own mind.” The latter passage runs thus — “ Ye observe days , and months , 
and times and years ; lam afraid lest I have bestoiced upon you labotir in vain.” 
Now if we attend to the situation and character of the persons addressed, we shall 
easily be enabled to solve this seeming difficulty. 

The Roman and Galatian churches were composed of both Jews and Gentiles ; 
but they are not addressed promiscuously ; neither are they the same description 
of people who are addressed in both passages. Those who “ regarded days,” 
among the Romans, were the converted Jews , who, having from their youth 
observed them as divine appointments, were with difficulty brought to lay them 
aside. And as their attachment had its origin in a tender regard to divine authori¬ 
ty, they were considered as “ keeping the day unto the Lord ;” and great forbear¬ 
ance was enjoined upon the Gentile converts towards them in that matter. Those, 
on the other hand, who among the Galatians “ observed days, and months, and 
times,” were converted Gentiles , as is manifest from the context, which describes 
them as having, in their unconverted state, u done service to them which by 
nature were no gods.” (ch. iv. 8.) These being perverted by certain Judaising 
teachers, were contrary to the apostolic decision (Acts xv.), circumcised, and sub¬ 
jected themselves to the yoke of Jewish ceremonies. Nor was this all; they were 
led to consider these things as necessary to justification and salvation, which were 
subversive of the doctrine of justification by faith in Jesus Christ. (Acts xv. 1. 
Gal. v. 4.) These circumstances being considered, the different language of the 
apostle is perfectly in character. Circumcision, and conformity to the law of Mo¬ 
ses, in Jeicish converts , was held to be lawful. Even the apostle of the Gentiles 
himselt “ to the Jews became a Jew ” frequently, if not constantly, conforming 
to the Jewish laws. And when writing to others, he expresses himself on this 
wise : u Is any man called, being circumcised P let him not become uncircum- 
oised. Is any called, in uncircumcision ? let him not become circumcised. Cir¬ 
cumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing ; but the keeping of the 
commandments of God.” (1 Cor. vii. 18, 19.) But for Gentiles, who had no such 
things to allege in their favour, to go off from the liberty granted to them (Acts 
x.v.), and entangle themselves under a yoke of bondage ; and not only so, but to 
make it a term of justification, was sufficient to excite a fear lest the labour which 
he had bestowed upon them was in vain.2 

. Braunius, 3 Vitringa, 4 and BuddeusS have happily illustrated numerous passages 
in Saint Paul’s Epistles by attending to the circumstances mentioned in the above 
canon. The state of the apocalyptic churches has also been well described by our 

1 Rev. H. F. Burder’s Sermon on the Duty and Means of ascertaining the genu¬ 
ine Sense of the Scriptures, p. 19. 

2 Fuller’s Harmony of Scripture, pp. 44. 40. 3 Selecta Sacra, lib. i. 

4 Observationes Sacrae, lib. iv. cc. 7, 8. 

** Jo. Francisci Buddei Ecclesia Apostolica, sive de Statu Ecclesiae Christian® 
sub Apostolis Commentatio Historica-Dogmatica; quae et introductionis loco in 
Epistolas Pauli caeterorumque apostolorum esse queat. 8vo. Jen®, 1729. Buddeus 
has briefly treated this important subject with great judgment, and referred to a 
great variety of useful writers 



Ch. IX.] On the Doctrinal Interpretation of the Scriptures. . 6G1 

1 ® arn 1 ed countryman Smith,1 by Witsius,2 an d especially by Ferdinand Stosch.3 

am ac in his Introduction to the Epistle to the Romans, has elaborately inves- 
igatcd the state ot the church at Rome, and applied it to the examination and 
scope of that epistle. 1 2 3 4 * 

V. In order to understand any doctrinal booh or passage of Scrip - 
tut e, we must attend to the controversies which were agitated at that 
time, and to which the sacred writers allude : for a hey to the apostolic 
epistles is not to be sought in the modern controversies that divide 
Clii istians , and which were not only unknown , but also were not in 
existence at that time. 

The controversies which were discussed in the age of the apostles, 
ate to be ascertained, partly from their writings, partly from the ex¬ 
isting monuments of the primitive Christians, and likewise from some 
passages in the writings of the Rabbins. 

f rom these it appears that the following were the principal questions then, agi¬ 
tated, viz. What is the true way by which to please God, and thus to obtain 
eternal life - the observance of the Mosaic law, or faith and obedience as held 
forth in the Gospel ? To this question the following was closely allied — Whether 
the observance ot the Mosaic ceremonies was so absolutely necessary, that they 
were to be imposed on the converted Gentjles ? The former question is ‘particu¬ 
larly discussed in St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans ; the latter, in the council held 
at Jerusalem (Acts xv. 1—31.), and especially in the Epistle to the Galatians. 

Another question which was most warmly agitated, related to the calling of the 
Gentiles, which the Jews could by no means bear, as appears from numerous pas¬ 
sages in the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles. The apostles there¬ 
fore found it necessary to assert that point, to confirm it by citing numerous pro¬ 
phecies from the Old Testament relative to the conversion of the Gentiles, and 
to vindicate it from the objections of the Jews : this has been done by Saint Paul 
in several chapters of his Epistle to the Romans, as well as in his Epistles to the 
Ephesians and Colossians, in which he proves that the Jewish ceremonies were 
superseded. 

There were also some Jewish notions, which were refuted both by our Lord and 
by his apostles ; for instance, that all Jews would certainly be saved. Turre- 
tin, to whom we are indebted for this observation, has adduced a passage from the 
Codex Sanhedrin, which affirmed that every Jew had a portion in the future 
•world, and another from the Talmud, in which it is said that Abraham is sitting 
near the gates of hell, and does not permit any Israelite, hotoever wicked he may 
be, to descend into hell$ In opposition to such traditions as these, Jesus Christ 
thus solemnly warned them : Not every man that saith unto me, 1 Lord, Lord,' 
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father 
which is in heaven. (Matt. vii. 21.) This notion was also opposed at length by 
Saint Paul. (Rom. xi. 16. et seq .) Once more: it appears from very many pas¬ 
sages of the Jewish writers, that the Jews divided the precepts of the law into 
great and little, and taught that if a man observed one such grand precept, that 
would suffice to conciliate the favour of God, and would outweigh all his other 
actions. In opposition to this our Lord solemnly declares, that “ whosoever shall 
break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called 
(shall be) least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. v. 19.) : and Saint James also, 
“ whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of 
all.” (Ja. ii. 10.) 

Further, many erroneous tenets were held and promulgated, in the time of the 
apostles, by persons calling themselves Christians. To these 11 oppositions of 


1 In his “ Remarks upon the manners, religion, and government of the Turks, 
with a survey of the seven churches of Asia.” 8vo, 1678. The remarks had previ¬ 
ously been printed in Latin in 1672, and again in an enlarged edition in 1674. 

2 Miscellanea Sacra, tom. i. p. 669. 

3 Ferdinandi Stosch Syntagma Dissertationum Septem de nominibus totidem 
Urbium Asire ad quos D. Johannes in Apocalypsi Epistolas direxit, 8vo. Guel- 
pherbyti, 1757. A very rare and valuable work. The modern state of the seven 
Asiatic churches is described by the Rev. H. Lindsay (chaplain to the British Am¬ 
bassador at the Porte) in the Christian Observer for 1816, vol. xv. pp. 190, 191. 

4 Jo. Jac. Rambachii Introductio Historico Theologica in Epistolam Pauli ad 

Romanos, 8vo. Hala, 1727. 5 De Sacr. Script. Interp. p. 316. 



G 62 On the Doctrinal Interpretation of the Scriptures. [Part II. 

science falsely so called” (1 Tim. vi. 20.) there are numerous allusions in the 
Epistles, where such errors are refuted : for instance, Col. ii. 18. the worshipping' 
of angels ; Col. ii. 20, 21. against the pretensions of extraordinary mortifications 
and abstinence ; 1 Cor. viii. and 2 Cor. vi. 16. &c. against idols and eating things 
offered to them, &c. The beginning of Saint John’s Gospel, it is well known, 
was written to refute the false notions of Cerinthus. 

VI. The doctrinal books of Scripture, for instance, the Epistles , 
are not to be perused in detached portions or sections ; but they should 
be read through at once, with a close attention to the scope and tenor 
of the discourse, regardless of the divisions into chapters and verses, 
precisely in the same manner in which ive would peruse the letters of 
Cicero, Pliny, or other antient writers. 

This reading should not be cursory or casual, but frequent and di¬ 
ligent ; and the Epistles should be repeatedly perused, until we be¬ 
come intimately acquainted with their contents. 

Mr. Locke has forcibly illustrated this remark by relating his own practice in 
studying the Epistles of Saint Paul. After he had found by long experience that 
the ordinary way of reading a chapter, and then consulting commentators upon 
difficult passages, failed in leading him to the true sense of the Epistle, he says, 
“ I saw plainly, after I began once to reflect on it, that if any one should now 
write me a letter as long as Saint Paul’s to the Romans, concerning such a matter 
as that is, in a style as foreign, and expressions as dubious, as his seem to be, if I 
should divide it into fifteen or sixteen chapters, and read one of them to-day and 
another to-morrow, &c. it was ten to one that I should never come to a full and 
clear comprehension of it. The way to understand the mind of him that wrote 
it, every one would agree, was to read the whole letter through from one end to 
the other, all at once, to see what was the main subject and tendency of it; or, if 
it had several parts and purposes in it, not dependent one of another, nor in a 
subordination to one chief aim and end, to discover what those different matters 
were, and where the author concluded one and began another ; and if there were 
any necessity of dividing the Epistles into parts, to mark the boundaries of them.” 
In the prosecution of this thought, Mr. Locke concluded it necessary for the un¬ 
derstanding of any one of Saint Paul’s Epistles to read it all through at one sit¬ 
ting, and to observe, as well as he could, the drift and design of the writer. Suc¬ 
cessive perusals in a similar way at length gave him a good general view of the 
apostle’s main purpose in writing the Epistle, the chief branches of his discourse, 
the arguments he used, and the disposition of the whole. This, however, is not 
to be attained by one or two hasty readings. “ It must be repeated again and. 
again, toith a close attention to the tenor of the discourse , and a'perfect neglect of 
the divisions into chapters and verses. On the contrary, the safest way is, to sup¬ 
pose that the epistle has but one business and but one aim ; until, by a frequent 
perusal of it, you are forced to see there are distinct independent matters in it, 
which will forwardly enough show themselves.”! 

Want of attention to the general scope and design of the doctrinal parts of 
Scripture, particularly of the Epistles, has been the source of many and great 
errors : u for, to pick out a verse or two, and criticise on a word or expression, 
and ground a doctrine thereon, without considering the main scope of the epistle 
and the occasion of writing it, is just as if a man should interpret statutes or re¬ 
cords by two or three words or expressions in them, without regard to the true 
occasion upon which they were made, and without any manner of knowledge and 
insight into the history of the age in which they were written.” The absurdity 
of such a conduct is too obvious to need further exposure. 

Having already offered some hints for investigating the scope of a particular 
book or passage, 2 it only remains to notice that there is this general difference ob¬ 
servable between the scope of the Gospels and that of the Epistles, viz. — The 
former represent the principles of Christianity absolutely , or as they are in them¬ 
selves ; while the latter represent them relatively , that is, as they respect the state 
of the world at that particular time. 

VII. Where any doctrine is to be deduced from the Scriptures, it 
will be collected better, a nd with more precision, from those places in 

1 Locke on the Epistles of Saint Paul, Preface. (Works, vol. ii. pp. 281, 282. 
4to.) 

2 See pp. 552—556. supra. 





Ch. IX.] On the Doctrinal Interpretation of the Scriptures. GG3 

which it is professedly discussedl, than from those in which it is noticed 
only incidentally, or by way of inference. 1 

l'or instance, in the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians, the 
doctrine ol justification by faith is fully treated: and in those to the 
Ephesians and Colossians, the calling of the Gentiles and the abroga¬ 
tion of the ceremonial law are particularly illustrated. These must 
therefore be diligently compared together, in order to deduce those 
doctrines correctly. 

V 111. Doctrines peculiar to a certain age are better ascertained 
from writings belonging to that age, or the times immediately follow¬ 
ing, than from memorials or writings of a later date. 

Thus, the ideas entertained by the patriarchs are better collected 
from the writings immediately concerning them — the book of Gene¬ 
sis for instance — than from books written long afterwards, as the 
Apostolic Epistles, — Not that these are unworthy of credit (of such 
an insinuation the author trusts he shall be fully acquitted), but be¬ 
cause the Apostles deduce inferences from passages of Scripture, ac¬ 
cording to the manner practised in their own time; which inferences, 
though truly correct, and every way worthy the assent of Christians, 
were not known at the time when such passages were first committed 
to writing . 2 

IX. I Fords and phrases, which are of doubtful meaning, must be 
diligently investigated, and carefully iveighed and explained. 

This is a general rule applicable to every species of interpretation, 
but of peculiar importance in the study of the doctrinal parts of Scrip¬ 
ture ; lest, being misled by the ambiguity of words, we deduce from 
certain passages of Scripture opinions that would fall to the ground 
as soon as such ambiguity should be removed. A variety of examples 
might be adduced in illustration of this remark , 3 but we shall confine 
our attention to the terms faith and mystery. 

1. In consequence of not attending to the ambiguity of the word Than;, which 
in our authorised version is usually translated faith , it has been applied by many 
divines, wherever it occurs, exclusively to faith in the Messiah, when the context 
often manifestly requires it to be taken in a different sense : a few examples will 
illustrate this observation. 

Faith or believing , then, denotes, (1.) our assenting to any truth , even to such 
truths as arc known by the evidence of our senses : thus in John xx. 29. Thomas, 
whom the evidence of his senses had convinced of the reality of Christ’s resur¬ 
rection, is said to have believed. (2) A general disposition of the mind to embrace 
all that we knoic concerning God, whether by reason or revelation : as in Heb, 
xi. 6. Without faith it is impossible to please God; which expression is subse¬ 
quently applied to the existence of God, his goodness and bounty towards his sin¬ 
cere worshippers. (3.) A peculiar assent to a certain revelation ; for instance, in 
Rom. iv. throughout, and in other passages that treat of Abraham’s faith, it is 
manifest tha.t this faith must be referred to the peculiar promises made to Abra¬ 
ham that a son should be born unto him, though he himself was then about a hun¬ 
dred years old, and Sarah, who was ninety, was barren. (4.) An assent given to 
the revelation made to Moses ; as when the children of Israel are said to have 
believed the Lord and his servant Moses. (Exod. xiv. 31. compared with John v. 
45, 4G. and ix. 28.) (5.) An assent given to the revelation made to the prophets ; 

as when King Jehoshaphat says to the Jews (2 Chron. xx. 20.) “ Believe in the 
Lord your God, so shall ye be established ; believe his prophets, so shall ye pros- 

1 See pp. 535—541. and pp. 557—563., where various hints are offered for inves¬ 
tigating the context, and the analogy of faith. 

2 Turretin, p. 324. 

3 See Parkhurst’s Greek Lexicon, voce Xap£, flesh : and Bp. Middleton's Doctrine 
ofthe Greek Article, pp. 166—170. for an elaborate disquisition on the various ac* 
ceptations of the word Uvtvya, spirit. 



6G4 On the Doctrinal Interpretation of the Scriptures. [Part II. 

per.” Compare also Isa. vii. 9. Since, however, the Gospel is the most perfect 
revelation of the divine will to mankind, it is in the New Testament particularly 
that the word faith denotes (6.) a cordial assent to the Christian Revelation, or to 
some of its leading and fundamental points ; as in those passages where we are 
commanded to believe in Christ, or that he is the son of God, or that he arose 
from the dead. But as many things that were revealed by God, as well under 
the Old as under the New Testament dispensation, were future and invisible, the 
word faith signifies (7.) an assent to future and invisible things revealed by God, 
as in Heb. xi. 1. where it is defined to be the substance of things hoped for, and 
the evidence of things not seen, that is, the giving of a present subsistence to 
things future, which are fully expected, and the proving and demonstrating of 
things which are not seen. Since, however, all who truly receive and assent to 
the Christian revelation, cannot do otherwise than obey God, the words faith and 
believing include (8.) all the duties enjoined by the Gospel; in consequence of 
which, so many commendations of faith are to be found in the Scriptures, where 
it is said to purify the heart (1 Pet. i. 22.), to be the victory that overcometh the 
world (1 John v. 4.), and to justif y us. (Rom. v. 1.) Because they who sincerely 
believe the Gospel, must necessarily obey Christ, and become partakers of the 
benefits conferred by him. 

There are a few other acceptations of the term faith, differing indeed but slightly 
from the preceding, but which are nevertheless worthy of observation. Thus it 
means (9.) the Gospel, in Gal. iii. 2. where Saint Paul demands of the Galatians., 
whether they received the Spirit by the icorks of the law, or by the hearing of 
faith : in which passage it is evident that the hearing of faith denotes the hear¬ 
ing of the preached Gospel; and in this sense the word faith appears to be used 
in all those parts of the Epistle to the Romans, where it is opposed to the works 
of the law. Sometimes also it signifies (10.) a persuasion that what wc do is %cell 
pleasing to God : thus the meaning of Rom. xiv. 23. Whatsoever is not of faith, 
is sin, is, that it is sinful in us to do any thing, which Ave are not fully persuaded 
is well pleasing to God, or at least permitted by him. Once more, faith denotes 
(11.) faith in miracles, that is, a firm confidence in Christ, to which, at the first 
propagation of the Gospel, Avas annexed the performance of miracles : such Avas 
the faith, Avhich Jesus Christ frequently required of his disciples and others, that 
he might work certain miracles by them (compare Matt. xvii. 20. Mark xi. 22. 
xvi. 17. and Luke xvii. 6.); and to which Saint Paul refers in 1 Cor. xiii. 2. Last¬ 
ly, faith sometimes signifies (12.) fidelity, or faithfulness in the discharge of duties 
or promises, and so the Greek word Trts-t? is properly rendered in Tit. ii. 10.; as it 
also should have been in 1 Tim. v. 12., the faith there said to have been cast off 
by the younger widows, being their fidelity to Christ. 

These various senses of the word faith ought, as much as possible, to be kept 
in mind Avhen perusing the sacred writings ; lest we fall into the mistake, so com¬ 
monly committed, of always understanding the same thing by it. 

2. The Greek Avorcl (xuchr/j^ov, which is of very frequent occurrence 
in the New Testament, and is in our English translation uniformly 
rendered mystery , may also be adduced as an example of the rule 
above stated. In its ordinary acceptation, a mystery denotes some¬ 
thing* incomprehensible ; and this meaning, for want of due conside¬ 
ration, is not unfrequently transferred to those passages of the New 
Testament, Avhere the word mystery does indeed occur, but in very 
different significations. 

The first or leading meaning of the word is, a secret, something that is hidden, 
not fully manifest, not published to the world, though perhaps communicated to a 
select number. In this sense it occurs in 2 Thess. ii. 7. where Saint Paul, speak¬ 
ing of the Antichristian spirit, says, “ the mystery of iniquity doth already work.” 
The spirit of Antichrist has begun to operate, but the operation is latent and un¬ 
perceived. In this sense also the same apostle applies the words il mystery,” and 
“ mystery of Christ,” in a peculiar manner to the calling of the Gentiles (Eph. 
iii. 3—9.) ; u ichick in other generations was not made knoAvn to the sons of men, 
as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gen¬ 
tiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body (namely, with the Jews), and par¬ 
takers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel.” Compare also Rom. xvi. 25, 26. 
Eph. i. 9. iii. 9. vi. 19. Col. i. 26,27. 

Another meaning of the word mystery is, “ a spiritual truth couched under an 
external representation or similitude, and concealed or hidden thereby, unless 
some explanation be given.” To this import of the Avord our Saviour probably 


Ch. IX.] On the Doctrinal Interpretation of the Scriptures. 665 

alluded when lie said to his disciples, To you it is given to know the mystery of 
the kingdom oj God j but., to them that are without, all these things arc done in 
parables. (Mark iv. 11.) The secret was disclosed to the apostles, who obtained 
the spiritual sense of the similitude, while the multitude amused themselves with 
the parable, and sought no further. In this sense, mystery is used in the follow- 
ing passages of the New Testament: Rev. i. 20. The mystery, that is, the spirit¬ 
ual meaning, of the seven stars. — The seven stars are the angels of the seven 
churches ; and the seven candlesticks are the seven churches. Again, xvii. 5. And 
upon her forehead a name written, ^ Mystery, Babylon the Great, that is, Babylon 
in a mystical sense, the mother oj idolatry and abominations ; and in verse 7. 1 
will tell thee the mystery, or spiritual signification, of the woman, and of the beast 
that carrieth her, &c. In this sense likewise the word mystery is to be understood 
in Eph. v. 32. 

A third and principal meaning of the word mystery is, “ some sacred thing, 
hidden or secret, which is naturally unknown to human reason, and is only known 
by the revelation of God.” Thus in 1 Tim. iii. 1G. we read— Without controversy 
great is the mystery of godliness : God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the 
spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, receiv¬ 
ed up into glory. 11 The mystery of godliness, or of true religion, consisted in the 
several particulars here mentioned by the apostle — particulars., indeed, which it 
would never have entered into the heart of man to conceive (1 Cor., ii. 9.), had not 
God accomplished them in fact, and published them by the preaching of his Gos¬ 
pel ; but which, being thus manifested, are intelligible as facts to the meanest 
understanding.” So in 1 Cor. xiii. 2. the understanding of all mysteries denotes 
the understanding of all the revealed truths of the Christian religion, which in 1 
Tim. iii. 9. are called the mystery of faith, and of which in I Cor. iv. 1. the apos 
ties are called stewards of the mysteries of Qod.l 

Lastly, the word mystery is used in reference to things or doctrines, which re 
main wholly or in part incomprehensible, or above reason, after they are revealed 
Such are the doctrines, of the resurrection of the dead, that all shall not die at the 
last day, but that all shall be changed (1 Cor. xv. 51.), the incarnation of the Son 
of God, the doctrine of the Trinity, &c. This is the ordinary or theological sense 
of the word mystery ; it does not imply any thing contrary to reason, nor utterly 
unknown as to its being ; but it signifies a matter, of whose existence we have 
clear evidence in the Scriptures, although the mode of such existence is incom¬ 
prehensible, or above our reason.2 

X. It is of particular importance that we distinguish figurative ex¬ 
pressions from such as are proper or literal, and that we ascertain how 
far they are to he extended. 

For want of attention to this rule, how many absurd doctrines have 
been deduced from the Scriptures ! Transubstantiation, for instance, 
which has already been shown to be founded on an erroneous literal 
interpretation of figurative expressions. 3 With regard to the manner 
in which such figurative expressions are to be distinguished from 
proper and literal ones, it will suffice to refer to a former chapter, 
in which this topic is fully considered. 4 

XI. Although the Scriptures sometimes speak of God after the man¬ 
ner of men , they are not to he understood literally , hut must he taken 
in a sense worthy of God. 

This rule was not unknown to the Jews, with whom it was usual 
to say that the Scriptures speak of God with the tongue of the sons of 
men. When, therefore, human members, faculties, senses, and affec¬ 
tions arc attributed to the Deity, they are to be understood in a sense 
worthy of Him : and the manner in which that sense i s to be ascer- 

1 Schleusner’s and Parkhurst’s Greek Lexicons to the New Testament, voce 

Mumpiov. Dr. Campbell’s Translation of the Four Gospels, vol. i. pp. 298—30(5. 
See abo J. G. Pfeiffer’s Instit. Herm. Sac.pp. 704—724. , 

2 On the subject of mysteries in religion, see Vol. I. Chap. V. Sect. I. § 4. pp 
429—433. 

3 See pp. 583, 584. supra. ^ 

4 See Chapter V. supra, particularly Section I. pp. 581—589, 

WQL. II. 84 




G65 On the Doctrinal Interpretation of the Scriptures. [Part II. 

tained is twofold : 1. From the light of nature, which teaches us that 
all ideas of imperfection are to be removed from God, and conse¬ 
quently corporeity : and, 2. From the comparison of other passages of 
Scripture, in which it is written, that God is a spirit, that he cannot 
be represented by any figure, and that he is not a man that he should 
repent, &c. Numerous illustrations of this remark might be offered, 
were it necessary; but as this subject has already been discussed in 
a former chapter, it will be sufficient to give a reference to it. 1 

XII. Avoid all subtle and far-fetched expositions. 

The reason of this canon will appear when it is considered (as we 
have already remarked) that the sacred writers, being almost wholly 
persons in the common rank of life, and addressing persons in the 
same condition with themselves, spoke to them in a familiar style 
adapted to their capacities. No sense therefore is to be assigned to 
their words, that requires great mental acumen to discover. On this 
ground, those interpretations should be received with great caution, 
which profess to find allegories every where in the Scriptures : and 
those interpretations should be altogether rejected, which do violence 
to the sacred text. Of this description are the expositions given of 
numerous passages of Scripture by those who deny the divinity and 
atonement of the Son of God. It is not intended to assert in this 
remark that there are not in the Bible many figurative expressions; 
these were at that time perfectly familiar to the Jewish people, who, 
in some instances, apprehended them more readily than literal expres¬ 
sions. This mode of speaking, we have already seen, obtained greatly 
arnons the Jews, in common with other oriental nations. 

XIII. When easy and natural interpretations offer themselves , those 
interpretations ought to be avoided , ivhich deduce astonishing and in¬ 
credible doctrines. 

We are not to seek unnecessarily for mysteries in the sacred writ¬ 
ings. Those, which are most clearly revealed in the Scriptures (for 
instance, the incarnation of the Son of God, the doctrine of the Tri¬ 
nity, <fcc.), are to be received precisely in the terms in which they 
are propounded to our belief. But, where a plain and obvious mean¬ 
ing presents itself, mysteries are on no account to ber sought. In 
illustration of this remark, we may adduce the doctrine of transub- 
stantiation, already noticed in the course of this work; which the 
church of Rome has erected into a mystery, founding it on a direct 
violation of the preceding rule, and supporting it by forced and un¬ 
natural interpretations of passages, which are in themselves most 
easy to be understood. 

XIV. In explaining passages we must attend to the effect or sense 
which particular words, understood in a particular way ought natu¬ 
rally to produce : and if such effect be not produced , it is manifest that 
such words are not to be taken in that sense. 

The doctrine of transubstantiation, already referred to, may be ad¬ 
duced as an example ; for unquestionably, if our Saviour’s words, 
This is my body, &e. had been understood by the apostles in that 
sense, it must have excited in their minds the utmost astonishment, 
which, however, does not appear to have been the case. 

XV. No doctrine is admissible , or can be established from the Scrip - 


1 See pp. 600. supra . 




Ch. IX.] On the Doctrinal Interpretation of the Scriptures. 667 

tures , that is cither repugnant to them , or contrary to reason or to the 
analogy of faith. 

The same example may be cited in illustration of the present ca¬ 
non ; for if the doctrine of transubstantiation were to be admitted, 
the evidence of our reason, as well as of our senses, could no longer 
be believed, and the consequence would be, that the arguments for 
the truth of the Christian religion, arising from the miracles and re¬ 
surrection of Jesus Christ, would fall to the ground, and become of 
no effect whatever. Articles of revelation indeed may be above our 
reason ; but no doctrine, which comes from God, can be irrational, 
or contrary to those moral truths, which are clearly perceived by the 
mind of man. We are sure, therefore, that any interpretation of 
revealed doctrines that is inconsistent with common sense, or with 
the established laws of morality, must be erroneous. The several 
parts of those doctrines, which are dispersed through the Scriptures, 
ought to be collected and explained so as to agree with one another, 
and form an intelligible and consistent scheme. The different parts 
of a revelation, which comes from God, must all be reconcileable 
with one another, and with sound reason. The prejudices of differ¬ 
ent denominations unfit them for understanding the passages, which 
are connected with the subjects of their disputations; but there are 
general principles that all parties adopt: and no text can be inter¬ 
preted in a sense inconsistent with those articles which are universal¬ 
ly received. This conformity, of every part to first principles, is 
commonly called the analogy of faith. 1 

XVI. In considering the doctrines of the Christian religion , ivhat 
is clear is not to be rendered obscure by a few dark passages: but , on 
the contrary, obscure passages are to be illustrated by such as are more 
clear. 

This rule having been more fully stated in a former page, and sup¬ 
ported by examples, it is not necessary here to cite additional instan¬ 
ces. The reader is therefore simply reminded, that the application 
of it to the investigation of the doctrinal parts of Scripture, is of very 
considerable moment. 2 

XVII. It is of great importance to the understanding of the doc¬ 
trinal books of the JVew Testament , to attend to and distinctly note 
the transitions of person which frequently occur , especially in Saint 
Paul's Epistles. 

The pronouns /, We, and You , are used by the apostles in such a 
variety of applications, that the understanding of their true meaning 
is often a key to many difficult passages. 

Thus, by the pronoun I, Saint Paul sometimes means himself: sometimes any 
Christian ; sometimes a Jew ; and sometimes any man, &c. If the speaking of 
himself in the first person singular have these various meanings, his use of the 
plural We is with far greater latitude : for sometimes we means himself alone, 
sometimes those who were with him, whom he makes partners to the Epistles (as 
in the two Epistles to the Corinthians, and in those to the Philippians and Colos- 
sians) ; sometimes, with himself, comprehending the other apostles, or preachers 
of the Gospel, or Christians. Nay, he sometimes speaks in this way of the con¬ 
verted Jews, at others, of the converted Gentiles : sometimes he introduces the 
unregenerate as speaking in his own person; at other times he personifies false 
teachers or false Christians, whose names, however, he forbears to^mention, lest 
he should give them offence. In all these instances, his application of the above- 

1 Concerning the analogy of faith, see pp. 557—563. supra. 

2 See pp. 559, 560. supra. 




668 On the Doctrinal Interpretation of the Scriptures. [Part If. 

mentioned pronouns varies the meaning of the text, and causes it to be differ¬ 
ently understood. Examples, illustrative of this remark, may be found in every 
page of Saint Paul’s Epistles. Further, in the current of his discourse, he some¬ 
times drops in the objections of others, and his answers to them, without any 
change in the scheme of his language, that might give notice of any other person 
speaking besides himself. To discover this, requires great attention to the apos¬ 
tle’s scope and argument: and yet, if it be neglected or overlooked, it will cause 
the reader greatly to mistake and misunderstand 1 his meaning, and will also ren¬ 
der the sense very perplexed. Mr. Locke, and Dr. Macknight, in their elaborate 
works on the Epistles, are particularly useful in pointing out these various transi¬ 
tions of persons and subjects. 

XVIII. When weighty reasons are produced for and against a cer¬ 
tain doctrine , they must be compared together with great diligence and 
sincerity , in order that ive may see which reasons preponderate. 

This rule is of singular importance in studying the doctrinal parts 
of the Bible : for the case here supposed is of very frequent occur¬ 
rence in theological controversies ; in which, according to the previ¬ 
ously formed opinions of various parties, the same reasons are urged 
by one class, as arguments for the truth of a controverted doctrine, 
which by their opponents are strenuously asserted as objections to it. 

Thus, in the question relative to the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the 
expressions, This is my body (Matt. xxvi. 26.), My flesh is meat indeed, my blood 
is drink indeed , and except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man., See. (John vi. 53. 
55.), are by some understood of the bodily presence, and eating the flesh of Christ; 
but this interpretation is, on the other hand, justly opposed by arguments drawn 
from the evidence of our senses, from reason, and above all from comparing other 
passages of Scripture, in which the expressions of bread and nine are spoken of 
the Eucharist after consecration, and those where Christ is said to be received 
into heaven until the times of restitution of all things. (Acts iii. 21.) The former 
passages are adduced by the Roman Catholics as arguments for the truth of the 
real presence ; while the latter are asserted by Protestants as objections against 
that doctrine. In order, therefore, to determine on which side the truth lies, we 
must carefully and accurately weigh the arguments adduced by both parties; and 
those reasons which appear most plainly manifest and insuperable, we must prefer, 
as supporting the cause of truth, and the arguments adduced on the opposite side 
must necessarily fall to the ground. 

XIX. Where it is not clear what is the precise meaning attached 
by the sacred ivriters to particular words or expressions , it is better 
that ive should restrain our judgment concerning them, than deliver 
our sentiments rashly on points which we do not fully comprehend. 

Many examples of this kind are to be found in the sacred writ¬ 
ings. — 

To instance only the apostle’s supplications in behalf of believers, that God 
would grant unto them, that the eyes of their understanding might be enlightened 
(Eph. i. 18.), that lie would make them perfect in every good work (Hob. xiii. 21.), 
and the like. Now, in these passages, the precise mode in which divine grace 
operates in believers, is not stated ; and therefore it is not necessary that we should 
define what the word of God has not defined. 

XX. In applying the Scriptures as a proof of any doctrine , it is 
necessary to ascertain , if all that is meant be expressed , or if it be not ex¬ 
pressedwhat is necessarily implied , in order to complete the passage. 

Thus it is common (as we have already shown) 2 for the sacred writ¬ 
ers to mention, only the principal part of any subject, for the whole. 

In Rom. x. 9. Paul says ; If thou shall confess zeith thy mouth the Lord Jesus , 
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, 
thou shalt be saved. The resurrection of Christ is the only article which is men¬ 
tioned herej-because, by that miracle, God established the Saviour’s authority as 
u lawgiver, and confirmed all the doctrines which he tauo-ht. But there are other 


1 Locke’s Preface to the Epistles. (Works, vol. iii. p. 277.) 

2 See p. 627. supra. 




Cli. IX.] On the Doctrinal Interpretation of the Scriptures. 669 

essential articles, which are necessary to be believed, in order to be saved, though 
they are not stated in the text. It is added, (ver. 13.), for whosoever shall call 
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. No real Christian can be so ignorant 
of the Gospel, as to suppose, that no more is necessary, in order to be saved, than 
to call upon the name of the Lord. In this text, it is evident, that the apostle 
mentions only a principal part of what is meant. Now, from the context may be 
gathered the following particulars, as implied, though not expressed. First, in 
the ninth verse it is affirmed, that in order to be saved, a man must believe in his 
heart. Secondly, he must confess with his mouth ; If thou shalt confess with thy 
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart, that God hath raised him 
from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Confession implies more than profession. A 
true believer in Jesus Christ openly, and of his own accord, professes the articles 
of his belief; and when he is persecuted, and examined concerning his religion, he 
readily confesses the truth, as an evidence of his sincerity and faithfulness^ Even 
this is not all that is necessary, in order to be saved; for it is added in the tenth 
verse, with the heart man belicveth unto righteousness, and with the mouth 
confession is made unto salvation. Faith acting on the heart, is productive of a 
righteous life, and thus the believer becomes a sincere worshipper of the Lord ; 
for whosoever will call on the xiame of the Lord shall be saved, (ver. 13.) In 
these different passages, it is evident, that a part is mentioned for the whole ; and 
in order to understand all that is implied, the several parts must be collected and 
put together. 

XXL No article of faith can he established from metaphors , para¬ 
bles , or single obscure and figurative texts. 

The metaphorical language of the prophets, and figurative expres¬ 
sions which abound in the Scriptures, are calculated to promote the 
purposes of godliness by acting on the imagination, and by influenc¬ 
ing a believer’s conduct; but never were intended to be a revelation 
of Gospel principles. Instead of deriving our knowledge of Christi¬ 
anity from parables and figurative passages ; an intimate acquaintance 
with the doctrines of the Gospel is necessary , in order to be capable of 
interpreting them. 

The beautiful parable of the man who fell among thieves (Luke x. 30—37.) is 
evidently intended to influence the Jews to be benevolent and kind, like the good 
Samaritan. Some writers have considered that parable to be a representation of 
Adam’s fall, and of man’s recovery, through the interposition and love of Jesus 
Christ. But those, who embrace this opinion, did not learn these doctrines from 
the passage itself. No person, who is wholly ignorant of Adam, and of Jesus 
Christ, could ever learn any thing concerning them, from what is related in this 
parable. The same observation is equally applicable to every other parable, and 
typical subject; in which the doctrines of the Gospel cannot be discovered by any 
person, who has not first learned them from other texts. 

XXII. Dastly , although commentaries , both antient and modern , 
may usefully be consulted in studying the doctrinal parts , in common 
with the rest of the Bible, yet they are to be considted judiciously, 
and with caution. 

As particular suggestions have already been offered concerning 
the most beneficial mode of consulting commentators on the Scrip¬ 
tures generally, 1 it is not necessary to subjoin any remarks on the 
above canon : — its propriety will be obvious to every reader. lie 
who is sincerely desirous of studying the word of God, that he may 
both know His mind and do His will, cannot greatly err ; while he 
prosecutes his studies devoutly, and with humble supplication, that 
the Spirit of Truth may teach him all things, and guide him into all 
truth. (John xiv. 26. xvi. 13.) 2 

1 See pp. 567—570. supra. 

2 The Scriptures contain numerous admirable supplications for divine teaching 
but, of all merely human precatory compositions, we have seen none, which, for 
comprehensiveness and brevity, for simplicity and beauty, equals, much less sur 
passes, the Collect for the second Sunday in Advent. 



( 670 ) 


[Part II. 


CHAPTER X. 

ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE MORAL PARTS OF SCRIPTURE, 

HAVING already discussed the interpretation of the historical, typi¬ 
cal, prophetical, and doctrinal parts of the sacred writings, it now re¬ 
mains that we consider the Moral Parts of Scripture. These, indeed, 
are to be interpreted precisely in the same manner as all other moral 
writings ; regard being had to the peculiar circumstances of the sa¬ 
cred writers, viz. the age in which they wrote, the nation to which 
they belonged, their style, genius, &ic. For, being natives of the 
East, they treat moral topics, after the oriental manner, in a highly 
figurative style, and with similitudes and figures considerably more 
far-fetched than is usual among Greek and Latin authors, or even 
among the moderns. Again, being for the most part persons in the 
common walks of life, they generally deliver their precepts in a popu¬ 
lar manner, adapted to the capacities of those to whom they were 
addressed. In the examination of the moral parts of Scripture, the 
following more particular rules will be found useful. 

I. Moral propositions or discourses are not to be urged too far, 
but must be understood with a certain degree of latitude, and with va¬ 
rious limitations. 

For want of attending to this canon, how many moral truths have 
been pushed to an extent, which causes them altogether to fail of the 
effect they were designed to produce ! It is not to be denied that uni¬ 
versal propositions may be offered : such are frequent in the Scrip¬ 
tures as well as in profane writers, and also in common life ; but it is 
in explaining the expressions by which they are conveyed, that just 
limits ought to be applied, to prevent them from being urged too far. 
The nature of the thing, and various other circumstances will always 
afford a criterion by which to understand moral propositions with 
the requisite limitations. In order, however, that this subject may 
be better understood, and applied to the Scriptures, we will state a 
few of these limitations, and illustrate them by examples. 

1. Universal or indefinite moral propositions , often denote nothing 
more than the natural aptitude or tendency of a thing to produce a cer¬ 
tain effect, even although that effect slioidd not actually take place. 

Thus, when Solomon says that a soft answer turneth away icrath, (Prov. xv. 1.) 
the best method of mitigating anger is pointed out, although the obstinacy or wick¬ 
edness of man may produce a different result. In like manner, when St. Peter 
says, Who is he that icill harm you if ye he followers of that which is good ? (1 
Pet. iii. 13.) this expression is not to be understood as implying that good men 
shall never be ill-treated : but it simply denotes the natural effect which a virtuous 
life will probably produce, viz. many occasions of irritating men will be avoided, 
and on the other hand, their friendship and favour will be conciliated. 

2. Universal or indefinite propositions denote only what generally or 
often takes place. 

As in Prov. xxii. 6. Train up a, child in the way he should go : and when he is 
old he icill not depart from it. Here the wise monarch intimates not what always 
takes place, but what is the frequent consequence of judicious education. To this 
rule are to be referred all those propositions which treat of the manners, virtues, 


671 


Ch. X.] Interpretation of the Moral Parts of Scripture. 

or vices of particular nations, conditions, or ages. Thus Saint Paul says, that the 
Cretans are always liars. (Tit. i. 12.) Again, when the same apostle, portray¬ 
ing the struggles of an enlightened but unregenerate person, says — 1 know that 
in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing, (Rom. vii. 18.) he does not 
mean to say that there is nothing morally good in man; but that no man is by 
nature spiritually good, or good in the sight of God. 1 

3. Universal or indefinite propositions frequently denote duty , or what 
ought to he done, not tohat always does actually take place. 

“ It is the way of the Scriptures,” says a late writer, “ to speak to and of the 
visible members of the church of Christ, under such appellations and expressions 
. as ma y seem, at first hearing, to imply that they are all of them truly righteous 
and holy persons. Thus the apostles style those to whom they write, in general, 
saints; they speak of them as “ sanctified in Christ Jesus, chosen of God, buried 
with Christ in baptism, risen again with him from the dead, sitting with him in 
heavenly placesand particularly Saint Paul (Tit. iii. 5.) says, that they were 
“ saved by the washing of regeneration,” &c. The reason of which is, that they 
were visibly, by obligation, and by profession all this ; which was thus represented 
to them, the more effectually to stir them up, and engage them to live according 
to their profession and obligation.”2 

By this rule also we may explain Mai. ii. 7. “ The priest's lips should keep 
knowledge :” which passage the advocates of the church of Rome urge, as assert¬ 
ing the infallibility of the priesthood. A simple inspection, however, of the fol¬ 
lowing verse is sufficient to refute this assertion, and to show that the prophet’s 
words denote only the duty of the Jetcish priesthood, not what the priests really 
did perform. The application of this rule will likewise explain Prov. xvi. 10. 12, 

1 3 . 

4. Many precepts are delivered generally and absolutely , concerning 
moral duties , which are only to he taken with certain limitations. 

For instance, when we are commanded not to be angry, we must understand, 
without a cause, and not beyond measure: when we are forbidden to avenge our¬ 
selves, it is to be understood of privately taking revenge ; for the magistrate hear- 
eth not the sioord in vain , but is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath 
upon him that doeth evil. (Rom. xiii. 4.) Public vengeance, or punishment, there¬ 
fore, is clearly not prohibited. Once more, though we are commanded in the 
Scriptures to sivcar not at all, (as in Matt. v. 33.) and to forswear ourselves, 
(Levit. xix. 12.) yet they do not forbid the use of oaths in cases where they can 
be made subservient to the support of truth and the interests of justice. Moses 
says, Thou shaltfcar the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shall sicear by his 
name. (Deut. vi. 13.) Thou shalt swear, says the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord liv- 
eth in truth and in judgment, and in righteousness. (Jer. iv. 2.) Our Saviour 
himself, when adjured by the high priest, in the name of the living God, to declare 
whether he was the Christ the Son of God, (Matt. xxvi. G3, G4. Mark xiv. 61, G2.) 
did not refuse to answer the question thus judiciously proposed to him: but he 

1 Similar to this is the language of the Liturgy of the Anglican church : — “ O 

God,.because through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no 

good thing, without thou grant us the help of thy grace.” (Collect for the first 
Sunday after Trinity.) On which the Bishop of Lincoln remarks — “I have only 
to observe, that the good thing here mentioned, must mean good in the sight of 
God : such an action our weak and unassisted nature will, unquestionably, not al¬ 
low us to perform.” (Refutation of Calvanisrn, pp. 67, 68. 1st edit.) To the same 
purpose, in another place he observes : — “ The human mind is so weakened and 
vitiated by the sin of our first parents, that we cannot by our own natural strength 
prepare it, or put into a proper state, for the reception of a saving faith, or for the 
performance of the spiritual worship required in the Gospel: this mental purifica¬ 
tion cannot be effected without divine assistance.” (Ibid. p. 54.) Again ; “ The 
grace of God prevents us Christians, that is, it goes before, it gives the first spring 
and rise to our endeavour, that we may have a good will; and when this good will 
is thus excited, the grace of God does not desert us, but it works with us when we 

have that good will.” .“ It is acknowledged that man has not the disposition, 

and consequently not the ability, to do what in the sight of God is good, till he is 
influenced by the Spirit of God.” (Ibid. pp. 60, 61.) 

2 Bishop Bradford’s Discourse concerning Baptismal and Spiritual Regeneration, 
p. 37. sixth edit. See also some excellent observations to the same effect in Dr, 
Macknight’s Commentary on 1 John ii. 29. 





672 


On the Interpretation of the [Part II. 

certainly would have remained silent if he had disapproved of all asseverations upon 
oath, or all such solemn invocations of, and appeals to, the name of God, in cases 
where the truth is doubtful or the testimony is suspected. The author of the 
epistle to the Hebrews says, that an oath for confirmation is an end of all strife. 
(Heb. vi. 16.)1 

II. Principals include their accessaries, that is, whatever approaches 
or comes near to them, or has any tendency to them. 

Thus, where any sin is forbidden, we must be careful not only to 
avoid it, but also every thing of a similar nature, and whatever may 
prove an occasion of it, or imply our consent to it in others: and 
we must endeavour to dissuade or restrain others from it. 

Compare Matt. v. 21—31. 1 Thess. v. 22. Jude 23. Ephes. v. 11. 1 Cor. viii. 13. 
Levit. xix. 17. James v. 19, 20. So, where any duty is enjoined, all means and 
facilities, enabling either ourselves or others to discharge it, according to our re¬ 
spective places, capacities, or opportunities, are likewise enjoined. See Gen. xviii. 
19. Deut. vi. 7. Heb. x. 23—25. Upon this ground our Lord makes the law and 
the prophets to depend upon a sincere affectionate love to God and man (Mark 
xii. 30, 31. Luke x. 27.) ; because, where this prevails, we shall not knowingly 
be deficient in any duty or office which lies within our power ; neither shall we 
willingly do any thing that may either directly or indirectly offend, or tend to the 
prejudice of mankind. See Rom. xii. 17, 18. This observation will leave little 
room for the “ evangelical counsels,” or 11 counsels of perfection,” as they are 
called by the Papists, who ground upon them their erroneous doctrine of superero¬ 
gation. 2 Again, in whatever commandment we are forbidden to do any thing in 
our persons, as sinful, it equally restrains us from being partakers of other men’s 
guilt, who do commit what we know is thereby forbidden. We must not there¬ 
fore be either advising, assisting, encouraging, or in any shape a party with them 
in it: nay, we must not so much as give any countenance to the evil which they 
do, by excusing or making light of the crime, or by hiding their wickedness, lest 
by so doing we incur part of the blame and punishment, and thus deserve the cha¬ 
racter given by the psalmist— When thou sawesl a thief, then thou consentcdst 
vnto him , and hast been partaker with the adulterers. (1.18.) 

III. JVegatives include affirmatives, and affirmatives include nega¬ 
tives : — in other words, where any duty is enjoined, the contrary sin 
is forbidden ; and where any sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is 
enjoined. 

Thus, in Deut. vi. 13. where we are commanded to serve God, we 
are forbidden to serve any other. Therefore, in Matt. iv. 10. it is 
said, him only shalt thou serve : and as honouring parents is required 
in the fifth commandment, (Exod. xx. 12.) so cursing them is forbid- 


1 The reader will find some additional observations illustrative of the canon above 
given, in Archbp. Tillotson’s Works, vol. ii. pp. 62. 158. (London, 1820.) 

2 “ These ‘ counsels of perfection ,’ are rules which do not bind under the penalty 
of sin, but are only useful in carrying men to a greater degree of perfection than is 
necessary to salvation. There is not the slightest authority in Scripture for these 
counsels of perfection : all the rules there prescribed for our conduct are given in 
the form of positive commands, as absolutely necessary, wherever they are appli¬ 
cable, to the attainment of eternal life ; and the violation of every one of these 
commands is declared to be sin. We are commanded to be 1 2 perfect even as our 
Father which is in heaven is perfect,’ (Matt. v. 48.) ; and so far from being able to 
exceed what is required for our salvation, the Gospel assures us, that after our ut¬ 
most care and endeavours we shall still fall short of our whole duty : and that our 
deficiencies must be supplied by the abundant merits of our blessed Redeemer. We 
are directed to trust to the mercy of God, and to the mediation of Christ ; and to 
* work out our salvation with fear and trembling,’ (Phil. ii. 12.) that is, with anxie¬ 
ty, lest we should not fulfil the conditions upon which it is offered. Upon these 
grounds we may pronounce that works of supererogation are inconsistent with the 
nature of man, irreconcileable with the whole tenor and general principles of our 
religion, and contrary to the express declarations of Scripture .” Bishop Tomline’s 
Elements of Christian Theology, vol. ii. pp. 281,282. (8th edit.) 




673 


Ch. X.] Moral Parts of Scripture. 

den. (Matt. xv. 4.) Stealing being prohibited in the eighth com¬ 
mandment. (Exod. xx. 15.) Diligence in our calling is enjoined in 
Eph. iv. 28. 

IV. JVegatives are binding at all times, but not affirmatives ; that 
is, we must never do that which is forbidden, though good- may ulti¬ 
mately come from it. (Rom. iii. 8.) We must not speak wickedly for 
God. (Job xiii. 7.) 

Such things, however, as arc required of us, though they never 
cease to be our duty, are yet not to be done at all times : for in¬ 
stance, prayer, public worship, reproving others, visiting the sick, 
and other works of charity and mercy, will be our duty as long as 
we live ; but, as we cannot perform these at all times, we must do 
sometimes one thing, sometimes another, as opportunity offers. 
Hence, in the observance of negative precepts, Christian courage 
and Christian prudence are equally necessary ; the former , that we 
may never, upon any occasion or pretence, do that which in positive 
precepts is pronounced to be evil; the latter , that we may discern 
the fittest times and seasons for doing every thing. 

V . When an action is either required or commendedor any pro¬ 
mise is annexed to its performance: such action is supposed to be 
done from proper motives and in a proper manner. 

The giving of alms may be mentioned as an instance; which, if 
done from ostentatious motives, we are assured, is displeasing in the 
sight of God. Compare Matt. vi. 1—4. 

VI. When the favour of God or salvation is promised to any deed 

all the other duties of religion are supposed, to be rightly per- 

% 

The giving of alms, as well as visiting the fatherless and widows 
in their affliction, (Jam. i. 27.) may be noticed as examples : such 
promise, therefore, is not to be so understood as if one single Chris¬ 
tian virtue were necessary to salvation ; but that the particular virtue 
in question is one of several necessary and momentous virtues. The 
application of this rule will illustrate our Lord’s declaration concern¬ 
ing a future judgment (Matt. xxv. 34—36.) ; where, though charita¬ 
ble actions only are mentioned, yet we know, from other passages of 
Scripture, that every idle word, as well as the secret thoughts of men, 
besides their actions, will be brought into judgment. 

VII. When a certain state or condition is pronounced blessed', or 
any promise is annexed to it, a suitable disposition of mind is suppos¬ 
ed to prevail. 

Thus, when the poor or afflicted are pronounced to be blessed, it 
is because such persons, being poor and afflicted, are free from the 
sins usually attendant on unsanctified prosperity, and because they 
are, on the contrary, more humble and more obedient to God. If, 
however, they be not the characters described (as unquestionably 
there are many to whom the characters do not apply), the promise 
in that case does not belong to them. Vice versa, when any state is 
pronounced to be wretched, it is on account of the sins or vices which 
generally attend it. 

VIII. Some precepts of moral prudence are given in the Scriptures, 

vol. ii. 85 


or duty, 
formed 


6?4 On the Interpretation of the [Part II. 

which nevertheless admit of exceptions , on account of some duties of 
benevolence or piety that ought to preponderate. 

We may illustrate this rule by the often-repeated counsels of So¬ 
lomon respecting becoming surety for another. (See Prov. vi. 1, 2. 
xi. 15. xvii. 18. and xx. 16.) In these passages he does not condemn 
suretiship, which, in many cases, is not only lawful, but, in some in¬ 
stances, even an act of justice, prudence, and charity but Solomon 
forbids his disciple to become surety rashly, without considering for 
whom, or how far he binds himself, or how he could discharge the 
debt, if occasion should require it. 

IX. A change of circumstances changes moral things; therefore 
contrary things may be spoken together in moral things , on account 
of the difference of circumstances. 

Thus, in Prov. xxvi. 4, 5. we meet with two precepts that seem to 
be diametrically opposite to each other : Answer not a fool, according 
to his folly, lest thou be like unto him ; and, Answer a fool according to 
his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. But if we attend carefully 
to the reason which the sacred writer subjoins to each precept, we 
shall be enabled satisfactorily to account for the apparent repugnan¬ 
cy in the counsels of the Israelitish monarch : and it will be evident 
that they form, not inconsistent, but distinct, rules of conduct, which 
are respectively to be observed, according to the difference of circum¬ 
stances. The following observations on the two verses just cited will 
materially illustrate their meaning. 

A fool, in the sense of Scripture, means a wicked man, or one who 
acts contrary to the wisdom that is from above, and who is supposed 
to utter his foolishness in speech or writing. Doubtless there are 
different descriptions of these characters ; and some may require to 
be answered, while others are best treated with silence. But the 
cases here seem to be one ; both have respect to the same character, 
and both require to be answered. The whole difference lies in the 
manner in which the answer should be given. 

“ In the first instance, the term, ‘ according to his folly,’ means in 
a foolish manner, as is manifest from the reason given ; ‘ lest thou 
also be like unto him.’ But in the second instance they mean, in 
the manner in which his foolishness requires. This also is plain from 
the reason given, 1 lest he be wise in his own conceit.’ A foolish 
speech is not a rule for our imitation; nevertheless our answer must 
be so framed by it, as to meet and repel it. Both these proverbs 
caution us against evils to which we are not a little addicted ; the 
first, that of saying and doing to others as they say and do to us, 
rather than as we would they should say and do ; the last, that of 
suffering the cause of truth or justice to be run down, while we, from 
a love of ease, stand by as unconcerned spectators. The first of 
these proverbs is exemplified in the answer of Moses to the rebellious 
Israelites ; the last in that of Job to his wife. — It was a foolish 
speech which was addressed to the former : — 1 Would God, that wo 
had died when our brethren died before the Lord ! And why have 
ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilderness, that 
we and our cattle should die there V Unhappily, this provoked Mo 


1 Thus Judah became surety to his father, for his brother Benjamin (Gen. xliii 
9. xliv. 32.); and Paul to Philemon for Onesimus, (Philem. 18,19.) 




Ch. X.] 


Moral Parts of Scripture. 


675 


ses to speak unadvisedly with his lips ; saying, ‘ Hear now, ye rebels, 
must we fetch you water out of this rock ?* This was answering folly 
in a foolish manner, which he should not have done ; and hv which 
the servant of God became too much like them whom he opposed. — 
It was also a foolish saying of Job’s wife, in the day of his distress ; 
‘ Curse God and die !’ Job answered this speech, not in the manner 
of it, but in the manner which it required. 1 What, shall we receive 
good at the hand of God; and shall we not receive evil V In all the 
answers of our Saviour to the Scribes and Pharisees, we may per¬ 
ceive that he never lost the possession of his soul for a single mo¬ 
ment ; and never answered in the manner of his opponents, so as to 
be like unto them. Yet neither did he decline to repel their folly, and 
so to abase their self-conceit.” 1 

X. Different ideas must be annexed to the names of virtues dr vices, 
according to different ages and places. 

Thus, holiness and purity denote widely different things, in many 
parts of the Old Testament, from what they intend in the New ; in 
the former, they are applied to persons and things dedicated to Je¬ 
hovah ; while in the latter, they are applied to all true Christians, 
who are called saints or holy, being made so through the illumina¬ 
tion and renovation of the Holy Spirit, and because, being called 
with a high and holy calling, they are bound to evince the sincerity 
of their profession by a pure and holy life. Faith may also be cited 
in illustration of this remark ; which, as we have already seen, 2 is 
used in various acceptations by different writers. 

XI. In investigating and interpreting those passages of Scripture, 
the argument of which is moral, — that is, passages in ivhich holy and 
virtuous actions are commended,—but wicked and unholy ones are 
forbidden, the nature of the virtue enjoined, or of the sin prohibited, 
should be explained. We should also consider whether such passages 
are positive commands, or merely counsels or opinions, and by what 
motives or arguments the inspired writer supports his persuasions to 
virtue, and his dissuasives from sin or vice. 

In conducting this investigation, the parallel passages will be found 
of the greatest service : and in applying the writings of the New 
Testament as authority for practical institutions, it is necessary to 
distinguish those precepts or articles, which are circumstantial and 
temporary, from such as are essential to true religion, and therefore 
obligatory, in all ages. Not only are all the important laws of mo¬ 
rality permanent, but all those general rules of conduct, and institu¬ 
tions, which are evidently calculated in religion, to promote the good 
of mankind, and the glory of God. The situation'of the first Chris¬ 
tians, during the infancy of Christianity, required temporary regula¬ 
tions, which are not now binding on the church. The controversy 
concerning holy days, and particular kinds of food, occasioned Paul 
to enjoin such temporary precepts, as suited the situation of the 
church, when he wrote. Abstinence from the use of unclean beasts, 
in compliance with the opinions of the Jews, is not now necessary; 

1 Fuller’s Harmony of Scripture, pp. 17, 18. Bishop Warburton has given an 
excellent illustration of the passage above explained, in one of his Sermons See 
his Works, vol. x. Serm. 21. pp. 61—78. 

2 See pp. 663, 664. supra. 




676 


On the Interpretation of the [Part II 

but a condescension to the very prejudices of weak brethren, in things 
indifferent, is at all times the duty of Christians. Those doctrines 
which were evidently adapted to the situation of Christ’s disciples, 
when under persecution, do not apply to their conduct, when enjoy¬ 
ing full liberty of conscience. Exhortations, which are restricted to 
particular cases, must not be applied as rules for general conduct. 

Those directions, to be kind and hospitable to one another, in 
which the customs of eastern countries are mentioned, are not lite¬ 
rally to be observed, by those among whom dilferent manners pre¬ 
vail. Paul enjoins the saints, to salute one another with a holy kiss. 
(Rom. xvi. 16.) The Jews saluted one another, as an expression of 
sincere friendship. When Jesus Christ observed to Simon that he 
was deficient in kindness and affection, he said: Thou gavest me no 
kiss , hut this woman , since the time I came in , hath not ceased to kiss 
my feet. (Luke vii. 45.) The disposition is incumbent on saints, in 
all ages of the world ; but not .this mode of expressing it. In order 
to teach the disciples, how they ought to manifest their affection, for 
one another, by performing every office of friendship in their power, 
their Lord and Master took a towel arid girded himself, and began to 
wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he 
was girded; and said, if I then, your Lord and Master , have washed 
your feet, ye cdso ought to wash one another's feet. (John xiii. 5. 14.) 
In those hot countries, after travelling in sandals, the washing of the 
feet was very refreshing, and an expression of the most tender care 
and regard: hence it is mentioned as an amiable part of the widow’s 
character ; that she hath washed the saints' feet, and relieved the afflict¬ 
ed. (1 Tim. v. 10.) It is evident, that this mode of expressing our 
love to one another, was not intended as a permanent law, but a di¬ 
rection adapted to the prevailing custom of the people, to whom it 
was originally given. 


In concluding our remarks on the moral interpretation of the sacred 
writings, it is worthy of observation, that they contain two kinds of 
moral books and discourses, viz. 1 . Detached sentences, such as occur 
in the book of Proverbs, in many of our Lord’s sermons, and in seve¬ 
ral of the moral exhortations at the close of the apostolic epistles ; 
and, 2. Continuous and connected discourses , such as are to be found 
in the book of dob. In the former, we are not to look for any order 
or arrangement, because they have been put together just as they 
presented themselves to the minds of their inspired authors : but, in 
the latter, we must carefully attend to the scope. Thus, the scope 
of the book of Job is specified in the second and third verses of the 
thirty-second chapter ; to this, therefore, the whole book must be re¬ 
ferred, without seeking for any mysteries. 

The style also of the moral parts of Scripture is highly figurative, 
abounding not only with bold hyperboles and prosopopaeias, but also 
with antitheses and seeming paradoxes : the former must be explain¬ 
ed agreeably to those general rules for expounding the figurative lan¬ 
guage of Scripture, which have already been stated and illustrated j 1 


1 See pp. 581—589. supra. 




677 


Ch. X.] Moral Parts of Scripture . 

and the latter must be interpreted and limited according to the nature 
of the thing : for instance, the beatitudes, as related by Saint Mat¬ 
thew, (ch. v.) must be compared with diose delivered at a different 
time, as related by Saint Luke (ch. vi. 20. et seq .); and from this 
collation we shall be enabled to reconcile the seeming differences, and 
fully to understand the antithetic sayings of our Lord. 

Lastly, as the moral sentences in the Scriptures are written in the 
very concise style peculiar to the Orientals, many passages are in 
consequence necessarily obscure, and therefore admit of various ex¬ 
positions. In such cases, that interpretation which is most obvious to 
the reader, will in general be sufficiently intelligible for all purposes 
of practical edification , and beyond this we need not be anxiously so¬ 
licitous, if we should fail in ascertaining the precise meaning of every 
word in a proverb or moral sentence. 


Part II. 


( 678 ) 

CHAPTER XI. 

ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PROMISES AND THREATENINGS 

OF SCRIPTURE. 

A. PROMISE, in the Scriptural sense of the term is a declaration 
or assurance of the divine will, in which God signifies what particular 
blessings or good things he will freely bestow, as well as the evils 
which he will remove. The promises therefore differ from the threat¬ 
ening of God, inasmuch as the former are declarations concerning 
good, while the latter are denunciations of evil only : at the same time 
it is to be observed, that promises seem to include threats, because, 
being in their very nature conditional , they imply the bestowment of 
the blessing promised, only on the condition being performed, which 
blessing is tacitly threatened to be withheld on non-compliance with 
such condition. Further, promises differ from the commands of God, 
because the latter are significations of the divine will concerning a 
duty enjoined to be performed, while promises relate to mercy to be 
received. As a considerable portion of the promises relates to the 
performance of moral and of pious duties, they might have been dis¬ 
cussed under the preceding chapter : but, from the variety of topics 
which they embrace, it has been deemed preferable to give them a 
separate consideration. 

There are four classes of promises mentioned in the Scriptures, 
particularly in the New Testament; viz. 1. Promises relating to the 
Messiah: 2. Promises relating to the church; 3. Promises of bless¬ 
ings, both temporal and spiritual, to the pious ; and, 4. Promises 
encouraging to the exercise of the several graces and duties that com¬ 
pose the Christian character. 1 The two first of these classes, indeed, 
are many of them predictions as well as promises ; consequently the 
same observations will apply to them, as are stated for the interpreta¬ 
tion of Scripture prophecies : 2 but in regard to those promises which 
are directed to particular persons, or to the performance of particular 
dudes, the following remarks are offered to the attention of the reader. 

I. “ We must receive God's promises in such wise as they be gene¬ 
rally set forth in the Holy Scripture .” 3 

To us “ the promises of God are general and conditional. The 
Gospel dispensation is described as a covenant between God and 
man ; and the salvation of every individual is made to depend upon 

1 These promises are collected and printed at length, in a useful manual, publish¬ 
ed upwards of seventy years since, and intituled A Collection of the Promises of 
Scripture, arranged under proper heads. By Samuel Clarke, D. D. Of this little 
manual there are numerous cheap editions extant, but the earlier ones are prefera¬ 
ble both for the clearness of the type and especially for the correctness of the printing. 

2 See pp. 635—641. supra. 

3 Art. XVII. of the Confession of the Anglican Church. Similar to this is the 
declaration of the Helvetic (not the Genevese) confession, which in general sym¬ 
bolises with that of the British Church. “ In the temptation concerning predesti¬ 
nation, and which perhaps is more dangerous than any other, we should derive 
comfort from the consideration, that God’s promises are general to all that believe 
— that he himself says, Ask and ye shall receive : — Every one that asks receives .” 
Chap. x. towards the end, or in the valuable work entitled, u Primitive Truth, in a 
History of the Reformation, expressed by the Early Reformers in their Writings,” 
p. 57. 




679 


Ch. XI.] On the Interpretation of the Promises, fyc. 

his observance of the proposed conditions. Men, as free agents, have 
it in their power to perform or not to perform these conditions : and 
God foresaw from eternity, who would and who would not perform 

them, that is, who will and who will not be saved at the day of judg¬ 
ment. 1 2 If, therefore, the promises of God be not fulfilled towards 
us, we may rest assured that the fault does not rest with Him “ who 
cannot lie,” but with ourselves, who have failed in complying with 
the conditions either tacitly or expressly annexed to them. We may, 

then, apply general promises to ourselves, not doubting that if we 
perform the condition expressed or implied, we shall enjoy the mercy 
promised : for, as all particulars are included in universals, it follows 
that a general promise is made a particular one to him whose cha¬ 
racter corresponds with those to whom such general promise is made. 

Matt. xi. 28. may be cited as an example : the "promise here being made is the 
giving of rest: the characters of the persons to whom it is made are distinctly 
specified ; they are the weary and heavy laden , whether with the distresses of 
life, or with the sense of guilt (see Psal. xxxii. 4. xxxviii. 4.), or with the load of 
ceremonial observances; the condition required, is to come unto Christ by faith ; 
in other words, to believe in him and become his disciples: and the menace im¬ 
plied is, that if they do not thus comefi they will not find rest. Similar promises 
occur in John iii. 17. and 1 Tim. ii. 4. 

II. Promises made to particular persons may he applied to all he * 
lievers. 

It is in promises as in commands : they do not exclusively concern 
those to whom they were first made; but, being inserted in the 
Scriptures, they are made of public benefit for whatsoever things were 
written aforetime , were written for our use: that ire, through patience 
and comfort of the Scriptures , might have hope. (Rom. xv. 4.) 

1 Bp. Tomline’s Elements, vol. ii. p. 313. Similar to the above sentiments are 
those contained in the “ Necessary Erudition of a Christian Man,” (at the close of 
the introductory observations on “ Faith,”) a Manual of Christian Doctrine pub¬ 
lished in the year 1534; the value of which ought not to be lessened in our judg¬ 
ment by the circumstance of its not being purged of popish errors — “Although 
God’s promises made in Christ be immutable, yet He maketh them not to us, but 
with condition ; so that, His promise standing, we may yet fail of the promise be¬ 
cause we keep not our promise. And therefore, if we assuredly reckon upon the 
state of our felicity, as grounded upon God’s promise, and do not therewith re¬ 
member, that no man shall be crowned, unless he lawfully fight; we shall triumph 
before the victory, and so shall look in vain for that, which is not otherwise promis¬ 
ed but under a condition.” On the subject of conditional promises, see also Tillot- 
son’s Works, vol. v. pp. 185—193. 205, 200. vol. vi. p. 513. vol. ix. pp. 53, 54. and 
vol. x. p. 119.; and on the subject of conditional threatenings, see vol. vi. pp. 510, 
511. (London, 1820.) 

2 Bp. Horsley has the following animated and practical observations on this pro¬ 
mise of our Saviour at the close of his 24th Sermon : — “ Come, therefore, unto 
him, all ye that are heavy laden with your sins. By his own gracious voice he 
called you while on earth. By the voice of his ambassadors he continueth to call; 
he calleth you now by mine. Come unto him, and he shall give you rest — rest 
from the hard servitude of sin and appetite, and guilty fear. That yoke is heavy 
— that burthen is intolerable ; His yoke is easy and his burthen light. But, come 
in sincerity ; — dare not to come in hypocrisy and dissimulation. Think not that 
it will avail you in the last day, to have called yourselves Christians, to have been 
born and educated under the Gospel light — to have lived in the external commu¬ 
nion of the church on earth — if, all the while, your hearts have holden no com¬ 
munion with its head in heaven. If, instructed in Christianity, and professing to 
believe its doctrines, ye lead the lives of unbelievers, it will avail you nothing in 
the next, to have enjoyed in this world, like the Jews of old, advantages which ye 
despised — to have had the custody of a holy doctrine which never touched your 
hearts — of a pure commandment, by the light of which ye never walked. To those 
who disgrace the doctrine of their Saviour by the scandal of their lives, it will be 
of no avail to have vainly called him, * Lord, Lord !’ ” Sermons, p. 490 2d. edit. 



680 


On the Interpretation of the Promises [Part II. 

Thus, Saint Paul applies what was spoken to Joshua, (ch. i. 5.) to the believing 
Hebrews (Heb. xiii. 5.): Jesus Christ being the same yesterday , to-day , and for 
ever, as it is added in the eighth verse of the same chapter ; he has the same grace 
to pity, and the same power to help his sincere disciples now, as formerly, without 
respect of persons. A distinction, however, must be taken between such of the 
promises in the Old Testament, particularly in the book of Psalms, as are of uni¬ 
versal application, and such as were made to those Israelites and Jews who obeyed 
the law of God, which were strictly temporal. Of this description are all those 
promises of peace and prosperity in this world, which were literally suitable to 
the Jewish dispensation, God having encouraged them to obey his laws, by pro¬ 
mises of peculiar peace and prosperity in the land of Canaan. Whereas now, 
under the Gospel dispensation, u godliness hath indeed the promise of the life that 
now is, as well as of that which is to come,” (1 Tim. iv. 8.) but with an exception 
of the cross, when that may be best for us, in order to our future happiness in 
heaven. So that the promises in the Old Testament, of a general felicity in this 
life are not so literally to be applied to Christians as they were to the Jews.l 

III. Such promises as were made in one case , may he applied in 
other cases of the same nature , consistently with the analogy of faith. 

The instance, adduced under the preceding canon, will also illus¬ 
trate the present. The promise there mentioned was made to Joshua, 
on his going up against the Canaanites, lest he should be discouraged 
in that enterprise ; yet it is applied by the apostle as a remedy against 
covetousness or inordinate cares concerning the things of this life; 
it being a very comprehensive promise that God will never fail us 
nor forsake us. But if we were to apply the promises contained in 
Psal. xciv. 14. and Jer. xxxii. 40. and John x. 28. as promises of ab¬ 
solute and indefectible grace to believers, we should violate every rule 
of sober interpretation, as well as the analogy of faith. 

IV. God has suited his promises to his precepts. 

By his precepts we see what is our duty , and what should be the 
scope of our endeavours; and by his promises we see what is our ina¬ 
bility, what should be the matter or object of our prayers , and where 
we may be supplied with that grace which will enable us to discharge 
our duty. Compare Deut. x. 16. with Deut. xxx. 6. Eccles. xii. 13. 
with Jer. xxxii. 40. Ezek. xviii. 31. with Ezek. xxxvi. 37. and Rom. 
vi. 12. with v. 14. 

V. Where any thing is promised in case of obedience, the threaten¬ 
ing of the contrary is implied in case of disobedience: and where there 
is a threatening of any thing in case of disobedience , a promise of the 
ccmtrary is implied upon condition of obedience . 1 2 

In illustration of this remark, it will be sufficient to refer to, and 
compare, Exod. xx. 7. with Psal. xv. 1—4. and xxiv. 3, 4. and Exod. 
xx. 12. with Prov. xxx. 17. 

VI. God promises that he may perform what he promises , but threat¬ 
ens that he may not fulfil his threatenings. 

In other words, by his promises he encourages men to obedience, 
that they may receive the reward of it: but, by his threatenings, he 
warns men, and deters them from sin, that they may not feel its ef¬ 
fects. For instance, in Rev. ii. 5. he threatens, as if he were unwilling 
to inflict the punishment, repeating the means by which it may be 
prevented. For the same purpose is the menace denounced in Rom. 

1 Collyer’s Sacred Interpreter, vol. i. p. 336. 

2 Bp. Wilkins, in his admirable Discourse on the Gift of Preaching, has stated 
this rule in the following terms: — “ Every Scripture does affirm, command, or 
threaten, not only that which is expressed in it, but likewise all that which is right¬ 
ly deducible from it, though by mediate consequences.” (Dr. Williams’s Christian 
Preacher, p. 22.^ 



and Threatenings of Scripture. 


Ch. XL] 


681 


viii. 18. against professors of the Gospel, that they may beware of 
such things as have in themselves a tendency to eternal death. 

There are, however, two important cautions to be attended to in 
the application of Scripture promises ; viz. that we do not violate that 
connection or dependency which subsists between one promise and 
another ; and that we do not invert that fixed order which is observa¬ 
ble between them. 

1. The mutual connection or dependency subsisting between promises, 
must not be broken. 

As the duties enjoined by the moral law are copulative, and may not be disjoin¬ 
ed in the obedience yielded to them (James ii. 10.) ; so are the blessings of the 
promises ; which may not be made use of as severed from each other, like unstring- 
ed pearls, but as collected into one entire chain. For instance, throughout the 
sacred volume, the promises ot pardon and repentance are invariably connected to¬ 
gether : so that it would be presumptuous in any man to suppose that God will ever 
hearken to him who implores the one and neglects to seek the other. “ He pardoneth 
and absolveth all them that truly repent and unfeignedly believe his holy word.” 

In like manner, in Psal. lxxxiv. 11. the promise of grace and glory is so insepa¬ 
rably united, that no person can lay a just claim to the one, who is not previously 
made a partaker of the other. Bishop Horne’s commentary on this verse is not 
more beautiful than just. 1 

2. In applying the promises , their order and method should not be in¬ 
verted , but be carefully observed. 

The promises, made by God in his word, have not inaptly been termed an ample 
storehouse of every kind of blessings, including both the mercies of the life that note 
is, and of that which is to come. There is, indeed, no good that can present itself as an 
object to our desires or thoughts, but the promises are a ground for faith to believe, and 
hope to expect the enjoyment of it: but then our use and application of them must 
be regular , and suitable both to the pattern and precept which Christ has given us. 

The Pattern or example referred to, we have in that most comprehensive prayer, 
emphatically termed the Lord's prayer (Matt. vi. 9—13.) ; in which he shows what 
is chiefly to be desired by us, viz. the sanctification of his name in our hearts, the 
coming of his kingdom in our souls, and the doing of his will in our lives ; all 
which are to be implored, before and above our daily bread. We are not to be 
more anxious for food than for divine grace. 

The Precept alluded to, we have in his sermon on the mount (Matt. vi. 33.) ; 
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall 
he added iinto you. The soul is of more worth than the body ; as the body is more 
valuable than raiment: and therefore the principal care of every one should be, 
to secure his spiritual welfare, by interesting himself in the promises of life and 
eternal happiness. Here, however, a method must be observed, and the law of 
the Scripture must be exactly followed, which tells us, (Psal. lxxxiv. 11.) that God 
first gives grace and then glory. 44 As it is a sin to divide grace from glory, and 
to seek the one without the other ; so it is also a sin to be preposterous in our 
seeking, to look^irsf after happiness and then after holiness : no man can be rightly 
solicitous about the crown, but he must first be careful about the race ; nor can 
any be truly thoughtful about his interest in the promises of glory that doth not first 
make good his title to the pro mises of grace.” 2 _ 

1 44 Jesus Christ is our ‘ Lord’ and our 4 Godhe is a 4 sun,’ to enlighten and 
direct us in the way, and a 4 shield’ to protect us against the enemies of our salva¬ 
tion. He will give 4 grace’ to carry us on 4 from strength to strength,’ and 4 glory' 
to crown us when we 4 appear before him in Zion ;’ he will 4 withhold’ nothing that 
is 4 crood’ and profitable for us in the course of our journey, and will himself be our 
reward, when we come to the end of it.” Commentary on the Psalms, voL ii. 
(Works, vol. iii. p. 81.) 

2 Dr. Spurstovve’s Treatise on the Promises, pp. 62. 65. The whole volume will 
abundantly repay the trouble of perusing it. There is also an admirable discourse 
on the Promises , in the Sermons published by the late Rev. Charles Buck: in 
which their divine origin, their suitability, number, clearness of expression, the 
freeness of their communication, and the certainty of their accomplishment, are 
stated and illustrated with equal ability and piety. See also Hoornbeck’s Theologia 
Practica, pars I. lib. v. c. 2. pp. 463—477. 

vol. ii. 86 



( 682 ) 


[Part II. Ch 


CHAPTER XII. 

ON THE INFERENTIAL AND PRACTICAL READING OF SCRIPTURE. 

SECTION I. 

ON THE INFERENTIAL READING OF THE BIBLE. 

I. General Rules for the deduction of Inferences. —II. Observations 
for ascertaining the Sources of Internal Inferences. — III. And 
also of External Inferences. 

I. THE sense of Scripture having been explained and ascertained, 
it only remains that we apply it to purposes of practical utility: which 
may be effected either by deducing inferences from texts, or by 
practically applying the Scriptures to our personal edification and sal¬ 
vation. By inferences, we mean certain corollaries or conclusions 
legitimately deduced from words rightly explained : so that they who 
either hear or read them, may form correct views of Christian doc¬ 
trine and Christian duty. And in this deduction of inferences we 
are warranted both by the genius of language, which, when correctly 
implied, not only means what the words uttered in themselves obvi¬ 
ously imply, but also what may be deduced from them by legitimate 
consequences and likewise by the authority of Jesus Christ and his 
apostles, who have sanctioned this practice by their example. 

To illustrate this remark by a single instance : — Our Lord (Matt, 
xxii. 23—32.), when disputing with the Sadducees, cited the decla¬ 
ration of Jehovah recorded in Exodus iii. 6. I am the God of Abra¬ 
ham, Isaac, and Jacob : and from thence he proved the resurrection 
of the dead inferentially, or by legitimate consequence. It should be 
observed, that Abraham had been dead upwards of three hundred 
years before these words were spoken to Moses, yet still Jehovah 
called himself the God of Abraham, &ic. Jesus Christ properly re¬ 
marked that God is not the God of the dead (that word being equi¬ 
valent, in the sense of the Sadducees, to an eternal annihilation ), but 
of the living: whence it follows, that if he be the God of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, they have not altogether perished, but their bodies 
will be raised again from the dead, while their spirits or souls are 
alive with God, notwithstanding they have ceased for many centuries 
to exist among mortals. In the same reply, our Saviour further con¬ 
futed, inferentially, another tenet of the Sadducees, viz. that there is 
neither angel nor spirit, by showing that the soul is not only immortal, 
but lives with God even while the body is detained in the dust of the 
earth, which body will afterwards be raised to life, and be united to 
the soul by the miraculous power of God. 

The foundation of inferential reading is the perpetual harmony of 
sacred things ; so that any one who has thoroughly considered and 
r ightly understood a single doctrine, may hence easily deduce many 

1 Qui enim intelligit, quod loquitur, non modo vivi , sed ambitum quoque verbo- 
rum perspicit; ideoque id omne, quod ex iis legitime colligi potest, adprobare etiam 
merito creditur. Buddei Elementa Philosophise Instrumentulis, part ii. cap. ii. 
xxx. p. 2-lG. 




683 


XII. Sect. I.] On the Inferential Reading of the Bible. 

others which depend upon it, as they are linked together in one con¬ 
tinued chain. But, in order to conduct this kind of reading with ad¬ 
vantage, it is necessary that we bring to it a sober judgment , capable 
of penetrating deeply into sacred truths, and of eliciting with indefati¬ 
gable attention and patience, and also of deducing one truth from 
another by strong reasoning; and further, that the mind possesses a 
sufficient knowledge of the form of sound words in faith and love 
which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Tim. i. 13.) Without this knowledge, 
*t will be impossible to make any beneficial progress in this branch 
of sacred literature, or to discover the exhaustless variety of impor¬ 
tant truths contained in the sacred writings. It will likewise be requi¬ 
site to compare inferences when deduced, in order to ascertain 
whether they are correct, and are really worthy of that appellation. 
For this purpose the following rules may be advantageously consulted. 

1. Obvious or too common inferences must not be deduced , nor should 
they be expressed in the very words of Scripture. 

Thus, if from Matt. vi. 33. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteous¬ 
ness, and all these things shall be added unto you , the following inferences be de¬ 
duced : — 1. The Kingdom of God is to be sought in the first instance. 2. It is 
necessary that we seek the righteousness of God ; and, 3. To him that thus seeks, 
all other things shall be added. Although these are in themselves weighty truths, 
yet they are expressed too plainly in the very words of Scripture, to be called in¬ 
ferences. They are, rather, truths seated in the text itself, than truths deduced 
from those words. 

2. Inferences must be deduced from the true and genuine sense of the 
words , not from a spurious sense , whether literal or mystical. 

We have a striking violation of this sober and almost self-evident canon, in the 
inference deduced by Cardinal Bellarmin, from a comparison of Acts x. 13. with 
John xxi. 16. From the Divine command, Rise, Peter ! kill and eat , compared 
with our Lord’s direction to the Apostle, Feed my sheep , he exhorts this conse¬ 
quence, viz. that the functions of the Roman pontiff 1 , as the successor of Peter, 
are two-fold — to feed the church, and to put heretics to death ! It is scarcely ne¬ 
cessary to add, that this inference is derived from putting a false and spurious sense 
upon those passages. 

3. Inferences are deduced more safely as well as more correctly from 
the originals , than from any version of the Scriptures. 

It is not uncommon, even in the best versions, to find meanings put upon the 
sacred text, which are totally foreign to the intention of the inspired penmen. 
Thus, from Acts ii. 47. (the Lord added to the church daily such as should be 
saved), the papists have absurdly pretended to deduce the perpetuity and visibility 
of the (Roman Catholic) church ; and, from the same text compared with Acts 
xiii. 48. {as many as were ordained to eternal life believed), some have inferred 
that those whom God adds to the church shall necessarily and absolutely be eter¬ 
nally saved. The question relative to indefectibility from grace is foreign to a 
practical work lik e this 1 but, without throwing down the gauntlet of controversy, 

1 “ It may not be the most philosophical, but it is probably the wisest opinion 
which we can adopt, that the truth lies some where between the two rival systems 
of Calvin and Arminius ; though I believe it to exceed the wit of man to point out 
the exact place where it does lie. We distinctly perceive the two extremities of 
the vast chain, which stretches across the whole expanse of the theological heavens; 
but its central links are enveloped in impenetrable clouds and thick darkness.” 
(Mr. Faber’s Discourses, vol. i. pp. 478, 479.) Archbishop Tillotson has a fine pas¬ 
sage on this subject to the same effect, (which is too long to be extracted) at the 
close of his hundred and seventh sermon. See his works, vol. v. pp. 395, 396. 
Compare also vol. vii. pp. 99,100. (London, 1820.) On this topic the author can¬ 
not withhold from his readers the following admirable observations of the late Bi¬ 
shop Horsley. Addressing the clergy of the diocese of Gloucester, he says, “ I 
would entreat you of all things to avoid controversial arguments in the pulpit upon 
-what are called the Calvinistic points; — the dark subject of predestination and 



684 


On the Inferential Reading of the Bible. [Part II. Ch. 

we may remark, that these passages have no relation whatever to the doctrine of 
election ; and that if the translators of our authorised version had rendered the 
original of Acts ii. 47. literally , as they have done in other parts of the New Tes¬ 
tament, * 1 it would have run thus, — the Lord added daily to the church, rovs aw(o- 
yevovs, the saved; that is, those who were saved from their sins and prejudices; 
and so the passage is rendered by Drs. Whitby, Doddridge, and other eminent 
critics and divines. Further, if Acts xiii. 48. had been translated according to the 
proper meaning of Ttrayytvoi, that verse would have run thus : — As many as were 
disposed for eternal life, believed : which rendering is not only faithful to the ori¬ 
ginal, but also to the context and scope of the sacred historian, who is relating the ef¬ 
fects or consequences of the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles. F or the J e ws had 
contradicted Paul, and blasphemed, while the religious proselytes heard with pro¬ 
found attention, .and cordially received the Gospel he preached to them ; the former 
were, through their own stubbornness, utterly indisposed to receive that Gospel, 
while the latter , destitute of prejudice and prepossession, rejoiced to hear that the 
Gentiles were included in the covenant of salvation through Jesus Christ; and, 
therefore, in this good state or disposition of mind, they believed. Such is the 
plain and obvious meaning deducible from the consideration of the context and 
scope of the passage in question; and that the rendering above given is strictly 
conformable to the original Greek, is evident from the following considerations. 
In the first place, the word TCTayyevoi is not the word generally used in the New 
Testament to denote fore-ordination, or an eternal decree, but the verbs opifa and 
npoopifa, which exactly answer to our English words determine and predetermine. 
Further, Dr. Hammond remarks, the verb raocw, or rarrw, (whence the participle 
Teraypevos) and its compounds, are often employed in the sense of our military 
word tactics , by which is meant whatever relates to the disposal or marshalling 
of troops. (Compare Luke vii. 8. and Rom. xiii. 1. Gr.) and hence, by analogy, 
it is applied to other things : — Thus, in 1 Cor. xvi. 15. we read, “ They devoted 
(era^av) themselves to the ministry of the saints.” See also 1 Mac. v. 27. and 2 
Mac. xv. 20. (Gr.); and particularly Acts xx. 13., where we read that Saint Paul 
went on foot to Assos ,for so he was ( SuTeTayyevos) disposed. Similar expressions 
are to be found in the Greek classic writers. 2 But what confirms the preceding 

election I mean, and the subordinate questions. Differences of opinion upon these 
subjects have subsisted among the best Christians from the beginning , and will sub¬ 
sist, I am persuaded , to the end. They seem to me to arise almost of necessity, 
from the inability of the human mind to reconcile the doctrine of a providence, irre¬ 
sistibly ruling all events, with the responsibility of man as a moral agent. And 
persons, equally zealous for God’s glory, have taken different sides of the question, 
according as their minds have been more forcibly impressed with awful notions of 
God’s right of sovereignty on the one hand, or of his justice on the other. But in 
certain leading principles, Lutherans, Calvinists, Arminians, and we of the church 
of England are, I trust, all agreed. We are agreed in the fundamental doctrines 
of the Trinity ; all believing in the united operation of the three persons, in their 
distinct offices in the accomplishment of man’s redemption. We are all agreed 
that the fore-knowledge of God is — like himself—from all eternity, and absolute; 
that his providence is universal, controlling not only all the motions of matter, but 
all the thoughts and actions of intelligent beings of all orders ; that, nevertheless, 
man has that degree of free agency which makes him justly responsible ; that his 
sins are his own ; and that, without holiness, no man shall see God. While w T e 
agree in these principles, I cannot see to what purpose we agitate endless disputes 
upon the dark — I had almost said —presumptuous questions upon the order of the 
divine decrees ; as if there could be any internal energies of the divine mind, and 
about the manner of the communion between the Spirit of God and the Soul of the 
believer.” (Bp. Horsley’s charge in 1800, pp. 32, 33. 4to.) 

1 It is worthy of remark that the participle cw^oyevos occurs in four other places 
of the New Testament, in all which our translators give the true meaning. These 
are Luke xiii. 23. <t o\iyoi aw'Coyevoi ; are there few that be saved P — 1 Cor. i. 18. 
roitSe aoj^oytvots hyw, but unto vs which are saved. — 2 Cor. ii. 15. ev tois crwfysvois, 
in them that are saved. — Rev. xxi. 24. ra c$vt) tuv coo^oyevuv, the nations oj them 
which are saved. In none ofthese instances have the translators given the forced 
and arbitrary meaning above noticed, and no reason can be assigned why they 
should have so rendered Acts ii. 47. 

2 Dr. Hammond (on Acts xiii. 48.) has cited and commented on several passages 
which we have not room to state. He renders the word TeTnyytvoi by fitly disposed 
and qualified for ; Dr. Wall, by fit to receive; and Mr. Thompson, the learned 





085 


XII. Sect. I.] On the Inferential Reading of the Bible. 

rendering of this text, is the fact , that it is so translated in the old Syriac, the 
most antient of all the versions of the New Testament. This is of great mo¬ 
ment ; for that version was made at least four hundred years before the sense of 
this place was disputed by the different sects and parties of Christians. “ Mean¬ 
while,” says Dr. Hammond, with equal truth and piety, “ it must be remembered 
that these qualifications are not pretended to have been originally from themselves, 
but from the preventing grace of God ; to which it is to be acknowledged due that 
they are ever pliable, or willing to follow Christ.” 

4. Those inferences are always to be preferred which approach near¬ 
est to the scope of a passage. 

I hus, in John vi. 37. Christ says, Him that comcth unto me I will in no icise 
cist out. From this clause the two following inferences have been deduced. J. 
That Jesus Christ is a most certain asylum for all persons whose consciences are 
burthened. 2. That Christians ought to receive those who are weak in faith, after 
the example of Christ, and to treat them with tenderness. Now, though both 
these inferences are good in themselves, the first is most to be preferred, because 
it harmonises best with the scope of the passage, (compare verses 37—40.) which 
is to show that Christ will reject none “ that truly repent and unfeignedly believe” 
in him. 

5. Inferences ought to embrace useful truths , and such as are necessary 
to be knoum, on which the mind may meditate , and be led to a more inti¬ 
mate acquaintance with the doctrines of salvation , and with Christian 
morality. 

It were no difficult task to illustrate this remark by a variety of examples ; but 
this is rendered unnecessary by the admirable models presented in the valuable 
sermons of our most eminent divines, not to mention the excellent sermons of 
Masillon, Bossuet, Flechier, Claude, Saurin, Superville, Du Bose, and other emi¬ 
nent foreign divines, both protestants and catholics. The reader, who is desirous 
of illustrations, will find many very apposite ones in Monsieur Claude’s celebrated 
and elaborate Essay on the Composition of a Sermon. 1 

II. The sources , whence inferences are deducible, are divided by 
Professor Rambach (to whom we are almost wholly indebted for this 
chapter) 2 into two classes, viz. internal and external : the former are 
inherent in the text, and flow from it, considered in itself; the latter 
are derived from a comparison of the text with other passages and 
circumstances. 

To illustrate these definitions by a few examples : — The sources 
whence inferences may be deduced, are internal , or inherent in the 
text, when such consequences are formed, 1. From the affections of 
the sacred writer or speaker ; 2. From words and their signification ; 
3. From the emphasis and force of words ; and, 4. From the struc¬ 
ture and order of the words contained in the sacred text. 

North American translator of the Scriptures from the Greek, by fitly disposed. 
Wolfius (Cur. Philol. in loc.) considers the phrase reray/ievos us as equivalent to 
svStros us, (Luke ix. 62.) in our version rendered (or, more correctly, rightly 
disposed) for the kingdom of God. Dr. Whitby translates the word by disposed, 
and Dr. Doddridge by determined , in order to preserve the ambiguity of the word. 
The meaning, he observes, of the sacred penman seems to be, that all who were 
deeply and seriously concerned about their eternal happiness, openly embraced the 
Gospel. And wherever this temper was, it was undoubtedly the effect of a divine 
operation on their hearts. See Whitby, Doddridge, Wall, Wetstein, Bengel, Ro- 
senmaller, and especially Limborch (Coinmentarius in Acta Apostolorum, pp. 133 
—136. folio, Rotterdam. 1711), on Acts xiii. 48. Compare also Franzius de Inter- 
pretatione Sacrarum Scripturarum, pp. 104—115.; Bp. Taylor s Works, vol. ix. p. 
140.; and Bishop Wilson’s Works, Sermon 57. Vol. ii. p. 272. folio edit. Bath, 

1782 

1 See particularly §§ 17—26. in Dr. Williams’s edition of Claude’s Essay, Chris¬ 
tian Preacher, pp. 300—346.; or Mr. Simeon’s edition, forming nearly the whole 
first volume of his “ Helps to Composition.” _ 

2 Institutiones Hermeneutic© Sacr®, lib. iv. c. iii. pp. 804—822. 



G86 


On the Inferential Reading of the Bible. [Part II. Ch. 

1. Inferences deduced from the affections of the writer or speaker , 
whether these are indicated in the text , or are left to the investigation of 
the interpreter. 

Thus, in Mark iii. 5. we read that Jesus Christ looked round about on those 
who opposed him with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts : the 
anger here mentioned was no uneasy passion, but an excess of generous grief oc¬ 
casioned by their obstinate stupidity and blindness. From this passage the follow¬ 
ing conclusions may be drawn : 1. It is the duty of a Christian to sorrow, not only * 
for his own sins, but also to be grieved for the sins of others. 2. All anger is not 
to be considered sinful. 3. He does not bear the image of Christ, but rather that 
of Satan, who can either behold with indifference the wickedness of others, or re¬ 
joice in it. 4. Nothing is more wretched than an obdurate heart, since it caused 
him, who is the source of all true joy, to be filled with grief on beholding it. 5. 
Our indignation against wickedness must be tempered by compassion for the per¬ 
sons of the wicked. 

2. Inferences deduced from words themselves , and their signification. 

For instance, in Luke xxi. 15. our Lord addressing his disciples, says, I %cill 

give you a mouth and wisdom. Inference 1. Christ, the eternal wisdom, is the 
source and spring of all true wisdom. 2. Will give. They who attempt to pro 
cure wisdom by their own strength, without the aid of prayer, may justly be 
charged with presumption. 3. You. No one stands more in need of the gift of 
divine wisdom than they who are intrusted with the charge of teaching others. 
4. A mouth, or ready utterance. The gift of eloquence is bestowed by God, as well 
as every other gift. Wisdom. It is possible for a man to acquire cunning by the 
mere force of corrupt nature ; but nature cannot possibly confer true wisdom. 5. 
And. Eloquence, when not united with wisdom, is of little utility in promoting 
the kingdom of Christ. From this last inference, it appears, that even the 
smallest particles sometimes afford matter from which we may deduce practical 
conclusions 

3. Inferences deduced from the emphasis and force of words. 

We have an example in 1 Pet. v. 5. Be clothed with humility : for God resisteth 
the proud. Inference 1. Humility. Christian humility does not reside in filthy 
or rent garments, but in a modest mind, that entertains humble views of itself. 2. 
Be ye clothed , tyKonfiuaaSc, from tv, in, and ko/z/Loj, to gather, or tic in a knot. The 
word means to clothe, properly, with an outer ornamental garment, tied closely 
upon one with knots. True humility is an ornamept which decorates the mind 
much more than the most costly garment does the body. 1 3. Humility is a gar¬ 
ment with which we cover both our own virtues and the defects of others. 4. This 
ornament of humility, being exposed to many snares, must be most carefully 
guarded, and retained around us. 5. The proud, vrtprjtyavois, from vtrtp, above, and 
<paivu, to appear, because such persons exalt themselves above others. No sin is 
capable of being less concealed, or of escaping the observation of others, than 
pride. 6. God resisteth avriracarerai, literally, setteth himself as in array 
against, the proud man : this is a military term. The inference deducible is, that 
while all other sinners retire, as it were, from the presence of God, and seek for 
shelter against his indignation, the proud man alone openly braves it. 2 

4. Inferences deduced from the order and structure of the words con¬ 
tained in the sacred text. 

Thus, from Rom. xiv. 17. The kingdom of God .is righteousness, peace, and joy 
in the Holy Ghost, the following inferences may be derived, according to the order 
of the words, which depends upon the connection and order of the subjects treated 
of. 1. No constant and lasting peace of conscience is to be expected, unless we 

1 Mr. Parkhurst's illustration of this truly emphatic word is too important and 
beautiful to be omitted. “ On the whole,” says he, u this expressive word, eynoyf) o>- 
aaSe used by Saint Peter, implies that the humility of Christians, which is one of 
the most ornamental graces of their profession, should constantly appear in all 
their conversation, so as to strike the eye of every beholder ; and that this amiable 
grace should be so closely connected with their persons,,t.hat no occurrence, tempta¬ 
tion, or calamity should be able to strip them of it. — Faxit Deus 1” Greek and 
English Lexicon, p. 185. col. 2. (5th edit.) 

2 It may be worth the reader's while to re-consider what has already been stated 
on the subject of emphatic words, which, in fact, are so many sources whence in¬ 
ferences may be judiciously deduced. 






687 


XII. Sect. I.] On the Inferential Reading of the Bible. 

previously lay hold of the righteousness of Christ by faith. 2. They only possess 
a genuine and permanent joy, who being justified, cultivate peace with God through 
Jesus Christ. 3. In vain do those persons boast of the righteousness of Christ, 
who still continue in a state of hostility and enmity with God and man. 4. A se¬ 
rene and peaceful conscience is the only source of spiritual joy.l 

III. The sources of inferences are external , when the conclusions 
are deduced from a comparison of the text, 1. With the state of the 
speaker; — 2. With the scope ol the book or passage; — 3. With 
antecedents and consequents ; or, in other words, with the context; 
— 4. With parallel passages, and other circumstances. 

1. Inferences deduced from the state of the writer or speaker. 

Thus, when Solomon, the wisest and richest of sovereigns, whose eager desire 
after the enjoyment of worldly vanities was so great, that he left none of them 
untried, and whose means of gratifying himself in every possible pleasure and 
delight were unbounded, — when he exclaims, (Eccl. i. 2.) Vanity of vanities, all 
is vanity, the following inferences may be deduced from his words, compared with 
the state of his mind. (J.) Since the meanest artisan is not to be despised when 
speaking properly and opportunely of his own business, he must be more than usu¬ 
ally stupid who does not give diligent attention when a most illustrious monarch 
is about to speak. (2.) How admirable is the wisdom of God, who, when it pleased 
him to select a person to proclaim and testify the vanity of all things human, made 
choice of one who had most deeply experienced how truly vain they were ! (3.) 

When a sovereign, thus singularly possessed of glory, fame, human wisdom, riches, 
and every facility for the enjoyment of pleasures, proclaims the vanity of all 
these things, his testimony ought to be received by every one with great respect. 
(4.) Since princes, above all others, are exposed to the insidious wiles of plea¬ 
sures, it is worthy of remark that God raised up one of their own rank to admo¬ 
nish them of their danger, 

♦ 2. Inferences deduced 

(1.) From the general scope of an entire book. — For instance, let the 
following words of Jesus Christ (John viii. 51.) Verily, verily, I say unto you, if 
a man keep my saying he shall never see death, be compared with the general 
scope of the book which is announced in John xx. 31. These arc written, that ye 
might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, ye might 
have life through his name. From this collation the following inferences will flow, 
(i.) Faith in Christ is to be proved and shown by obedience to his word, (ii.) True 
faith cordially receives not only the merits of Christ, but also his words and pre¬ 
cepts. And, (iii.) Whosoever is made, through faith, a partaker of spiritual life, 
shall also be freed from spiritual and eternal death. 

(2.) From the special scope of a particular passage. — The particular 
scope of Jesus Christ in the passage above cited, (John viii. 51.) was to demon¬ 
strate that he was not possessed by an evil spirit, since the keeping of his words 
would procure eternal life for all who obey him, while Satan, on the contrary, 
leads men into sin, whose wages is death, or everlasting perdition. Hence we 
may deduce the subsequent inferences, (i.) That doctrine, which produces such 
very salutary effects, cannot necessarily be false and diabolical, (ii.) Saving 
truths are to be proposed even to those who are guilty of calumniating them, (iii.) 
There is no nearer way, by which to liberate the mind from doubts formed against 
truth than a ready obedience to acknowledged truth, (iv.) The precepts of Christ 
are to be regarded and obeyed, even though they should be ridiculed or defamed 
by the most learned men. 

(3.) From the very special scope of particular words or phrases. 

The passage just referred to will supply us with another illustration. — For in¬ 
stance, should it be asked, (i.) Why our Lord prefixed to his declaration, a solemn 
asseveration similar to an oath P it is replied, because he perceived the very obsti¬ 
nate unbelief of his hearers ; whence it may be inferred, that it is a shameful 
thing that Christ should find so little faith among men. (ii.) Should it be further 
inquired, why he prefixed a double asseveration ? it is answered, in order that, by 

1 For a full illustration of this subject, we with pleasure refer the reader to an 
excellent discourse, in “ Sermons on Subjects chiefly Practical, by the Rev. John 
Jebb. A. M.,” (now Bishop of Limerick.) serm. iv. pp. 71—98. London, 1810. 8vo. 




688 


On the Inferential Reading of the Bible. [Part II. Cli, 


such repetition, he might silence the repeated calumnies of those who opposed 
him ; hence also it may be inferred, that in proportion to the malice and effrontery 
of men in asserting calumnies, the greater zeal is required in vindicating truth, 
(iii.) Should it still be asked, why our Lord added the words, I say unto you, we 
reply, in opposition to the assertion of his enemies in the 48th verse ; — Say ice 
not well , that thou hast a demon? From which we may infer, that he who is de¬ 
sirous of knowing the truth, ought not only to attend to the stories invented and 
propagated by wicked men against the godly, but also to those things which Christ 
says of them, and they of him. Other instances might be adduced, but the pre¬ 
ceding will suffice. 

3. Inferences deduced from a collation of the text with the context. 

In this case, the principal words of a text should be compared together, in order 

that inferences may be deduced from their mutual relation, (i.) Collate 1 Tim. i. 
15. It is a faithful saying , with verse 4. Neither give heed to fables. Inference. 
The idle legends of the Jews (preserved in the Talmud), and the relations of the 
Gentiles concerning their deities, and the appearances of the latter , are compared 
to uncertain fables: but the narration in the Gospel concerning Jesus Christ is 
both certain, and worthy of being received with faith, (ii.) Collate also 1 Tim. 
i. J5. with verse 6. Vain jangling , or empty talking. Inference. God usually 
punishes those who will not believe the most certain words of the Gospel, by ju¬ 
dicially giving them up to a voluntarily belief of the most absurd and lying fables, 
(iii.) Compare the words, Worthy of all acceptation , (1 Tim. i. 15.) with verse 8. 
The law is good. Inference. The law, as given by God, is both good in itself and 
has a good tendency, though to a sinner it is so formidable as to put him to flight: 
but the Gospel recommends itself to the terrified conscience, as a saying or dis¬ 
course every way worthy of credit. 

4, Inferences deduced from a collation of the text with parallel pas¬ 
sages. 

The advantage resulting from such a comparison, in investigating the sense of 
a passage of Scripture, has already been stated and illustrated; and the observa¬ 
tions and examples referred to, if considered with a particular view to the deduc¬ 
tion of inferences, will supply the reader with numerous instances, whence lie may 
draw various important corollaries. One instance, therefore, will suffice to exem¬ 
plify the nature of the inferences deducible from a comparison of the text with 
parallel passages. In 2 Tim. i. 8. Saint Paul exhorts Timothy not to be ashamed 
of the testimony of the Lord. Compare this with Rom. i. 16. where he says, lam 
not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ ; for it is the power of God unto salvation 
t.o every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek ; and with Isa 
xxviii. 16. and xlix. 23. last clause, (cited in Rom. x. 11.) where it is said, Whoso¬ 
ever believeth in him, Christ, shall not be ashamed, that is, confounded or disap¬ 
pointed of his hope. From this collation the two following inferences may be 
derived. (1.) Faithful ministers of the Gospel require nothing from others which 
they do not by their own experience know to be both possible and practicable. 
And, (2.) All those, who have already believed, or do now or shall hereafter be¬ 
lieve in Christ, have, in and through him, all the blessings foretold by the pro¬ 
phets : all the promises of God, in (or through) him, being yea, that is, true in 
themselves, and amen , that is, faithfully fulfilled to all those who believe in Christ. 
(2 Cor. i. 20.) 

IV. A fifth external source of inferences, is the collation of the text 
with the consideration of the following external circumstances, viz. 

( 1 .) The Time lohen the words or things were uttered or took place. 

Thus, in Matt, xxvii. 52. we read that many bodies of the saints ichich slept 
arose : But when P After Christ’s Resurrection, (v. 53.) not before (as Rambach 
himself, among other eminent divines, has supposed); for Christ himself was the 
first fruits of them that slept. (1 Cor. xv. 20.) The graves were opened at his 
death by the earthquake, and the bodies came out at his resurrection. Inference. 
The satisfactory efficacy of Christ’s death was so great, that it opened a way to 
life to those who believed on him as the Messiah that was to come, as well as to 
those who believe in him subsequently to his incarnation : and that both are 
equally partakers of the benefits flowing from his resurrection. 

(2.) The place where the ivords inert uttered. 

As in Matt. xxvi. 39.42. Not my will but thine be done ! Where did Christ utter 
this exclamation ? In a garden. Inference. He who made an atonement for the sins 


XII. Sect. I.] On the Inferential Reading of the Bible. 689 

of all mankind, voluntarily submitted himself, in the garden of passion, to the will 
of God : from which man withdrew himself in a garden of pleasure. 

(3.) The occasion upon which the words were spoken. 

Thus, in Matt.xvi.3. Christ rebukes the Pharisees, because they did not observe 
the signs of the times . On what occasion ? When they required him to show them 
a sign from hea\en. Inference, Such are the blindness and corruption of men, that 
disregarding the signs exhibited to them by God himself, they frequently require 
new signs that are more agreeable to their own desires. 

(4) The manner in which a thing is done. 

Acts ix. 0. During the blindness in which Saul continued for three days and 
three nights, God brought him to the knowledge of himself. Inference. Those, 
whom God vouchsafes to enlighten, he first convinces of their spiritual blindness.! 

Other instances, illustrating the sources whence inferences are de- 
ducible, might be offered, were they necessary, or were the preced¬ 
ing capable of being very soon exhausted. From the sources already 
stated and explained, various kinds of inferences may be derived, 
relating both to faith and practice. Thus, some may be deduced for 
the confirmation of faith, for exciting sentiments of love and gratitude, 
and for the support of hope : while others contribute to promote pie¬ 
ty, Christian wisdom and prudence, and sacred eloquence ; lastly, 
others are serviceable for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction, and for 
comfort. He, who adds personal practice to the diligent reading of 
the Scriptures, and meditates on the inferences deduced from them 
by learned and pious men, will abundantly experience the truth of 
the royal psalmist’s observations, — Thy commandment is exceeding 
broad ; and, the entrance of thy words giveth light , it giveth under¬ 
standing to the simple. (Psal. cxix. 96. 130.) “ The Scriptures,’' 

says the late eminent Bishop Horne, “ are the appointed means of 
enlightening the mind with true and saving knowledge. They show 
us what we were, what we are, and what we shall be : they show us 
what God hath done for us, and what he expecteth us to do for him \ 
they show us the adversaries we have to encounter, and how to en¬ 
counter them with success; they show us the mercy and the justice 
of the Lord, the joys of heaven, and the pains of hell. Thus will 
they give to the simple , in a few days, an understanding of those mat¬ 
ters, which philosophy, for whole centuries, sought in vain.” 

In conducting, however, the inferential reading above discussed, 
we must be careful not to trust to the mere effusions of a prurient 
or vivid fancy: inferences legitimately deduced , unquestionably do 
essentially promote the spiritual instruction and practical edification 
of the reader. “But when brought forward for the purpose of inter¬ 
pretation properly so called, they are to be viewed with caution and 
even with mistrust. For scarcely is there a favourite opinion, 
which a fertile imagination may not thus extract from some portion 
of Scripture : and very different, nay contrary, interpretations of this 
kind have often been made of the very same texts, according to men’s 
various fancies or inventions.” 1 2 

1 Professor Franck, in his Manuduetio ad Lectionem Scripturce Sacra?, cap. 3, 
(pp. 101—123. of Mr. Jacques’s translation), has some very useful observations on 
inferential reading, illustrated with numerous instances different from those above 
given. See also Schaeferi Institutiones Scripturistica?, pars ii. pp. 106—178 

2 Bishop Vanmildert’s Lectures, p. 247. 

VOL. II. 87 



690 


On the Practical Reading of Scripture . [Part II. Ch. 


SECTION II. 

ON THE PRACTICAL READING OF SCRIPTURE. 

HAVING hitherto endeavoured to show how we may ascertain and 
apply the true sense of the sacred writings, it remains only to consider 
in what manner we may best reduce our knowledge to practice : for, 
if serious contemplation of the Scriptures and practice be united to¬ 
gether, our real knowledge of the Bible must necessarily be increas¬ 
ed, and will be rendered progressively more delightful. If says 
Jesus Christ, any man will do his (God’s) will, he shall know of the 
doctrine whether it he of God. (John vii. 17.) This is the chief end 
for which God has revealed his will to us (Deut. xxix. 29.); and all 
•Scripture is profitable for this purpose, (2 Tim. iii. 16.) either direct¬ 
ing us what we should do, or inciting and encouraging us to do it: it 
being written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort 
of the Scriptures might have hope (Rom. xv. 4.); that is, that by the 
strenuous exercise of that patience, which the consolations adminis¬ 
tered in Scripture so powerfully support, we might have an assured 
and joyful hope in the midst of all our tribulation. Even those things, 
which seem most notional and speculative, are reducible to practice. 
(Rom. i. 20, 21.) Those speculations, which we are enabled to 
form concerning the nature and attributes of God, grounded upon his 
works, ought to induce us to glorify him as such a God as his works 
declare him to be: and it is a manifest indication that our knowledge 
is not right, if it hath not this influence upon our conduct and con¬ 
versation. (1 John ii. 3.) 

The practical reading here referred to, is of such nature, that the 
most illiterate person may prosecute it with advantage : for the appli¬ 
cation of Scripture which it enjoins, is connected with salvation ; and 
consequently, if the unlearned were incapable of making such appli¬ 
cation to themselves, it would be in vain to allow them to peruse the 
sacred writings. 1 After what has been stated in the preceding part 
of this volume, the author trusts he shall stand acquitted of undervalu¬ 
ing the knowledge of the original languages of the Scriptures, an ac¬ 
quaintance with which will suggest many weighty practical hints, that 
would not present themselves in a version. It is however sufficient, 
that every thing necessary to direct our faith, and regulate our prac¬ 
tice, may easily be ascertained by the aid of translations. Of all 
modern versions, the present authorised English translation, is, upon 
the whole, undoubtedly the most accurate and faithful; the transla¬ 
tors having seized the very spirit of the sacred writers, and having 
almost every where expressed their meaning with a pathos and ener¬ 
gy that have never been rivalled by any subsequent versions either of 
the Old or the New Testament, or of detached books, although, in 

1 Franckii Manuductio, cap. iv. pp. 131. et seq.; or pp. 124. et seq. of the English 
version. 




691 


XII. Sect. II.] On the Practical Reading of Scripture. 

most of these, particular passages are rendered more happily, and 
with a closer regard to the genius and spirit ol the divine originals. 

The simplest practical application of the word of God will, un¬ 
questionably, prove the most beneficial: provided it be conducted 
with a due regard to those moral qualifications which have already 
been stated and enforced, as necessary to the right understanding of 
the Scriptures. Should, however, any hints be required, the follow¬ 
ing may, perhaps, be consulted with advantage. 1 

I. In reading the Scriptures , then , with a view to personal appli¬ 
cation, we should be careful that it be done with a pure intention. 

I he Scribes and Pharisees indeed searched the Scriptures, yet 
without deriving any real benefit from them : they thought that they 
had in them eternal life : yet they would not come to Christ that 
they might have life. (John v. 40.) He, however, who peruses the 
sacred volume, merely for the purpose of amusing himself with the 
histories it contains, or of beguiling time, or to tranquillise his con¬ 
science by the discharge of a mere external duty, is deficient in the 
motive with which he performs that duty, and cannot expect to de¬ 
rive from it either advantage or comfort amid the trials of life. 
Neither will it suffice to read the Scriptures with the mere design of 
becoming intimately acquainted with sacred truths, unless such 
reading be accompanied with a desire, that, through them, he may 
be convinced of his self-love, ambition, or other faults, to which he 
may be peculiarly exposed, and that by the assistance of divine 
grace, he may be enabled to root them out of his mind. 

II. In reading the Scriptures for this purpose , it ivill be advisable 
to select some appropriate lessons from its most useful parts; not be¬ 
ing particularly solicitous concerning the exact connection or other 
critical niceties that may occur (though at other times, as ability and 
opportunity offer, these are highly proper objects of inquiry ), but simply 
considering them in a devotional or practical view . 2 

After ascertaining, therefore, the plain and obvious meaning of 
the lesson under examination, we should first consider the present 
state of our minds , and carefully compare it with the passage in ques¬ 
tion : next, we should inquire into the causes of those faidts which 
such perusal may have disclosed to us; and should then look around 
for suitable remedies to correct the faults we have thus discovered. 

III. We are not, however, to confine our attention solely to exter¬ 
nal precepts; we should first diligently search for the foundation of 
each precept in the Scriptures ; and, after examining whether we can 
discover it in ourselves, we must lay the foundation in our own breasts, 
before we can think of erecting upon it any precepts for the regulation 
of life and manners. 

The following example from that inimitable model of Christian 

1 These observations are selected and abridged from Rambach’s Institutiones 
Hermeneutic®, and Professor Franck’s Brevis Institutio, rationein tradens Sacram 
Scripturam in veram edificationem legendi, annexed to his Praelectiones Herme¬ 
neutic®, 8vo. Hal® Madgeburgic®, 1717. Franck has treated the same topic 
nearly in a similar manner, in his Manuductio, already noticed, cap. iv. 

2 Doddridge’s Rise and Progress of Religion, ch. xix. § 9L (Works, vol. i. p. 
‘359. Leeds edit. 8vo.) 



692 


On the Practical Reading of Scripture . [Part II. Ch. 

prayer, emphatically termed the Lord’s Prayer, will illustrate this 
remark. We are there taught to implore the forgiveness of our sins 
(Matt. vi. 12. Luke xi. 4.), and we are assured (Matt. vi. 15.) that if 
we do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will God forgive us. 
Previously, then, to our offering up this petition, we should examine 
ourselves, whether, agreeably to this precept, and also in conformity 
to the divine command of loving our enemies and blessing those who 
curse us (Matt. v. 44.), we do truly and sincerely forgive them that 
have trespassed against us : because, unless this is the case, we de¬ 
ceive ourselves, and consequently our own hypocrisy 'will prevent 
our petition for forgiveness from being answered. 

IV. In every practical reading and application of the Scriptures to 
ourselves , our attention should he fixed on Jesus Christ , both as a 
gift to he received by faith for salvation , and also as an exemplar, to 
be copied and imitated in our lives. 

We are not, however, to imitate him in all things. Some things 
he did by his divine power, and in those we cannot imitate him: 
other things he performed by his sovereign authority, in those we 
must not imitate him: other things also he performed by virtue of 
his office, as a Mediator, and in these we may not , we cannot follow 
him. But in his early piety, his obedience to his reputed earthly 
parents, his unwearied diligence in doing good, his humility, his un- 
blameable conduct, his self-denial, his contentment under low cir¬ 
cumstances, his frequency in private prayer, his affectionate thank¬ 
fulness, his compassion to the wretched, his holy and edifying dis¬ 
course, his free conversation, his patience, his readiness to forgive 
injuries, his sorrow for the sins of others, his zeal for the worship of 
God, his glorifying his heavenly father, his impartiality in adminis¬ 
tering reproof, his universal obedience, and his love and practice of 
holiness,—in all these instances, Jesus Christ is the most perfect 
pattern for our imitation. 1 And the observation of these things, in a 
practical point of view, will be of singular use to us on this account; 
namely, that whatever sympathy and benevolence Christ displayed 
on earth, he retains the same heaven, seeing that he is the same yes¬ 
terday, to-day, and for ever, and that he ever liveth to make inter¬ 
cession for them that come unto God by him. For we have not an 
high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, 
but [one who was] in all points tempted like as we are ; so that we 
may now come with humble confidence to the throne of grace; as¬ 
suring ourselves, that we shall find,-from the true mercy-seat of God, 
sufficient help in all our distresses. (Heb. xiii. 8. vii. 25. and iv. 15, 
16.) Jesus Christ, then, being our most perfect exemplar, (1 Cor. 


1 The various features in the character of our Redeemer as man, which are enu¬ 
merated above, are illustrated in an admirable, but little known tract of the pious 
commentator Burkitt (edited by the late Rev. Dr. Glasse), entitled “ Jesus Christy 
as Man, an inimitable pattern of religious virtue. 1 ' 8vo. London, 1809. Having 
briefly, though perspicuously, illustrated the different subjects, the editor terminates 
his essay with the following caution, which is unhappily as applicable to the pre¬ 
sent time as when it was first written, “ Take heed that ye do not so consider 
Christ for your pattern, as to disown him for your Saviour and Redeemer. God 
preserve us,” he adds, u from this growing error, which stabs the heart of tho 
Christian religion, in that it deprives us of the choicest benefits of Christ’s death ; 
namely, the expiation of sin by a proper satisfaction to the justice of God 1” 



693 


XII. beet. II.] On the Practical Reading of Scripture. 

xi. 1.) the particular actions and general conduct of other men, as 
related in the Scriptures, should be regarded by us as models of 
* citation, only so far as they arc conformable to this standard. 

V. “ An example (that is, every good one) hath the force of a rule; 
all of them being “written for our admonition.” (1 Cor. x. 11.) But 
then we must be careful to examine and discern whether the example 

or ordinary, according to which the application must 

be made. m 

In illustration of this remark, it may be observed, 1. That in mat¬ 
ters which were extraordinary , such as the killing of Eglon by Elmd, 
(Judg. iii. 21.) Elijah’s killing the prophets of Baal, (1 Kings xviii. 
40.) and his invoking fire from heaven, (2 Kings i. 10.) a conduct 
which, though approved in him, was condemned by our Lord in the 
apostles (Luke ix. 54,55.) ", —2. In matters that were temporary ; 
such were many of the ceremonies observed by the Jews, the wash¬ 
ing of his disciples’ feet by our Lord, (John xiii. 14.) the celebration 
of love-feasts by the primitive Christians, &c.; and 3. In matters 
that were sinful , as the drunkenness of Noah, (Gen. ix. 21.) the adul¬ 
tery of David, (2 Sam. xi.) the repining of Jonah, (Jonah iv. 1—9.) 
Peter’s denial of Christ, (Matt. xxvi. 69—75. Mark xiv. 66—72. 
Luke xxii. 55—62. John xviii. 25—27.) &c.; — in matters which 
were thus extraordinary, temporary, or sinful, the practice of holy 
men recorded in the Scriptures is not to be a pattern for us : but in 
all general holy duties, and in such particular duties as belong to our 
respective situations and callings, we are to set them before our eyes, 
and to follow their steps. When, therefore, we read of the upright 
ness of Noah, of Abraham’s faith, the meekness of Moses, of David’s 
devotions, the zeal of Josiah, the boldness of Peter and John in 
Christ’s cause, of the labours of Saint Paul, and other virtues of the 
antient saints, it should be our study to adorn our profession with 
similar graces and ornaments. 

“ Instead,” therefore, “of adopting the sayings and actions record¬ 
ed in Scripture, implicitly and absolutely, we ought to reason in some 
such manner as this :.If such a person, so situated, best answer¬ 

ed the ends of such an institution, by acting in such a manner, how 
shall we, in our situation, best answer the ends of the same ? Some¬ 
times merely proposing this form of inquiry will carry us right: but, 
in more difficult cases, we shall have the general principles, the na¬ 
ture and end of the duty in question to investigate, and from these 
to determine the particular cases; that is, how, in such cases, the 
ends of the duty can be best attained. However, in most questions, 
a good heart will be more requisite than a good head .” 2 

V I. When we read of the failings, as well as the sinful actions of 
men, recorded in the Scriptures, we may see what is in our own na¬ 
ture : for there are in us the seeds of the same sin, and similar ten¬ 
dencies to its commission, which would bring forth similar fruits, were 

1 Bishop Wilkins on the Gift of Preaching, p. 23. of Dr. E. Williams’s Christian 
Preacher. See also some admirable observations on this subject in Bishop Taylor’s 
Works, vol. xii. pp. 452. et scq. 

2 Dr. Hey’s Morrisian Lectures, vol. i. p. 77. The whole of his chapter on 11 ap¬ 
plying sayings and actions recorded in the Scriptures to ourselves,” abounds with 
profound views, happily illustrated, and is worthy of repeated perusa 1 2 



694 


On the Practical Reading of Scripture. [Part II. Ch 

it not for the preventing and renewing grace of God. And as many 
of the persons, whose faults are related in the volume of inspiration, 
were men of infinitely more elevated piety than ourselves, we should 
learn from them, not only to “be not high-minded, but fear” (Rom. 
xi. 20.) ; but further, to avoid being rash in censuring the conduct 
of others. 

The occasions of their declensions are likewise deserving of our at¬ 
tention, as well as the temptations to which they were exposed, and 
whether they did not neglect to watch over their thoughts, words, ^ 
and actions, or trust too much to their own strength (as in the case' 
of St. Peter’s denial of Christ) : what were the means that led to 
their penitence and recovery, and how they demeaned themselves 
after they had repented. By a due observation therefore of their 
words ancl actions , and of the frame and temper of their minds , so far 
as they are manifested by words and actions, we shall be better ena¬ 
bled to judge of our real progress in religious knowledge, than by 
those characters which are given of holy men in the Scriptures, with¬ 
out such observation of the tenor of their lives, and the frame of 
their minds. 1 

VII. In reading the promises and threatenings, the exhortations 
and admonitions, and other parts of Scripture, we should apply them 
to ourselves in such a manner, as if they had been personally addressed 
to us. 

For instance, are we reading any of the prophetic Sermons 1 Let 
us so read and consider them, and, as it were, realise to ourselves 
the times and persons when and to whom such prophetic discourses 
were delivered, as if they were our fellow-countrymen, fellow-citi¬ 
zens, See. whom Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and other prophets re¬ 
buke in some chapters ; while in others they labour to convince them 
of their sinful ways, and to convert them, or, in the event of their 
continuing disobedient, denounce the divine judgments against them. 2 
So, in all the precepts of Christian virtue recorded in Matt. v. vi. and 
vii. we should consider ourselves to be as nearly and particularly 
concerned, as if we had personally heard them delivered by Jesjis 
Christ on the Mount. 3 Independently, therefore, of the light which 
will thus be thrown upon the prophetic or other portions of Scrip¬ 
ture, much practical instruction will be efficiently obtained; for, by 
this mode of reading the Scriptures, the promises addressed to others 
will encourage us, the denunciations against others will deter us from 
the commission of sin, the exhortations delivered to others will ex¬ 
cite us to the diligent performance of our duty, and, finally, admoni¬ 
tions to others will make us icalk circumspectly. Thus will Saint 

1 Lukin’s Introduction to the Scriptures, p. 215.12mo. London, 1669. 

2 Franzii Tractatus de Interpretatione Sacrarum Scripturarum, Prsef. p. 9. 

3 “ This close application,” says an excellent, hut now neglected writer, “ will 
render what we read operative and effective, which, without it, will be useless and 
insignificant. We may see an instance of it in David : who was not at all con¬ 
vinced of his own guilt by Nathan’s parable ; though the most apposite that was 
imaginable, till he roundly applied it, saying, Thou art the man. (2 Sam. xii. 7.) 
And, unless we treat ourselves at the same rate, the Scriptures may fill our heads 
with high notions, nay, with many speculative truths, which yet amount to no 
more than the devil s theology (Jam. ii. 19.), and will as little advantage us.” Live¬ 
ly Oracles, sect. viii. § 41. 





XII. Sect. II.] On the Practical Reading of Scripture. 695 

Paul’s comprehensive observations be fully realised; Whatsoever 
things were written aforetime, were written for our learning (Rom. xv. 
4.); and All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable 
jon doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous - 

ness * f lat man of God may be made perfect, thoroughly furnished 
unto all good works. (2. Tim. iii. 16, 17.) 

VIII. The words of the passage selected for our private reading , 
after its import has been ascertained, may beneficially be summed up 
or comprised in very brief prayers, or ejaculations . 1 

The advantage resulting from this simple method, says Rambach, 
has been proved by many who have recommended it. A late learned 
divine of our own country, 2 whom no one will suspect of even a ten¬ 
dency to enthusiasm, has confirmed this remark; observing, that if 
we pray over the substance of Scripture, with our Bible before us, it 
may impress the memory and heart more deeply, and may form us 
to copiousness and variety both of thought and expression in prayer. 
Should any references to the Scriptures be required, in confirmation 
of this statement, we would briefly notice that the following passages, 
among many others that might be cited, will, by addressing them 
to God, and by a slight change also in the person, become admirable 
petitions for divine teaching; viz. Col. i. 9, 10. —Eph. i. 17, 18, 19. 
— 1 Pet. ii. 1, 2. — The hundred and nineteenth Psalm contains nu¬ 
merous similar passages. 

IX. In the practical reading of the Scriptures, all things are not 
to be applied at once, but gradually and successively ; and this appli¬ 
cation must be made, not so much with the view of supplying us with 
materials for talking, as with matter for practice. 

X. This practical reading and application must be diligently con¬ 
tinued through life ; and we may, with the assistance of divine grace , 
reasonably hope for success in it, if to reading, we add constant prayer 
and meditation on what we have read. 

Prayer, says Saint Bernard, enlightens meditation, and by medita¬ 
tion, prayer is rendered more ardent. 3 With these, we are further 
to conjoin a perpetual comparison of the sacred writings; daily ob¬ 
servation of what takes place in ourselves, as well what we learn 
from the experience of others ; a strict and vigilant self-examination ; 
together with frequent conversation with men of learning and piety, 


1 Professor Franck has given several examples of the practice here recommend¬ 
ed, in the “ Brevis Institutio,” at the end of his Praelectiones Hermeneutic®. Si¬ 
milar examples are also extant in the well known and useful little tract, entitled 
“ Plain Directions for reading the Holy Scriptures,” published by the Society for 
promoting Christian Knowledge. 

2 Dr. Doddridge, Works, vol. i. p. 360. 

3 Oratio et meditatio conjunctione necessarid sibi ad invicem copulantur. Et 
per orationem illuminatur meditatio, et in meditatione exardescit oratio. Opera, 
tom. v. p. 260. No. 2. In p. 156. No. 56. of the same volume, Saint Bernard has 
the following apposite observations on this topic. — “ Nemo repente fit summus : 
Asccndendo, non volando, apprehenditur summitas seal®. Ascendamus igitur, 
duobus veluti pedibus, Meditatione et Oratione. Meditatio siquidem docet, quid 
desit: Oratio, ne desit, obtinet. Ilia viam ostendit, ista deducit. Meditatione de- 
nique agnoscimus imminentia nobis pericula : Oratione evadimus, pr®stante Do¬ 
mino Nostro Jesu Christo.” 



C96 On the Practical Reading of Scripture. [Part II. Ch. XII 

who have made greater progress in saving knowledge ; and, lastly, 
the diligent cultivation of internal peace. 1 

Other observations might be offered : but the preceding hints, if 
duly considered and acted upon, will make us, “ neither barren nor 
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Pet. i. 8.) 
And if, to some of his readers, the author should appear to have di¬ 
lated too much on so obvious a topic, its importance must be his 
apology. Whatever relates to the confirmation of our faith, the im¬ 
provement of our morals, or the elevation of our affections, ought not 
to be treated lightly or with indifference. To borrow a remark of 
the eminently learned Dr. Waterland, with a trifling variation,— 
while moral or spiritual uses or improvements are raised upon texts 
of Scripture, for the purposes of practical edification , (whether such 
spiritual uses were really intended by the sacred penman or not,) if 
the w r ords be but aptly accommodated to them, and pertinently and 
soberly applied, and the analogy of faith be preserved, a good end 
will be answered, and the true doctrine at least will be kept, if not a 
true interpretation. 

-- ■ - - - - - — — - - - - . _ 

1 The subjects briefly noticed in this paragraph, are discussed more at length by 
Franzius, in the preface (pp. 9 — 11 .) to his Tractatus Theologicus de Interpreta* 
tione Soripturse Sacr<*> 



APPENDIX. 


No. I. 


. ACCOUNT OF THE PRINCIPAL HEBREW AND CHALDEE GRAMMARS. 

[Referred to in Page 10. of this Volume .] 


SECTION I. 


Hebrew Grammars with Points. 


(1.) In the English Language. 

1. AN Easy Entrance into the Sacred Language, containing the ne¬ 
cessary rules of Hebrew Grammar in English: with the Original 
Text of several chapters, select verses and useful histories, translated 
verbatim and analysed. Likewise some select pieces of Hebrew Po¬ 
etry. By the Rev. Cornelius Bayley. London, 178*2. 8vo. 

This “ Grammar may be very useful. Its rules, though concise, are perspicu¬ 
ous ; the analysis and the examples illustrate their principles, and tend to facili¬ 
tate the study of the Hebrew.” Monthly Review (O. S.) vol. lxviii. p. 190. This 
Grammar has lately been reprinted. 

2. The Scholar’s Instructor; an Hebrew Grammar, by Israel Ly¬ 
ons. Cambridge, 1735; 1757, 2d edit.; 1810, 3d edit, revised by H. 
Jacob. 

3. Hebrew Grammar, with the principal rules compiled from some 
of the most considerable Hebrew Grammars. By Thomas Yeates. 
London, 1812. 8vo. 


These two Grammars have long been in use in different academies, as well as 
in the universities ; and are recommended by their brevity. Mr. Yeates’s Gram¬ 
mar is an improvement of one composed by Dr. Ashwort, and printed at Cambridge 
in 1763. 


? 


4. A Hebrew Grammar for the use of the Students of the Univer¬ 
sity of Dublin. By the Rev. Gerald Fitzgerald, D. D. Hebrew Pro¬ 
fessor in [the] said University. Dublin, 1799. 8vo. 

“ A plain, easy, and useful introduction to the Hebrew Tongue, in English, for 
the use of students in our universities, and particularly in the university of Dub¬ 
lin.” Monthly Review (N. S.) vol. xxxiv. p. 151. The author has pursued an 
intermediate method between adopting all the masoretic notes and rejecting them 
altogether; viz. by retaining the vowel points and such of the accents as are most 
distinguishable and useful, and omitting all the other accents (the number of which 
is considerable,) which he deems wholly unnecessary in the present state of the 
Hebrew language. 

5. Elements of the Hebrew Language, Parti. Orthography. With 
notes and a vocabulary for the use of Schools and Beginners. By 
Hyman Hurwitz. London, 1807. 8vo. 


The author is a respectable Jewish teacher: the second part does not appear to 
have been published. See an account of this work in the Monthly Review (N. S.) 
vol. lviii. p. 431. 

VOL. II. 88 





098 


APPENDIX. 


[No. I. 

G. A Hebrew Grammar in the English Language, by Joseph Sam¬ 
uel C. F. Frey. London, 1813. 8vo. Second edition, with correc¬ 
tions and additions. London, 1823. Svo. 

“ The directions for the formation of verbs, through all their voices, modes and 
tenses, are minutely given; and this part of the Grammar manifests the author’s 
critical acquaintance with the language which he professes to teach. — Though 
we would not recommend this as superseding the use of other Grammars, espe¬ 
cially to the classical scholar, but would rather advise it to be compared with the 
best of those which are written in Latin, yet we must remark that Mr. Frey’s 
mode of teaching the Hebrew is very masterly ; that it is singularly calculated to 
facilitate the student’s intimate knowledge of that language ; and that it makes us 
acquainted with the process adopted by the Rabbis in their education of Jewish 
youth. The Hebrew Psalter, or book of Psalms, is subjoined to this Grammar, 
which considerably augments its value.” Monthly Review (N. S.) vol. lviii. p. 55. 

7. Elements of Hebrew Grammar. In two parts. By J. F. Gyles, 
M. A. London, 1814. 8vo. 

The difficulties which opposed his own progress in the Hebrew language, origi¬ 
nally suggested to Mr. Gyles the plan of the present Grammar, which is charac¬ 
terised by simplicity of manner, and clearness of illustration. His second part, 
which treats on the structure and idioms of the language, contains a good selec¬ 
tion of rules and examples principally from the first volume of Dathe’s edition of 
Glassius's Philologia Sacra , one of the most elaborate systems of Hebrew Gram¬ 
mar perhaps that is extant, and which is indispensably necessary to the biblical 
student, who is desirous of fully investigating the language. 

8. A Hebrew Grammar, with a copious Syntax and Praxis. By 
Moses Stuart, Professor of Sacred Literature in the Theological Se¬ 
minary at Andover. Andover (Massachusetts), 1821. Svo. 

Professor Stuart has, with great industry, examined the copious Hebrew Gram¬ 
mars of the great Oriental Scholars, among the Germans, and has chiefly follow¬ 
ed the latest and best, viz. that of Professor Gesenius; whose German Grammar 
of the Hebrew tongue is on the continent considered as the completest system of 
Hebrew Grammar extant. In regard to the plan of the work, he does not profess 
to be a mere translator of Gesenius, whose Grammar is too large for common use; 
but he has adopted the general method of this writer as his model, deviating how¬ 
ever from that eminent Hebraist, where Professor Stuart conceives that he has 
good reason for differing from him. The very copious paradigms of nouns, and 
especially of the verbs, greatly enhance the value of this Grammar. (North 
American Review (N. S.) vol. iv. pp. 473—477.) 

9. Observations on the Idiom of the Hebrew Language respecting 
the Powers peculiar to the different Tenses of Verbs, and the Com¬ 
munication of Power from governing Verbs to Subordinates connect¬ 
ed with them. By Philip Gell, M. A. London, 1821. Svo. 

10. An easy Method of acquiring the Hebrew with the points, ac¬ 
cording to the Antient Practice. By an experienced Teacher. Lon¬ 
don, 1822. folio sheet. 

A convenient table of reference for the Hebrew Characters, to hang up in a 
study. It contains also the Rabbinical and German Hebrew Characters, which 
are not ordinarily inserted in Hebrew Grammars. 

11. An Introduction to the Hebrew Language. By W. H. Heine- 
mann. London, 1823. 12mo. 


2.) In the Latin and French Languages. 

1. Thomse Bennet, S. T. P. Grammatica Hebraea cum uberrima 
praxi in usum tironum, qui linguam Hebraeam absque preceptoris 
viva voce (idque in brevissimo temporis compendio) ediscere cupiunt. 
Londini, 1726. Svo. 




Sect I.] 


699 


Account of Hebrew and Chaldee Grammars . 

2. Alberti Schultens Institutiones ad Fundamenta Linguae Hebraeae. 
Lugduni Batavorum, 1731. 4to. 

3. Grammatica Linguae Hebraeae ; cum notis, et variis questionibus 
plnlologicis, in quibus praecipue disseritur de natura et indole Linguae 
Hebraeae. Jacobo Robertson, A. M. Ling. Orient. Professore in Aca¬ 
demia Edinburgena, auctore. Edinburgh 1758. 8vo. 

This Hebrew Grammar, which has always been held in the highest estimation, 
contains the most useful and necessary of those principles and rudiments, which 
are laid down in the elaborate work of Professor Schultens. 

4. Grammatica Hebraeo-Harmonica cum Arabica et Aramaea, me- 
thodo logico-mathematica, etc. ex Altingio, Buxtorfio, Beveridgio, 
Buchero, Chappelovvio, Dantzio, Erpenio, Gerhardi, Hasaeo, Kool- 
hasio, Martini, Michaelis, Pfeiflero, Schickardo, Schultens, Simonis, 
\ riemotio, contracta et emendata ; Charta Lusoria, analytice deline- 
ata, et directorio elucidate. Auctore J. G. Kals. Amstelaedami, 1758. 
8vo. 

Mr. John William Kals was for many years scholar, and afterwards assistant to 
the celebrated professor Albert Schultens; and for some time taught Hebrew at 
O.xtord. His work consists of three parts. 1. A Hebrew Grammar, compiled 
from the labours of preceding writers on this branch of sacred philology; 2. A 
Harmonic Grammar of the Arabic and Syriac Languages ; 3. An Analysis of the 
chief prophecies and promises concerning the Messiah. 

5. Janua Hebraeae Linguae Veteris Testamenti, auctore Christiano 
Reineccio. Ex recensione I. F. Rehkopf. Lipsiae, 1788. 8vo. 

6. Grammatica Linguae Ilebraicse. Auctore Joanne Jahn. Vienna 3 , 
1809. 8vo. 

7. Institutiones ad Fundamenta Linguae Ilebraeae, edidit Nich. 
Guil. Schroeder. Editio Tertia. Groningae, 1810. 8vo. 

8. De Radicum Linguae Ilebraicae Natura nominali Commentatio 
Grammatica ; quam Lectionibus suis praemisit J. Th. Pliischke. Phil. 
D. Theologiae Prof. Extr. Lipsiae, 1817. 8vo. 

The design of this tract is, to prove that many of the words, hitherto considered 
in the dictionaries as radical verbs, are in fact only words derived from nouns ; 
and 2. That even verbs, to which no root can be assigned, are rather to be regard¬ 
ed as nouns than as verbs. (Melanges de Religion et de Critique Sacree, publiees 
& Nismes, tom. i. Gazette Litteraire, p. 24.) 

9. Elemens de la Grammaire Hebraique, par J. E. Cellerier, fils, 
Pasteur et Professeur de Langues Orientales, Critique, et Antiquite 
Sacree, a l’Academie de Geneve. Suivis des Principes de la Syntaxe 
Hebraique, traduits librement de TAllemand de Wilhelm Gesenius. 
Geneve, 1820. 8vo. 

To those, who wish to study Hebrew icith points, through the medium of the 
French Language, this beautifully printed volume will be peculiarly acceptable. 
That part of it which relates to the Syntax is particularly valuable, as it presents 
in a small compass the results of the researches made by Professor Gesenius (no¬ 
ticed in the preceding page,) whose prolixities he has abridged, while he has ren¬ 
dered clear what was left obscure, and has explained what the professor had stated 
with too much brevity. 

10. Linguae Hebraicae Literae, Accentus, Pronomina, Conjuga- 
tiones, Declinationes, Nomina numeralia, et Particulae. Jenae, 1822. 
folio. 

11. Jac. Chr. Lindberg, Chrestomathia Hebraica historici argu- 
menti, e libris Exodo, Numeris, et Deuteronomio, decerpta ; praefati- 
uncula de accentibus Hebraicis et de nominibus derivatis praemissa, 
Havniae, 1822. 8vo. 


t 


700 


APPENDIX. 


[No. I. 


SECTION II. 

Hebrew Grammars without Points. 

1. FRANCISCI MASCLEF Grammatica Hebraica a punctis aliis- 
que inventis Massorethicis libera. Accesserunt tres Grammatics, 
Chaldaica, Syriaca, et Samaritana ejusdem instituti. Parisiis, 1731. 
2 vols. 8vo. 

Of all the writers of Hebrew Grammar without points, Masclef has enjoyed the 
highest reputation. A late eminent divine and professor of the University of 
Cambridge, has said of his work, “ I know none more to be recommended ; as it 
gives rules for the Chaldee, Syriac, and Samaritan, as well as for what is com¬ 
monly called Hebrew.” (Dr. Hey’s Norrisian Lectures in Divinity, vol. i. p. 23.) — 
As Masclef’s work is now extremely scarce and dear, professor Hey recommends 

2. Elements of Hebrew Grammar ; to which is prefixed a Disser¬ 
tation on the two modes of reading, with or without points. By 
Charles Wilson, Professor of Hebrew at the University of Saint An¬ 
drews. London, 1782. Fourth edition, 1810. 8vo. 

See an Analysis of this work in the Monthly Review (O. S.) vol. lxviii. pp. 424 
—427. 

3. The Hebrew Guide ; or an English Hebrew Grammar without 
points, to which is added, a View of the Chaldaic, and for the farther 
satisfaction of the inquisitive, a brief Introduction to the Knowledge 
of Hebrew Punctuation. By Peter Petit, M. A. London, 1752. 4to. 

Though this Grammar contains nothing very extraordinary, besides what may 
be found in other productions of the same nature, yet it may be of considerable 
and peculiar use to learners. The author follows the plan of Masclef’s Grammar, 
above noticed ; but has reduced his work into a narrower compass, and has added 
a small praxis, consisting of short sentences, to illustrate the use of the several 
conjugations. For the sake of the more inquisitive scholar, who has acquired a 
competent knowledge of the Hebrew language, without points, Mr. Petit has sub¬ 
joined a brief Introduction to the Knowledge of Hebrew Punctuation ; which he 
does not give as a complete system, but as a collection of as many substantials of 
the doctrine, as are generally retained even by those who would be thought adepts 
in that part of learning. (Monthly Review, O. S. vol. vii. p. 234.) 

4. A Methodical Hebrew Grammar without points : adapted to the 
use of learners, and even of those who have not the benefit of a mas¬ 
ter. To which is subjoined the Hebrew Grammar at one view. By 
John Parkhurst, M. A. 8vo. 

This is admitted by all competent judges to be the shortest and most com¬ 
pendious Hebrew Grammar extant in the English language. It is prefixed to the 
learned author’s Hebrew and English Lexicon, which is noticed in p. 704. infra. 

5. A New and Easy Introduction to the Hebrew Language, upon 
the plan of Grammar in general, designed to encourage and promote 
the study of that language, by facilitating the acquirement of its 
principles, upon a plan, which in no work of the kind has been hi¬ 
therto adopted. By the Rev. James William Newton, M. A. London, 
1806. 12mo. 

“ The study of the Hebrew language has been attended with considerable diffi¬ 
culties from the circumstance of there being no Grammar of that language, con¬ 
structed upon the model of grammar in general. In the present work this im¬ 
pediment has been removed, and the learner will find that in acquiring a new lan¬ 
guage, he has to contend with none of those embarrassments that proceed from 
encountering a system of grammar entirely new to him ; which to those who have 

en at the trouble of learmn^ the grammar of several lauguages, is an obstacle 
which is not frequently to be surmounted.. .The work is conducted with a simpli- 


701 


Sect. III.] Account of Hebrew and (Chaldee Grammars. 

city and perspicuity which afford every assistance to those who may be disposed to 
become acquainted with the rudiments of the Hebrew tongue.” British Critic 
(O. S.) vol. xxvii. p. 441. b 

6. A Hebrew Primer. To which are prefixed the opinions of 
Melancthon, Luther, and others, on the Utility, Necessity, and Easi¬ 
ness of the Study of the Hebrew Language. Durham and London, 
1808. 12mo. 

7. Hebrew Elements : or a Practical Introduction to the Reading 
of the Hebrew Scriptures. London, 1807. 8vou 

Both these publications are by the present learned Bishop of Saint David’s ; and 
together with his engraved Copies of Hebrew letters and words, form the simplest 
and clearest introduction to the reading of Hebrew, which perhaps has ever been 
published. ‘ The Rudiments of Hebrew Grammar,’ announced by the same emi¬ 
nent divine, have not yet issued from the press. 

A new edition of the two preceding articles, neatly printed in one volume, 12mo. 
issued from the University Press, Glasgow, in 1823. 

8. Extracts from the Books of the Old Testament; to which are 
prefixed Sketches of Hebrew and Chaldee Grammar, for the use of 
Students in the University of Edinburgh. [By the Rev. Dr. Brunton.] 
Edinburgh, 1814. 8vo. 

9. An Easy Introduction to the knowledge of the Hebrew Lan 
guage Avithout the points. By James P. Wilson, D. D. 1818. 8vo. 

This grammar appeared in North America in 1818. We have not been able to 
obtain a sight of it, or to ascertain the place where it was printed. 

10. An Introduction to Hebrew Grammar; in which the Genius 
of the Language is explained by a new and simple principle of Ana¬ 
lysis, applied to the Improvements of the latest and most improved 
Grammarians ; and particularly intended to reduce the Irregularities 
of the inflected parts of speech to the common analogy of the Lan¬ 
guage, and to explain the peculiarities of the construction by assimi¬ 
lating it to the Idiom of the English. By the Rev. Frederick Nolan. 
London, 1821. 12mo. 

11. A Hebrew Dictionary and Grammar without points ; together 
with a complete List of such Chaldee Words as occur in the Old 
Testament, and a brief Sketch of Chaldee Grammar. By James 
Andrew, LL. D. London, 1823. 8vo. 


SECTION III. 

Hebreio Grammars with and without Points. 

1. A PLAIN and Complete Grammar of the Hebrew Language, with 
and without points. By Anselm Bayly, LL. D. London, 1774. 8vo. 

2. Principia Hebraica; comprising a Grammatical Analysis of 
564 verses, selected from the Hebrew Psalms, in which are found 
nearly all the radical words in common use occurring in the Hebrew 
Scriptures. To which is prefixed a concise Hebrew Grammar, 
adapted to the Analysis, and so arranged as to illustrate the princi¬ 
ples of the Language, both with and without points. By Tfhomas] 
K[eyworth], and D[avid] J[ones]. London, 1817. 8vo. 

In this very useful work, the Serviles are printed in hollow characters — the 
root and radical sense are pointed out—-those rules of grammar are referred to, 
which account for the form of each word — and a literal version in English is in 
terlined with the Hebrew Text. 




702 


APPENDIX. 


[No. I. 

“ The Authors have unitedly produced an introduction to the reading of the 
Hebrew Bible, of distinguished excellence and utility. Nothing so complete of 
the kind was ever before put into the hands of the English scholar, who is here 
provided with a guide to Hebrew reading worthy of his confidence. In awarding 
the high praise to which the Authors have an unquestionable claim, we cannot 
omit the commendation due to their unassuming manner : their learning is never 
used for the purpose of display, but is invariably employed to promote the solid 
improvement of those persons, who may choose to avail themselves of the 
means here provided for their correct instruction, in the knowledge of Hebrew. 
They have furnished the student with every admissible facility for his initiation 
and progress in the Hebrew language. The work is very judiciously constructed 
for the use of the two different classes of Hebrew readers, the Punctists and the 
Antipunctists; it is, however, particularly adapted for the latter.” Eclectic Re¬ 
view, Nov. 1818. 

%* S° great a number of Hebrew Grammars (upwards of six hun¬ 
dred , we believe,) has been published by distinguished Hebraists at 
different times, that it is difficult to determine which is preferably to 
be adopted. An experienced tutor will be the best guide, in this case* 
to the Hebrew student. In the preceding pages, therefore, those 
only have been specified which have some pretensions to notice for 
their utility and simplicity of method. Many important rules relative 
to the use of the convcrsive van 1 are contained in the late venerable 
Granville Sharp’s “ Three Tracts on the Syntax and Pronunciation 
of the Hebrew Tongue and Dr. Gerard has accumulated a variety 
of important observations on the structure and genius of the Hebrew 
language from Glassius, Schultens, Robertson, Buxtorf, and other 
eminent Hebraists. 2 


SECTION IV. 

Chaldee Grammars. 

• r f ti 

I. A SHORT Chaldee Grammar, without points, designed for the 
use of those who already understand Hebrew. [By the Rev. J. Park- 
hurst, M. A.] 

This is subjoined to Mr. P.’s Grammar, which is prefixed to his Hebrew Lexi¬ 
con. A Compendium of Chaldee Grammar is given in the second volume of Mas- 
clef’s Grammatica Hebraica. 

2. J. D. Michaelis Grammatica Chaldaica. Gottingae, 1771. 8vo. 

3. Joannis Jahn Elementa Aramaicae, seu Chaldaeae-Syriacae Lin¬ 
guae. Latine reddita, et nonnullis accessionibus aucta, ab Andr. Fr. 
Oberleitner. Viennae, 1820. 8vo. 

4. An Introduction to Chaldee Grammar ; in which the Genius of 
the Language is explained by a new and simple Principle of Analy¬ 
sis. By the Rev. Frederick Nolan. London, 1821. 12mo. 

5. Elements of the Chaldee Language; intended as a Supplement 
to the Hebrew Grammar, and as a General Introduction to the Ara- 
mean Dialects.. By the Rev. W. Harris, LL. D. London, 1822. 8vo. 


1 The letter vau, it may be proper to remark, is said to be conversive ; because 
it has the power of changing the signification of preterites into futures, and vice 
versL 

2 Institutes of Biblical Criticism, pp. 40—51.297—377. 





703 


No. II.] Account of Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicons, 

No. II. 

ACCOUNT OF THE PRINCIPAL HEBREW AND GREEK LEXICONS. 

[Referred to in Pages 10, 31. of this Volume .] 

SECTION I. 

Hebrew Lexicons with Points. 

I. JOANNIS BUXTORFII Lexicon Hebraicum et Chaldaicum. 
Basileae, 1634, 1645, 1675, 17*20, or 1735. 8vo. 

2. Joannis Buxtorfii Lexicon Chaldaicum, Talmudicum et Rab- 
binicum. Basileae, 1639. folio. 

3. Petri Guarini Lexicon Hebraicum et Chaldaeo-Biblicum. Pa¬ 
rishs, 1746. 2 vols. 4to. 

4. Christiani Stockii Clavis Linguae, Sanctae Veteris Testamenti. 
Jenae, 1739, 1743, 1753. (best edit.) 8vo. 

5. Lexicon et Commentarius Sermonis Hebraici et Chaldaici, post 

J. Cocceium et J. H. Maium, longe quam ante hac correctius et emen- 
datrus edidit Joh. Ch. Fried. Schulz. Lipsiae, 1777. 2 vols. 8vo. 

Cocceius’s Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary was very highly esteemed in the 
former part of the last century. M. Schulz, in preparing his edition for the press, 
omitted all the superfluous Dutch and German words: and, in determining the 
signification of each Hebrew word, previously consulted the equivalent term in 
the Arabic and other Oriental languages. He also restored to their true place 
several scattered roots together with their derivatives. The work is neatly and 
correctly printed ; and may frequently be obtained at a reasonable price. 

6. Joannis Simonis Lexicon Hebraicum et Chaldaicum, recensuit 
J. G. Eichhorn. Halae, 1793. 2 vols. 8vo. 

7. Philipp. Ulric. Moser Lexicon Manuale Hebraicum et Chaldai¬ 
cum, in quo omnium textus sacri Vet. Test. Vocabulorum Hebraico- 
rum et Chaldaicorum significatio explicatur, cum Indice Latino copio- 
sissimo. Praefatus est D. Gottlob Christian Storr. Ulmae, 1795. 8vo. 

8. Joannis Dindorfii Novum Lexicon Linguae Hebraico-Chaldaicse. 
Lipsiae, 1802. 2 vols. 8vo. 

9. Lexicon Hebraicum et Chaldaicum manuale, cura Everardi 
Scheidii et Joannis Groenewoed. Lugduni Batavorum, 1805. 2 vols. 
8vo. 

10. A Hebrew, Latin, and English Dictionary ; containing, 1. AH 
the Hebrew and Chaldee words used in the Old Testament, includ¬ 
ing the proper names, arranged under one alphabet, with the deri¬ 
vatives referred to their proper roots, and the signification in Latin 
and English, according to the best authorities. 2. The principal 
words in the Latin and English Languages, with those which cor¬ 
respond to them in Hebrew. By Joseph Samuel C. F. Frey. Lon¬ 
don, 1816. 2 vols. 8vo. 

11. E. F. C. Rosenmulleri Vocabularium Veteris Testamenti He- 
braeo-Chaldaicum, liaise (Libraria Orpbanotrophei). 1822. 8vo. 

12. D. G. Gesenii Lexicon Hebraeo-Latinum, seu Commentarius 
Philologico-criticus, Linguae Hebraicae et Chaldaicae Veteris Testa¬ 
menti. Insunt nomina propria hominum, urbium et locorum, suis 
locis inserta. Editio altera, plenior et copiosior, imprimis uberior, 
linguarum cognatarum oollatione adaucta. Lipsiae, 2 vols. Svo. 

This edition of Professor Gesenius’s Hebrew Lexicon was announced in th? 
• catalogue of books, published at the Leipsic September Fair, 1821, and again m 



APPENDIX. 


704 


[No. II. 


the catalogue for the Eastern Fair, 1823, but it has not yet made its appearance. 
The first edition, which was in Hebrew and German, was published at Leipsic, in 
1810-12, in two thick volumes, 8vo. In 1814, Anton. Theod. Hartmann printed 
at Rostock a quarto volume, entitled, Supplementa ad Buxtorfii et Gesenii Lexica 
Hebraica. Dr. Gesenius is considered the most profound Hebraist of the present 
day, in Germany ; and his work is esteemed to be the best Hebrew Lexicon ex¬ 
tant. His second edition promises to afford to students of the Old Testament, 
what Schleusner’s Greek Lexicon does to those of the New Testament, — almost 
every information they can desire concerning the original meaning of the sacred 
writers. A new Hebrew and English Lexicon, translated from Gesenius’s Ger¬ 
man and Hebrew, by Professor Leo, of the Royal Military College, at Sandhurst, 
is printing at the University press, Cambridge, at the expense of the Syndicate: 
and another translation, by Mr. Gibbs, of Andover (Massachusetts), is in course 
of publication in North America. Leusden’s Clavis Hebraica Veteris Testamenti 
(Utrecht, 1683, 4to.) and Robertson’s Clavis Pentateuchi, (Latin and English, 
Edinburgh, 1770, 8vo.) are useful manuals for those who commence their Hebrew 
reading with the book of Genesis; as Bythner’s Lyra Prophetica , already noticed 
in p. 126. of this volume, and Messrs. Keyworth and Jones’s Principia Hebraica 
(noticed in p. 701. supra), are to those who begin with the book of Psalms. Of 
J. H. Meisner’s JYova Veteris Testamenti Clavis, only two volumes have appeared 
(Lipsiffi, 1809, 8vo.): it is executed on the plan of Leusden’s or Robertson’s works, 
but does not go through the Old Testament. Its value is enhanced by the addi¬ 
tion of the significations of Hebrew words from the Septuagint version ; the differ¬ 
ences of which from the Hebrew are often examined and accounted for with 
much critical acumen. 


SECTION II. 

Hebreiv Lexicons without Points. 

1. TlIE Hebrew Concordance adapted to the English Bible; dis¬ 
posed after the manner of Buxtorf. By John Taylor, D. D. 1758. 2 
vols. folio. 

This valuable work has already been noticed in p. 529. of this volume ; it is 
mentioned here because it is in effect a Hebrew and English Lexicon. 

2. An Hebrew and English Lexicon without Points ; in which the 
Hebrew and Chaldee words of the Old Testament are explained in 
their leading and derived senses; the Derivative Words are ranged 
under their respective primitives, and the meanings assigned to each, 
authorised by references to passages of Scripture, and frequently il¬ 
lustrated and confirmed by citations from various authors. By John 
Farkhurst, M. A. London, 1792. 4to. 

The first edition of this work (the value of which is sufficiently attested by the 
repeated impressions it has undergone,) appeared in 1762 ; the second in 1778 ; 
and the third in 1792 ; all in quarto. The third, is reputed to be the best edition, 
as being the last which was corrected by the learned author himself, who closed a 
long life of study and of piety in 1797. But the later genuine London editions, in 
royal 8vo., being printed under the critical eye of Mr. Parkhurst’s accomplished 
daughter, are more easy of purchase, and justly claim a place in the library of 
every student. The Hebrew and Chaldee Grammars above noticed are prefixed 
to this Lexicon. 


SECTION III. 

LEXICONS TO THE GREEK TESTAMENT AND TO THE SEPTUAGINT 

VERSION. 

NUMEROUS Lexicons to tbe Greek Testament have been publish¬ 
ed at different times, a list of which is given by Schleusner, at the 
end of the preface to his Lexicon ; and the defects of which are con¬ 
sidered by J. F. Fischer in his Prolusiones de vitiis Lexicorum Novi 






Lexicons to the Greek Testament , fyc. 


705 


Sect. III.] 


Testamenti, (Lipsiae, 1791,) 8vo. The following are those most de¬ 
serving of attention. 

1. Critica Sacra: containing Observations on all the Radices of 
the Hebrew Words of the Old, and the Greek of the New Testament* 
By Edward Leigh, Esq. London, 1662. folio, with Supplement. 

This work was first published in 1639 and 1646, in 4to. The folio impression 
of 1662 is the best English edition. The Critica Sacra was translated into Latin 
and printed at Amsterdam, with additional observations by John Heeser, 1696, in 
folio. Mr. Leigh was one of the most learned men of his time, and enjoyed the 
friendship of Archbishop Usher. His work is a very valuable help to the under¬ 
standing of the original languages of the sacred writings ; and as it may fre¬ 
quently be obtained at a low price, it may be substituted for either of the follow¬ 
ing works, which a student may not perhaps be able to purchase. The Critica 
Sacra not only gives the literal sense of every word in the Old and New Testa¬ 
ments, but enriches almost every definition with philological and theological notes, 
drawn from the publications of the best grammarians and critics then extant. To 
this work most succeeding Lexicographers on the Old and New Testament have 
been greatly indebted. 

2. A Greek and English Lexicon to the New Testament: in which 
the Words and Phrases occurring in those sacred books, are distinct¬ 
ly explained ; and the meanings assigned to each authorised by re¬ 
ferences to passages of Scripture, and frequently illustrated and con¬ 
firmed by Citations from the Old Testament and from the Greek 
writers. By John Parkhurst, M. A. 4to. and 8vo. 

The first edition of this admirable work appeared in 1769 ; the second (which 
is considered as the best) in 1794 both in quarto; and numerous subsequent well 
executed editions in royal 8vo. havo enabled the students of the Greek Testament 
to avail themselves of the valuable stores of philology which Mr. Parkhurst has 
provided for them. To the work is prefixed a plain and easy Greek Grammar, 
adapted to the use of learners, and those who understand no other language than 
English ; it is one of the clearest and best summaries of Greek Grammar ever 
printed. 

3. Novum Lexicon Graeco-Latinum in Novum Testamentum, con- 
gessit et variis observationibus philologicis illustravit Johannes Frie- 
dericus Schleusner. Lipsiae, 1819. 4 parts in 2 vols. 8vo. 

This is the fourth and best edition of an invaluable work : the first appeared at 
Leipsic in 1791; the second in 1801; and the third in 1808. An elegant reprint of 
this Lexicon was executed at the University press, Edinburgh, in 1814, in two 
vols. 8vo.: the German quotations introduced by Schleusner are in this edition 
translated into English by the editors, Messrs. Smith, Strauchon, and Dickenson. 
Another reprint of this Lexicon issued from the Glasgow press in 1817, also in 
two volumes 8vo. The fourth Leipsic edition contains many additional words 
and new observations which are interspersed through the work. The Preface con¬ 
tains a severe philippic against the two reprints just noticed.l 

4. Christiani Schoetgenii Novum Lexicon Graeco-Latinum in No¬ 

vum Testamentum: post J. T. Krebsium recensuit, et variis observa¬ 
tionibus, philologicis et criticis, locupletavit G. L. Spohn. Lipsiae, 
1790. Svo. 1 __ 

1 IndispensaDle as the Lexicons of Schleusner and Spohn are to Biblical students, 
the author cannot omit the following salutary advice of Bishop Jebb. — “ I would,” 
lie says, “ earnestly exhort those biblical students, who may happen to use, (as, 
with proper caution , all advanced students will find it their advantage to use,) the 
Lexicons of Spohn and Schleusner for the New Testament, and those of Schleus¬ 
ner and Bretschneider for the Septuagint and Apocrypha, to be particularly on 
their guard against alleged identity of meaning, in words whose ordinary significa¬ 
tion is any thTng but synonymous. In such cases, let the cited passages be care¬ 
fully examined” and I venture to affirm, that, instead of synonymous, there will 
almost universally be found an important variation of meaning between the related 
mombers : commonly a progress in the sense, but always such a variation, as will 

vol. ii. 89 





706 


APPENDIX. 


[No. II. Sect. III. 


The first edition of Schoetgenius’s Lexicon was published at Leipsic, in 1746; 
Kreb’s corrected and enlarged edition appeared also at Leipsic, in 17G5, both in 
8vo. Previously to the appearance of Schleusner’s work, Spohn’s third edition 
was justly considered as the best Greek and Latin Lexicon to the New Testament, 
for which it may be substituted by those who cannot afford to purchase Schleus¬ 
ner’s volumes. * 1 

5. A Greek and English Manual Lexicon to the New Testament, 
with examples of all the irregular and more difficult inflections. By 
J. H. Bass. London, 1820. 12mo. 

This little volume is confessedly a manual Lexicon for young students of the 
Greek Testament. Its author has carefully abridged the more diffuse explana-^ 
tions of other Lexicons; but it is noticed here, principally because it contains 
nearly fifty articles commonly omitted in other Lexicons of the New Testament, 
and which are supplied from the fourth edition of Schleusner above noticed. 

6. A New Greek and English Lexicon to the New Testament; in 
which the Quantity of all the doubtful Vowels is carefully marked, 
and Genealogical Tables connected with the Sacred History are an¬ 
nexed. For the Use of Schools. By the Rev. Henry Laing, LL. D. 
London, 1821. 8vo. 

7. Novus Thesaurus Philologico-Criticus, sive Lexicon in LXX et 
reliquos interpretes Groecos ac Scriptores Apocryplios Veteris Testa- 
menti; post Bielium et alios viros doctos congessit et edidit Johannes 
Friedericus Schleusner. Lipsiae, 1820, 1821 ; in 5 parts or vols. 
8vo. Glascuae: curaverunt et excuderunt A. et J. M. Duncan, Aca- 
demiae Typography impensis R. Priestley, Londini, 1822. In three 
thick volumes, 8vo. 

Biel’s Nomts Thesaurus Philologists, sive Lexicon in LXX. was published at the 
Hague in 1779—1783, in 3 vols. 8vo. Two Spicilegia, or supplements of words 
omitted , were published by Schleusner (Lipsiae, 1784, 1786. 8vo.), and a third by 
Bretschneider. (Lipsiae, 1305.8vo.) On the basis of these publications Schleus¬ 
ner has produced a Lexicon for the Septuagint Greek version, which is surpassed 
only by his Lexicon for the New Testament. 

The edition, which in 1822 issued from the University Press at Glasgow, reflects 
great credit on the printers, Messrs. A. and J. M. Duncan, as well as on the pub¬ 
lisher, at whose expense it has been undertaken: it is very beautifully executed. 
In this edition many typographical errors, particularly in the Greek and Hebrew 
quotations, have been corrected ; and the references to the chapters and verses, 
which in the foreign edition are very inaccurate, have been carefully amended. 
Professor Schleusner’s German explanations of particular words uniformly have 
English Translations attached to them : and to the third volume there is appended 
an index of all the Hebrew words occurring in the work, together with a collation 
of verses and chapters, as set out respectively in the editions of the Greek Septu¬ 
agint superintended by Wechel and Bos. The former of these will in a great 
measure supply the want of a Hebrew Lexicon. This Appendix, which fills nearly 
three hundred pages, is not to be found in the Leipsic Edition. 

It is greatly to be desired that some biblical scholar, possessing sufficient lei¬ 
sure, would collate Schleusner’s two Lexicons and that of Mr.Parkhurst, together 
with the very numerous Commentators and Critics referred to by them, as well as 
the best recent British Commentators ; and from their united labours produce a 
'Copious Greek and English Lexicon to the New Testament and to the Septuagint. 
Such an undertaking would be a work of immense labour ; but the benefit to the 
majority of Biblical students, who can rarely afford to purchase many books, would 
be incalculable. 

8. Clavis Philologica Novi Testamenti, auctore M. Christ. Abra¬ 
ham Wahl, Verb. Div. apud Schneebergenses Ministro. Lipsiae, 
1822. 2 vols. 8vo. 


quite supersede the necessity of resorting to an unusual., much less an unprece - 
dented , acceptation of the terms employed.” Bp. Jebb’s Sacred Literature, p. 51. 

1 See the note in preceding page 



707 


No. III. Sect. I.] Lexicons of the Kindred Languages. 

This is a very useful Greek and Latin Lexicon to the New Testament: it is ex¬ 
pressly designed for those who cannot afford to purchase Schleusner’s Lexicon, 
above noticed. The author professes to have availed himself diligently, of every 
critical help he could procure; and to have avoided that excess of philological 
speculation, which, unhappily for inexperienced students, is too often found in 
fechleusner’s masterly work, and which has called forth the animadversions of 
Bishop Jcbb. See the note in p. 705. 

9. Bretschneider (C. G.) Lexicon Manuale Graeco-Latinum in Li- 
bros Novi Testamenti. Lipsiae, 1S23. 2 vols. 8vo. 


No. III. 

A NOTICE OF THE PRINCIPAL LEXICONS AND GRAMMARS OF THE 
COGNATE, OR KINDRED LANGUAGES. 

Referred to , in Page 33. of this Volume.] 

SECTION I. 

Lexicons of the Kindred Languages. 

LEXICON Heptaglotton, Hebraicum, Chaldaicum, Syriacum 7 
Samaritanum, Ethiopicum, Arabicum, conjunctim ; et Persicum se¬ 
paration. In quo omnes voces Ilebr**, Clialdaeae, Syr*, Samaritan*, 
iEthiopicae, Arabic*, et Persic*, tam Manuscriptis, quam impressis 
libris, cum primis autem in Bibliis Polyglottis, adjectis hinc inde Ar- 
menis, Turcicis, Indis, Japonicis, &c. ordine Alphabetico, sub singu¬ 
lis Radicibus digest*, continentur, Sc c. Cuiaccessit brevis et harmo¬ 
nica (quantum fieri potuit) Grammatic* omnium pr*cedentium 
Linguarum Delineatio. Autliore Edmundo Castello, S. T. D. Regiae 
M. a sacris: Lingu* Arabic* apud Cantabrigienses Professore, &c. 
Londini imprimebat Thomas Roycroft, LLD. Orientalium Typogra- 
phus Regius, 1G69. 2 vols. folio. 

This work, which forms the companion to Bp. Walton’s Polyglott Bible noticed 
in pp. 116—118. of the present volume, is perhaps the greatest and most perfect 
undertaking of the kind hitherto performed by human industry and learning. 
“ Dr. Castell expended both his fortune and his life in this immense undertaking. 
It is true he had help from several learned men. Dr. Murray lent him assistance 
in the Arabic; Doctor (afterwards Bishop) Beveridge, in the Syriac; and Dr. 
Wansleb in the Althiopic. But the person to whom he was most indebted was 
the celebrated Dr. Lightfoot, a man who, for the amiableness of his disposition, 
the purity of his manners, and the extent and depth of his literary knowledge, 
had, even in that age of profound learning, no superior, and since no equal. So 
implicitly did Dr. Castell depend on his judgment, that when he began that work, 
in 1657, he wrote to him for direction and advice, promising either to proceed in 
or suppress it, as he should determine. Dr. Lightfoot not only helped on this im¬ 
mortal work by his counsels, corrections, &c. but he also contributed money, and 
procured subscriptions, so that Dr. Castell acknowledged there was no man in the 
three kingdoms to whom he owed so much. When Dr. Castell sent him his Lexi- 
' con, he acknowledged that it owed a great part of its perfection to his learning 
and industry, and thought his name should occupy a distinguished place in the 
title-page. The Persic Lexicon is the fruit of the joint labour of himself and 
Golius ° This part of Dr. Castell’s work has been undervalued by such as either 
did not or could not consult it; but it is an excellent work ; and to it even Meninski 
and Richardson are indebted for a multitude of articles. Its chief fault is want of 
distinct arrangement; the words are sadly intermixed, and many Persian words are 
printed with Hebrew types, probably because they bad but few Persian charac¬ 
ters. Dr. Castell laboured at this work for seventeen years, during which time 
he maintained in his own house, at his own cost, seven Englishmen and seven 
foreigners, as writers, all of whom died before the work was finished. The names 
of those respectable literary drudges I have not been able to find. Besides the 




709 


APPENDIX. 


[No. III. 


12.00CA. of his own property, which this great man expended on this work, he was 
obliged to borrow 1800/. more ; and not being able to make up this money, he was 
constrained to make application to King Charles II. and entreat him, ne career 
esset premium tot laborum ct sumptuum — that a prison might not be the reward 
of so many labours and so much expense. This produced a letter from the king, 
in 1660, to all the archbishops, bishops, dukes, lords, and nobles of the realm, re¬ 
commending the work, and earnestly soliciting pecuniary assistance in behalf of 
its distressed and embarrassed author ; which was followed, three years after, by 
one from the Archbishop of Canterbury, directed to all the clergy, on the same 
behalf; and, afterwards, by another from twenty-nine English and Irish prelates, 
earnestly entreating the public not to permit this great man to sink under his la¬ 
bours, and the pecuniary embarrassments brought on him by a work, which he had 
undertaken for the honour of God, the promotion of religion and learning, and 
consequently the good of mankind. Is it not strange, that when the king and the 
clergy laid this so much to heart, and recommended it so warmly, the author’s 
embarrassments should still continue P The reason seems to have been this — 
the nation was impoverished, and the exchequer itself emptied, by the late civil 
wars. 

At the end of the third page of his Preface, he makes the following complaint, 
which no scholar can read without pain of heart; u Socios quidem habui in hoc 
opere, sed perexiguo tempore mecum in illo commorantes, nescio an dicam, im- 
mensitate laboris plane exterritos. Per plures annos, jam jetate provectus, et uha 
cum patrimonio satis competent!, exhaustis etiam animi viribus, oculis caliganti- 
bus, corporis variis in hoc opere confractis, et dislocatis membris, relictus sum so¬ 
lus, sine amanuensi, aut vel correctore ullo.” He died in 1685. Some copies of 
this Lexicon have in the title, “ Londini, Scott, 1686but this proves nothing 
more than a re-impression of the title ; for there never was a second edition of the 
work. (Clarke’s Bibliographical Dictionary, vol. i. pp. 268—270.) For other in¬ 
teresting particulars concerning this distinguished but ill-requited scholar, see 
Chalmers’s Biographical Dictionary, vol. viii. pp. 398—400. 

2. V. Schindleri Lexicon Pentaglotton, Hebraicum, Chaldaicum, 
Syriacum, Talmudico-Rabbinicum, et Arabicum. Hanovice, 1612. 
folio. 


SECTION II. 

Syriac Grammars and Lexicons . 

1. Johannis Leusdeni Schola Syriaca, una cum Dissertatione de 
Literis et Lingua Samaritanorum. Ultrajecti, 1658. 12mo. 

2. Caroli Schaaf Opus Aramseum, complectens Grammaticam 

Chaldaicam et Syriacam, Selecta ex Targumim, cum versione Lati¬ 
na, necnon Lexicon Chaldaicum, <fec. Lugduni Batavorum, 1686. 
12mo. • i 

3. J. D. Michaelis Grammatica Syriaca. Halse, 1784. 4to. 

4. A Syriac Grammar, principally adapted to the New Testament 
in that language. By Thomas Yeates. London, 1821. 8vo. 

5. Martini Trostii Lexicon Syriacum. Cothenis Anhaltinorum, 
1623. 4to. 

6. iEgidii Gutbirii Lexicon Syriacum. Hamburgi, 1667. 12mo. 

7. Caroli Schaaf Lexicon Syriacum Concordantiale, omnes Novi 
Testamenti Syriaci voces, et ad harum illustrationem multas alias 
Syriacas, et linguarum affinium dictiones complectens, cum necessa- 
riis indicibus, Syriaco et Latino, ut et catalogo nominum propriorum 
et Gentilium N. T. Syr. Lugduni Batavorum, 1709. 4to. 

This work was published as a companion to the beautiful edition of the Syriac 
Testament, published at Leyden in the same year. In his preface, Schaaf makes 
honourable mention of the previous labours of Trostius, Gutbirius, and especially 




Arabic Grammars and Lexicons, 


709 


Sect. III.] 

r 1 ihe Syriac Lexicon contained in the Heptaglott Lexicon of our learned coun¬ 
tryman Edmund CastellJ 

An introduction to the Syriac Language ; in which the Genius 
ol the Language is explained by a new and simple Principle of Ana¬ 
lysis. By the Rev. Frederick Nolan. London, 1821. 12mo. 


SECTION III. 

Arabic Grammars and Lexicons. 

1. Philippi Guadagnoli Breves Arabicae Linguae Institutiones. 
Romoe, 1642. 4to. 

2. Thomae Erpenii Grammatica Arabica, cum fabulis Lokmani, et 
excerptis anthologiae veterum Arabiae poetarum. Arabice et Latine 
interprete Alberto Schultens. Lugduni Batavorum, 1748,1767. 4to. 

The first edition of Erpenius’s Arabic Grammar appeared in 1630, in 4to. Those 
of 1748 and 1767 are considered the best. 

3. Thomae Erpenii Rudimenta Linguae Arabicae. Florilegium sen- 
tentiarum et Clavem dialectorum adjecit Albertus Schultens. Lugdu¬ 
ni Batavorum, 1770. 4to. Best edition. 

4. A Grammar of the Arabic Language, in which the rules are il¬ 
lustrated by authorities from the best writers. By John Richardson. 
London, 1776. 4to. 

5. Grammaire Arabe, par Silvestre de Sacy. Paris, 1810. 2 vols. 
8vo. 

6. Institutiones Grammaticae Arabicae, auctore Antonio Aryda. 
Vindobonae, 1813. 4to. 

7. Institutiones ad Fundamenta Linguae Arabicae: accedunt sen- 
tentiae et narrationes Arabicae, una cum Glossario Arabico-Latino. 
Auctore Ern. Frid. Car. Rosenmullero, Tlieol. Doct. et in Academia 
Lipsiensi Prof, ordinario. Lipsioe, 1818. 4to. 

Of the very numerous grammars of the Arabic Language which have been pub¬ 
lished, this of Professor RosenmUller is considered the best. The author has made 
great use of Sacy’s Grammaire Arabe ; and the Chrestomathy, or selection of 
passages from Arabic Writers, enhances the value of his publication. 

8. Antonii Giggeii Thesaurus Linguae Arabicae; sen Lexicon Ara- 
bicum Latinum. Mediolani, 1632. 4 vols. folio. 

This is a very valuable work, though greatly inferior in point of correctness to 
the following Lexicon of Golius. 

9. Jacobi Gobi Lexicon Arabico-Latinum, contextual ex probatio- 
ribus orientis Lexicographis. Accedit Index Latinus copiosissimus, 
qui Lexici Latino-Arabici vicem explere possit. Lugduni Batavorum, 
1653. folio. 

« This is an invaluable work, and the best on the subject ever published. It is 
* in every respect well edited. The arrangement of the words, the definitions 
given, the paper, types, and typographical execution, — are all in the first style 
of accuracy and elegance.” Bibliog. Diet. vol. iv. p. 7. 

10. Jacobi Scheidii Glossarium Arabico-Latinum Manuale. Lug¬ 
duni Batavorum, 1769. 4to. 

11. Johannis Jahn Lexicon Arabico-Latinum, Chrestomathiae Artv- 
bicae accommodatum, et Chrestomathia Arabica. Vindobonae, 1802. 
2 vols. 8vo. 


1 Castell’s Syriac Lexicon was reprinted at Gottingen in 1788, in two parts, 
forming one volume small 4to, 






710 APPENDIX. [No. III. 

12. Dictionnaire Abrege Francais-Arabe. Par J. F. Ruphy. Pa¬ 
ris, 1802. 4to. 

For a full account of Arabic Grammars and Lexicons, the reader is referred 
to Schnurrer’s Bibliotheca Arabica, in which their dates, &c. are particularly 
specified. 


SECTION IV. 

Ethiopia Grammar and Lexicons. 

1. Jobi Ludolphi Grammatica Linguae Amharicae (vel JEthiopicae),^ 
quae vernacula est Habessinorum. Francofurti ad Mcenum, 1698, 
folio ; 1702, folio. Best edition. 

2. Jobi Ludolphi Lexicon Amharico-Latinum. Francofurti ad 
Moenum, 1698. folio. 

This is commonly bound up with the first edition of Ludolph's Amharic Gram¬ 
mar. 

3. Jobi Ludolphi Lexicon /Ethiopico-Latinum. Francofurti ad 
Mcenum, 1698. folio. 


SECTION V. 

Egyptian Grammar and Lexicon. 

1. Lexicon iEgyptiaco-Latinum, ex veteribus illius Linguae morn*- 
mentis summo studio collectum a Maturino Veyssiere La Croze. 
Edentibus Christiano Scholtz et Carolo Godofredo Woide. Oxonii 
e Typographia Clarendoniano, 1775. 4to. 

2. Christiani Scholtz Grammatica ^Egyptiaca utriusque dialecti: 
quam breviavit, illustravit, edidit Carolus Godofredus Woide. Oxo¬ 
nii e Typographeo Clarendoniano, 1778. 4to. 

These publications are not of common occurrence, and have acquired additional 
value since various fragments of the antient Coptic and Sahidic versions of the 
New Testament have been published. 1 Previously to the seventeenth century, 
Egyptian literature was but slightly regarded in Europe, and might possibly have 
been still disregarded, if the celebrated oriental traveller Bartolomeo De la Valle 
had not brought to Rome, from Egypt, among other curiosities, some Coptic or 
Egyptian manuscripts, of which he gave the perusal to Athanasius Kircher, a 
voluminous but very indifferent writer in regard to solidity and fidelity. Kircher, 
however, has the merit of being the first who published a book, relating to the 
Egyptian language, under the title Lingua JEgyptiaca Restituta. (Romce , 1643. 
4to.) Which was, in fact, nothing but the manuscript dictionary or vocabulary of 
De la Valle. Theodore Petrseus, who had been in Egypt in the same century, en¬ 
riched Europe with several valuable manuscripts ; and he well understanding the 
Egyptian tongue, would have proved a restorer of Egyptian literature, had he 
met with proper encouragement; but he could no where find it, not even in Lon¬ 
don, where he printed the first psalm as a specimen of the Egyptian language. 
Happily his manuscripts were sold to the Elector of Brandenburg, and placed in 
his library at Berlin. 

Dr. Wilkins, a German, and La Croze, a Frenchman, distinguished themselves, 
in the beginning of this century, by their cultivation of the Egyptian tongue. The 
former met with encouragement and preferment in England ; and printed at Ox¬ 
ford in 1716, the Egyptian New Testament, in the Coptic or Lower Egyptian dia¬ 
lect. He also printed the Pentateuch, at London, in 1731. But being unac¬ 
quainted with the Sahidic or Upper Egyptian dialect, he mistook the Sahidic or 
Thebaidic manuscripts in the Bodleian Library for faulty Coptic ones. La Croze 
being librarian to the king of Prussia at Berlin, and having free access to the 


1 See a notice of them in p. 192. of the present volume. 






Sect. VL] 











Persian Grammars and Lexicons . 711 

Egyptian manuscripts of Petrseus in that library, compiled from these and some 
other manuscripts, a valuable dictionary, which he finished in 1722. He was 
much assisted in this undertaking by Dr. Jablonsky, a learned professor at Frank¬ 
fort, who collected several materials for him in the Bodleian Library, and that of 
the king of France, at Paris. Dr. Jablonsky gave La Croze the first hint that, 
beside the Coptic dialect, there was another of Upper Egypt, which is now com¬ 
monly called the Sahidic or Thebaidic dialect. He sent him likewise a transcript 
of a manuscript of this kind (No. 393, Huntington, in the Bodleian Library) de 
Mysteriis Literarum Grcecarmn, from which La Croze took Collectionem vocum 
auarundam Sahidicarum, which is annexed to his Dictionary. Jablonsky, who on 
his travels had copied several Egyptian manuscripts, communicated them to his 
brother-in-law, Mr. Scholtz, chaplain in ordinary to the king of Prussia; who be¬ 
ing furnished with the manuscripts at Berlin, and the Dictionary of La Croze, 
wrote, in 1750, an Egyptian Grammar of both dialects, in two vols. 4to. Several 
learned men wished that both the Dictionary and the Grammar might be publish¬ 
ed, but they could not find a printer furnished with Egyptian types, or who would 
hazard the undertaking ; till, at last, the university of Oxford, on a noble princi¬ 
ple of public spirit, determined to take the business in hand. When the Dictionary 
was printing, Dr. Woide was desired to make some additions to it; but this not 
being proposed to him till more than half the work was printed off, he could ex¬ 
tend his remarks to three letters only ; and to render the undertaking more useful, 
he added an index. 

It was intended to print the Grammar of Mr. Scholtz, in two 4to vols. immedi¬ 
ately after the Dictionary, but it being found too voluminous, Dr. Woide very 
properly abridged it; and the work, so far from losing by his abridgment, has 
gained very considerably ; for Dr. W. has carefully examined, corrected, and im¬ 
proved the Grammar, by means of manuscripts unknown to Mr. Scholtz, of which 
he gives an account in the preface prefixed to the Grammar. The Sahidic part, 
^v ^ hich is now to be found in this Grammar, was entirely supplied by Dr. Woide. 

Two circumstances must particularly recommend this Grammar ; first, that the 
rules laid down are illustrated and supported by examples, quoted from the above- 
mentioned manuscripts ; secondly, that it exhibits both dialects, to one of which 
we have hitherto been entire strangers. (Monthly Review (O. S.) vol. lx. p. 1. 
Nichols’s Anecdotes of Bowyer, vol. ix. pp. 9—11.) 


SECTION VI. 

Persian Grammars and Lexicons. 

1. Ludovici de Dieu Rudimenta Linguae Persicae ; accedunt duo 
priora capita Geneseos ex Persica translatione Jacobi Tawusi. Lug- 
duni Batavorum, 1639. 4to. 

2. Angeli a S. Joseph Gazophylacium Linguae Persarum. Amste- 
lodami, 1684. folio. 

3. A Grammar of the Persian Language. By Sir William Jones. 
London, 1809. 4to. seventh edition. 

The first edition of this Grammar appeared in 1775, in 4to.; in that of 1809 the 
orthography is adapted "to the mode of spelling adopted by Dr. Wilkins in his im- 
proved edition of Richardson s Persian Dictionary. Sir. W. Jones s Grammar 
forms the fifth volume of the octavo edition of his works. 

4. Francisci de Dombay Grammatica Linguae Persicae ; accedunt 
dialogi, historiae, sententiae, et narrationes Persicae. Vienna), 1804. 

4t< 5. A Grammar of the Persian Language. By M. Lumsden, LL. D. 

London, 1811. 2 vols. small folio. 

6. Francisci W T ilken Institutiones ad Fundamenta Linguae Persa¬ 
rum, cum Chrestomathia, et auctario ad Chrestomathiam. Lipsiae, 

1805; 2 parts forming 1 vol. 8vo. 

7. A Dictionary, Persian, Arabic, and English; with a Disserta- 




712 


APPENDIX, 


[No. IV. 

tion on the Languages, Literature, and Manners of Eastern Nations. 
By John Richardson, Esq. F. S. A. A new edition with numerous 
additions and improvements, by Charles Wilkins, LL. D. F. R. S. 
London, 1806—1810. 2 vols. royal 4to. 

The first edition of this great and elaborate work appeared at Oxford and Lon¬ 
don in 1777, in one large folio volume. Dr. Wilkins has revised it throughout, 
corrected the orthography of every word, and enlarged it to a great extent, with 
very numerous additions, which his long residence in India and profound know¬ 
ledge of the Persian language, peculiarly qualified him to make. As the bulk and 
price of this work render it accessible to comparatively few students of Persia, 
Mr. Hopkins compiled from it an abridgment, entitled a Vocabulary , Persian , 
Arabic , and English , which was printed at London in 1810, in 8vo. 

The reader, who is desirous of further information respecting ele¬ 
mentary works, on Oriental Literature, is referred to Professor Lee’s 
Sylloge Librorum orientalium, quibus linguarum biblicarum studiosi 
maximo cum fructu uti queant. (Cantabrigise, 1821. 8vo.) In this 
manual, Prof. Lee has particularly specified those treatises which are 
most worthy of the student’s attention. 


No. IV. 

A LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL WRITERS ON THE CRITICISM AND 
INTERPRETATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

[Referred to, in Page 491 . of this Volume .] 

As the authors, who have treated on particular branches of Sa¬ 
cred Criticism and interpretation are cited, and the titles of their icorks 
are specified in the course of this work, under the several heads to which 
they properly belong, the present notice is designedly restricted to the 
Principal Writers, ivlio have treated generally on these topics. 

1. AN Introduction to the reading of the New Testament, by MM. 
Beausobre and L’Enfant. Cambridge, 1779, 1788, 1806,1816, 1819. 
8vo. 

This was originally a preface to the French version of the New Testament pub¬ 
lished by MM. Beausobre and L’Enfant at Amsterdam in 1718. It is also to be 
found in the third volume of the Theological Tracts collected by Bishop Watson. 

2. Joannis Alberti Bengelii Apparatus Criticus ad Novum Testa- 
mentum, criseos saerse compendium, limam, supplementum, ac fruc- 
tum exhibens. Cura Philippi Davidis Burkii. Tubingse, 1763. 4to. 

The first impression of this work appeared in Bengel’s edition of the Greek 
Testament, published at Tubingen, in 1734. 4to. It was materially enlarged and 
corrected by Burkius. Much has been done by later critics, but the researches of 
Bengel are not superseded by their learned labours. 

3. The Sacred Classics Defended and Illustrated, by Antony Black- 
wall. London, 1727, 1731. 2 vols. 8vo. 

Blackwall was a strenuous advocate for the purity of the Greek style of the 
New Testament, which he vindicates in his first volume. The second volume, 
which is the most valuable, contains many excellent observations on the division 
of the New Testament into chapters and verses, and also on various readings. 
This work was translated into Latin by Christopher Woll, and published at Leip- 
sic in 1736. 4to. 

4. C. A. Bode Pseudo-Critiea Millio-Bengeliana, qua allegationes 






No. IV.] Writers on the Criticism , Spc. of the Scriptures. 713 

pro variis Novi Testamenti Lectionibus refutantur. Hal®, 1767. 2 
vols. 8vo. 

Dr. Mill in his critical edition of the Greek Testament, not being sufficiently 
acquainted with the Oriental Versions, had recourse to the Latin translations of 
them in Bishop Walton’s Polyglott, for the various readings of those versions. 
Consequently he erred whenever these were incorrect. Similar mistakes were 
committed by Bengel from the same cause. The design of Professor Bode is to 
correct the defects and mistakes of those eminent critics. Bode is considered by 
his countrymen as a man of most extensive learning, but totally destitute of ele¬ 
gance as a writer. 

5. Horse Biblicse ; being a connected Series of Miscellaneous Notes 
on the original Text, early Versions, and Printed Editions of the Old 
and New Testament. By Charles Butler, Esq. Oxford and London, 
1799. 8vo. 

The first edition of this judicious manual of Biblical Criticism was privately 
printed in 1797, for the author’s friends. It has since been repeatedly printed in 
royal 8vo. with an additional volume treating on the books accounted sacred by 
the Mohammedans, Hindoos, Parsees, Chinese, and Scandinavians. In 1810 M. 
Boulard published a French translation of this work from the edition printed at 
Oxford, in 1799. 

6. Dissertations, qui peuvent servir de Prolegomenes de l’Ecriture 
Sainte. Par Dom. Calmet. Paris, 1720. 3 vols. 4to. 

These dissertations were originally prefixed by Calmet to the different books of 
Scripture, and published in his commentary ; in this 4to. edition Calmet has col¬ 
lected them with considerable additions. 

7. Ludovici Cappelli Critica Sacra ; sive de Variis, quae in Sacris 
Veteris Testamenti libris occurrunt, Lectionibus Libri sex. Parisiis, 
1650. folio. Halee, 1775—1786. 3 vols. 8vo. 

In this work Cappel attacked the notion, which at that time obtained generally 
among biblical critics, of the absolute integrity of the Hebrew text. So much 
were the French Protestants displeased at it, that they prevented it from being 
printed either at Sedan, Geneva, or Leyden. At length Father Morinus and some 
other learned men in communion with the church of Rome, obtained permission 
for its publication at Paris. It is now admitted that Cappel has fully proved his 
point. He was however severely attacked by Arnold Boott, and especially by the 
younger Buxtorf, who in 1653 printed his Anti-Critica, seu Vindiciee Veritatis 
Ebraicaj adversus Ludovici Capelli Criticam, quam vocat Sacram, &c. Basilese, 
4to.; in which Buxtorf most strenuously advocates the authority and absolute in¬ 
tegrity of the Plebrew text. This standard work, which cost its learned author 
thirty-six years’ labour, exhibits in six books the various readings, which result, 1. 
From a juxta-position of different parts of the Old Testament; 2. From a colla¬ 
tion of the parallel passages of the Old and New Testament; 3. From collations 
of the Masora, Samaritan Version, and most antient printed editions of the Pie- 
brew Scriptures ; 4. From a collation of the Septuagint with the Hebrew text; 
5. From collations of the Hebrew text with the Chaldee Paraphrase, and the 
Greek versions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion; with the Latin Vulgate ; 
and with the Masoretic and Rabbinical commentators; 6. The sixth and conclud¬ 
ing book treats on the errors which are to be ascribed to transcribers, and on the 
readings derived from conjectural criticism. The best edition of Cappel’s work 
is the octavo one above noticed ; it contains his various defences of himself against 
his bitter antagonists, and was superintended by MM. Vogel and Scharfenberg, 
who have inserted numerous valuable notes, in which the arguments and state¬ 
ments of Cappel are occasionally examined, corrected, or refuted. 

8. Job. Gottlob Carpzovii Critica Sacra Veteris Testamenti. Lip- 
si®, 1738. 4to. 

This elaborate work consists of three parts, treating 1. On the Divine Origin, 
Authenticity, Divisions, and original Language of the Old Testament, the Maso 
ra, Keri and Ketib, and the principal MSS. and Editions of the Hebrew Scrip 
tures • — 2. On the different Versions of the Old Testament, antient and modern ; 
and 3. A Vindication of the Hebrew Scriptures against the rude Attacks of Mi' 

vol. u. 90 


714 


APPENDIX. 


[No IV. 


Whiston, in his Essay towards restoring the true Text of the Old Testament 
Carpzov adheres to the high notions which in his time continued to prevail, con¬ 
cerning the integrity of the Hebrew Text: but (Bishop Marsh remarks) “ if 
proper allowance be made on this account, it will be found to be a very useful 
work, and replete with information on the subject of Hebrew criticism.” (Lec¬ 
tures on Divinity, part ii. p. 133.) 

9. Introductio ad Libros Canonicos Veteris Testamenti omnes, 
praecognita Critica et Historica ac Auctoritatis vindicias exponens. 
Adornata studio D. J. Gottlob Carpzovii. 4to. Lipsiae, 1731 ; 2d. 
edit. 1741. 


The reader will here find very learned disquisitions upon every book of the Old 
Testament, and a catalogue of the most approved writers on most of them. “Carp¬ 
zov was a man of profound erudition and indefatigable industry. His work con¬ 
tains the principal materials, which had been afforded by his predecessors, per¬ 
spicuously arranged, and augmented by his own valuable observations.” (Bp 
Marsh.) 


10. The Sacred Interpreter : or a practical Introduction towards 
a beneficial reading and thorough understanding of the Holy Bible. 
By David Collyer, Vicar of Great Coxwell, Berks. 8vo. 2 vols. Lon¬ 
don, 1746; Carlisle, 1796. Last edition, Oxford, 1815. 


“ The author of this work lived in the former part of the last century; it not 
only went through several editions in England, but in 1750 was translated into 
German. It is calculated for readers in general, and is a good popular prepara¬ 
tion for the study of the Holy Scriptures.” (Bp. Marsh.) 

11. J. A. Dathii Opuscula ad Interpretationem et Crisin Veteris 
Testamenti. Edidit E. F. C. Rosenmiiller. Lipsia?, 1796. 8vo. 

12. J. G. Eichhorn Einleitung ins Alte Testament.—Introduction 
to the Old Testament, by J. G. Eichhorn. Leipzig, 1803—12. 4 vols. 
8vo. Latest and best edition. 

13. J. G. Eichhorn, Einleitung ins Neue Testament. Leipzig, 
1804—1815. 3 vols. 8vo. 


Professor Eichhorn succeeded the celebrated Michaelis in the Divinity Chair at 
Gottingen. His works are considered classical on the subject of Biblical Criti¬ 
cism. Proposals were issued, many years since, by the Rev. Dr. Lloyd, Regius 
Professor of Hebrew at the university of Cambridge, for publishing by subscrip¬ 
tion a translation from the German of Professor Eichhorn’s Introduction to the 
Study of the Old Testament. But the translation never appeared. Of this work 
the reader will find a copious analysis in the Monthly Review (N. S.) vol. xxiii. 
pp. 481—407. Of the Introduction to the New Testament no notice has hitherto 
appeared in the English Literary Journals. Eichhorn is one of those German 
Divines, who reject the inspiration of Moses; and he is of opinion that the great 
Jewish Legislator compiled his primaeval history from distinct sagas or traditional 
documents. A notice of his eccentric hypothesis relative to the Apocalypse will 
be found infra, in No. VI. Sect. VI. § 2. among the commentators on the Reve¬ 
lation of Saint John. 

14. Fabricy (Rere), Des Titres Primitives de la Revelation ; ou 
considerations sur l’Integrite du Texte Original de l’Ancien Testa¬ 
ment. Rome, 1772. 8vo. 

This work contains much curious learning, urged with a considerable degree 
of ingenuity, in favour of the Masoretic system. 

15. J. F. Fischeri Prolusiones de Versionibus Graecis Librorum 
Veteris Testamenti. Lipsiae, 1772. 8vo. 

16. Nicolai Fulleri Miscellanea Sacra, cum Apologia contra V. 
Cl. Johannem Drusium. Lugd. Bat. 1622. 8vo. edit. opt. Also in the 
last volume of the Critici Sacri. 

17. Institutes of Biblical Criticism, or Heads of the Course of 
Lectures on that subject, read in the University and King’s College 


No. IV.] Writers on the Criticism , S?c. of the Scriptures. 


715 


of Aberdeen. By Alexander Gerard, D. D. Edinburgh, 1808. 

8vo. 

“ Of general and elementary treatises,” on sacred criticism, “ there is none 
which is more to be recommended, either for perspicuity or correctness, than the 
Institutes of Biblical Criticism, published by Dr. Gerard, Professor of Divinity at 
Aberdeen.” (Bp. Marsh.) 

18. Gesenii (Gulielmi) Anecdota Oxoniensia, Tomus Primus. 
Lipsiae, 1822. 4to. 

This volume comprises two fasciculi, the first of which contains the Samaritan 
Psalms, with an Arabic version and notes : in the second fasciculus, there is a dis¬ 
sertation on Syriac Lexicons, with specimens of the hitherto inedited lexicons of 
Bar Ali and Bar Buhluli. 

19. Salomonis Glassii Philologia Sacra; qua totius S. S. Veteris 
et Novi Testamenti Scripturce turn Stylus et Literatura, turn Sensus 
et Genuinre Interpretationis Ratio et Doctrina, libris quinque expen- 
ditur ac traditur. Lipsiae, 1725. 4to. Best Edition. 

An u inestimable and immortal work, than which none can be more useful for 
the interpretation of Scripture, as it throws an uncommon degree of light upon 
the language and phraseology of the inspired writers.” (Mosheim’s Eccl. Hist, 
vol. v. p. 296.) The first edition was printed at Jena in 1623, and was followed 
by several others at the same place, in 1643, 1663, and 1668; at Frankfort, in 
1653; at Leipsic, in 1691, 1705, 1713, and at Amsterdam in 1711, all in quarto. 
The first and second books treat on the style and meaning of the sacrod writers ; 
the third and fourth on Sacred Grammar, and the fifth on Sacred Rhetoric. To 
the edition of 1705 and the subsequent impressions is annexed a treatise, by Glas- 
sius, on Sacred Logic, first published by Olearius at Jena in 1704. A new edition 
of this work was published in four volumes 8vo. at Leipsic, in 1776, 1795, 1797, 
by the Professors Dathe and Bauer, entitled, Salomonis Glassii Philologia Sacra 
his Temporibus accoinmodata. The first volume, in two parts, edited by Dathe, 
contains the treatises de Grammatica et Rhetorica Sacra , which are materially im¬ 
proved without debasing Glassius’s pious and learned expositions of Scripture by his 
own speculations. The second volume, edited by Prof. Bauer of Altorf, contains the 
Critica Sacra.. Glassius had adopted Buxtorf’s high notions concerning the integ¬ 
rity of the Hebrew text, which are properly modified in Bauer’s revision of the work. 
The third volume contains Glassius’s second book, which treats on the interpretation 
of Scripture : as it is frequently to be met with in a detached form, it is noticed 
in p. 724. infra, among the works on that branch of sacred philology. 

20. A Key to the Old Testament and the Apocrypha: or an ac¬ 
count of their several books, their contents and authors, and of the 
times when they were respectively written. By Robert Gray, D. D. 
8vo. London, 1790. 

The very numerous editions which have been printed of this valuable work, at¬ 
test the estimation in which it is deservedly held. It was undertaken in imitation 
of the late Bp. Percy’s well known and often printed “ Key to the New Testament, 
giving an account of the several books, their contents, their authors, and of the 
times, places, and occasions on which they were writtenbut it is a much more 
elaborate performance. Dr. Gray has diligently consulted, and brought together 
a great mass of information from the writings of the fathers, the antient ecclesias¬ 
tical historians, and other original authorities which are not accessible to the gene¬ 
rality of students. Bp. Mant and Dr. Doyly have liberally availed themselves of 
Dr. G.’s researches in their recent valuable commentary on the Holy Scriptures. 

21. A General Introduction to the Study of the Hebrew Scriptures, 
with a critical History of the Greek and Latin Versions of the Sa¬ 
maritan Pentateuch, and of the Chaldee Paraphrases. By the Rev. 
George Hamilton, 8vo. Dublin, 1814. 

The origin and antiquity of the Hebrew language and characters, vowel points, 
various readings, and the question relative to the integrity of the present text, 
together with an account of the Rabbinical notes on the Old Testament, are the 
topics principally discussed in this small volume; and to these succeed a notice of 
the different versions and paraphrases mentioned in the title. “ its general execution 


716 


APPENDIX. 


[No. IV. 

is highly creditable to the author’s industry and judgment; and we cheerfully 
recommend it to that class of students for whose use it was chiefly designed.” 
(Eclectic Review, (N. S.) vol. i. p. 503.) 

22. An Introduction to the Study and Knowledge of the New Tes¬ 
tament, by Edward Harwood, D. D. 8vo. 2 vols. London, 1767, 1771. 

The author designed a third volume, which was to embrace various critical 
questions respecting the New Testament, but died before it appeared. Though 
styled an Introduction, u it is evidently not so in the sense in which the above- 
mentioned works are introductions. It does not describe the several books of the 
New Testament, but contains a collection of dissertations, relative, partly, to the 
characters of the sacred writers, partly to the Jewish history and customs, and to 
such part of Heathen antiquities as have reference to the New Testament. But 
as these dissertations display great erudition, and contain much information illus¬ 
trative of the New Testament, Dr. Harwood’s Introduction is certainly to be 
recommended to the theological student.” (Bishop Marsh.) Another experienced 
divinity tutor, (the late Rev. Dr. Williams) has also justly remarked that this work 
may be read with advantage, making allowance for the author’s theological senti¬ 
ments, (Christian Preacher, p.417.) which were Arian. We have derived some very 
useful illustrations from Dr. Harwood’s labours in the third volume of this work. 

23. Humphredi Hody de Bibliorum Textibus Originalibus, Versio- 
nibus Grsecis, et Latina Vulgata Libri Quatuor. Oxonii, 1704. folio. 

“ This is the classical work on the Septuagint.” (Bp. Marsh.) The first book 
contains Dr. Hody’s dissertation, with improvements, against Aristeas’s History, 
which he had before published in 1C85 in opposition to Isaac Vossius’s Disserta- 
tiones de Septuaginta Interpretibus , eorumque Translatione et Chronologid : in 
which the latter ascribed more authority to the Greek Version than to the Origi¬ 
nal itself. In the second book the author treats of the true authors of the Septua¬ 
gint Version, — of the time when, and the reasons why it was undertaken, — and 
of the manner in which it was performed. The third book contains a history of 
the original Hebrew text, of the Septuagint, and of the Vulgate Latin Version, 
showing the authority of each in different ages, and that the Hebrew text has 
always been most esteemed and valued. In the fourth and last book he gives an 
account of the Greek Versions of Symmachus, Aquila, and Theodotion, and of 
Origen’s Hexapla, and other antient editions; to which are subjoined lists of the 
books of the Bible at different times, which exhibit a concise but full and clear view 
of the canon of Scripture. The result of Dr. Hody’s learned researches is similar 
to that above detailed in Part I. pp. 164—177. of this volume. 

24. Introductio in Libros Sacros Veteris Foederis in Compendium 
redacta a Johanne Jahn. Viennae, 1804, 8vo. 

The author of this valuable work is of the Roman Catholic communion, and has 
diligently consulted the best continental writers who have treated on the study of 
tire Bible. This introduction is divided into two parts ; in the first are discussed 
various questions relative to the divine authority and inspiration of the Scriptures, 
the principal editions and versions of them, both Jewish and Christian, the nature 
of various lections, &c. The second part contains a series of disquisitions on each 
book of the Old Testament, as well as of the apocryphal books, which, of course 
are recognised as genuine. In these disquisitions, Professor Jahn notices the ar¬ 
gument, scope, author, date, &e. &c. &c. of the several books. Much important 
information is, in this volume, condensed into a small compass : at the end of 
the book there are forty pages of questions, framed upon the preceding part of the 
work, to exercise the memories of students. A good index, or at least a copious 
table of contents, however, is wanting to facilitate reference. 

25. Sacred Literature; comprising a Review of the Principles of 
Composition laid down by the late Robert Lowth, D.D. Lord Bishop 
of London, in his Preelections and Isaiah, and an application of the 
principles so reviewed to the illustration of the New Testament; in 
a series of Critical Observations on the style and structure of that 
Sacred Volume. By the Rev. John Jebb, A. M. [now D. D. and Bi¬ 
shop of Limerick]. London, 1820. 8vo. 

A notice of this admirable work has already been given in p. 467. of the present 
volume. 


717 


No. IV.] Writers on the Criticism , §c. of the Scriptures. 

26. A New and Full Method of settling the Canonical Authority 
of the New Testament. By the Rev. Jeremiah Jones. Oxford, 1798. 
3 vols. 8vo. 

The first edition of this elaborate work appeared in 1726, two years after the 
death of its learned author (a dissenting minister), who died at the early age of 
31. He had previously published “ A Vindication of the former part of St. Mat¬ 
thew’s Gospel, from'Mr. Whiston's charge of Dislocationsin which he success¬ 
fully proved that our present Greek copies of that Gospel are in the same order in 
which they were originally written by the evangelist. 11 In drawing up these 
works he took care to consult and examine the originals, instead of satisfying him¬ 
self with the quotations of other learned men. They remain as monuments of his 
learning, ingenuity, and indefatigable industry, and would have done credit to the 
assiduity and ability of a literary man of sixty. They were become very scarce, 
and bore a high price, when with the liberality and zeal which reflects honour on 
them, the conductors of the Clarendon Press republished them at Oxford. Mr. 
Jones, observes Dr. Maltby, has brought together, with uncommon diligence, the 
external evidence for the authenticity and genuineness of the canonical books ; and 
he has, with equal ability and fairness, stated his reasons for deciding against the 
authority of the apocryphal.” (Chalmers's Biographical Dictionary, vol. xix. p. 95.) 

27. Bibliotheca Critical Sacrae, circa omnes fere Sacrorum Libro- 
rum difficultates, ex Patrum Veterum traditione et probatiorum in- 
terpretum collecta. Ab uno ordinis Carmelitarum Discalceatorum 
Religioso. (F. Cherubino a S. Joseph.) Lovanii, 1704. 4 vols. folio. 

In this very prolix, but elaborate work, every possible question relative to Scrip¬ 
ture criticism is discussed and illustrated, from the writings of the fathers and 
most eminent divines, principally of the church of Rome. The last volume con¬ 
tains prefaces to the different books of the Old and New Testament, exhibiting 
the time when they were written, their language, authors, and respective authori¬ 
ty, together with copious synopses of the contents of each book. 

28. The State of the Printed Hebrew Text of the Old Testament 
considered. By Benjamin Kennicott, M. A. Oxford, 1753—1759. 
2 vols. 8vo. 

These dissertations preceded Dr. Kennicott’s celebrated collation of Hebrew 
MSS, and his edition of the Hebrew Bible, which is noticed in the former part of 
this volume. The first dissertation, in two parts, contains a comparison of 1 
Chron. xi. with 2 Sam. v. and xxiii., and observations on seventy Hebrew MSS. 
with an extract of mistakes and various readings. In the second, the Samaritan 
copy of the Pentateuch is vindicated; the printed copies of the Chaldee Para¬ 
phrase are proved to be corrupted ; the sentiments of the Jews on the Hebrew 
text are ascertained; an account is given of all the Hebrew MSS. known to be 
extant; and also a particular catalogue of one hundred Hebrew MSS. preserved 
in the public libraries at Oxford, Cambridge, and the British Museum. Dr. Ken¬ 
nicott’s first dissertation was translated into Latin by M. Teller, in 2 vols. Bvo. 
Lipsise, 1756. 

29. Benj. Kennicotti Dissertatio Generalis in Vetus Testamentum 
Hebraicum. Curavit P. J. Bruns. Brunsvici, 1783. 8vo. 

A neat reprint of Dr. Kennicott’s Dissertatio Generalis, annexed to vol ii. of his 
edition of the Hebrew Bible, noticed in Part I. p. 123. of this volume. 

30. Ignatii Koegler Notitia S. S. Bibliorum Judaeorum in Imperio 
Sinensi. Editio altera. Edidit C. Th. de Murr. Halae, 1806. 8vo. 

31. Apparatus Biblicus : or an Introduction to the Holy Scriptures 
in three books. 1. Of the original and antiquity of the Jews. 2. 
Of the canon, authors, original texts, versions, editions, and inter¬ 
pretations of Scripture. 3. Of the false gods, &c. mentioned in the 
Scriptures. From the French of Pere Lamy. With Engravings. 
London, 1728. 2 vols. 8vo. 2d edit. 

32. Joannis Lanigan S. Th. D. et in Academia Ticinensi Profes- 
soris, Institutionum Biblicarum Pars prima. Pavia, (1794) 8vo. 


718 


APPENDIX. 


[No. IV. 


The second part of this work has never appeared ; nor has the writer of these 
pages been able to obtain the sight even of a copy of the first portion. He has 
been informed that it was suppressed in Italy. A short Analysis of the first part 
is given in the Monthly Review (N. S.) vol. xxii. pp. 552—554.; where it is said 
(p. 555.) that “ this volume contains a large portion of text matter, well arranged, 
and accompanied with many learned notes selected from the best critics of the 
present age, together with a considerable number of just remarks from the au¬ 
thor’s own pen.” 

33. Bibliotheca Sacra post Jacobi Le Long et C. F. Boerneri ite- 
ratas curas ordine disposita, emendata, suppleta, continuata ab An¬ 
drea Gottlieb Masch. Halae, 1774—1797. 5 vols. 4to. frequently 
bound in two thick volumes. 

We have been largely indebted to this publication for much information con¬ 
cerning the printed editions of the Old and New Testament. To this valuable 
work Bibliotheca Biblica Serenissimi Wuertembergensiuvi Ducis, olim Lorhiana, 
published by J. G. C. Adler, at Altona, in 1787, (in live parts forming two quarto 
volumes) forms an indispensable supplement. It is very justly characterised by 
Bp. Marsh as “ a catalogue of great merit and utility,” and contains notices of 
some versions and translators, which have escaped even the researches of Dr 
Masch. 

34. A History of the Principal Translations of the Bible. By 
John Lewis, M. A. London, 1739, 1818. 8vo. 

The first edition of this valuable work, to which all succeeding writers on the 
English versions of the Scriptures are indebted, was prefixed to Mr. Lewis’s folio 
edition of the venerable John Wickliffe’s English version of the New Testament. 

35. An Historical View of the English Biblical Translations ; the 
expediency of revising by authority our present translation ; and the 
means of executing such a revision. By William Newcome, D. D. 
Bishop of Waterford (afterwards Archbishop of Armagh.) Dublin, 
1792. 8vo. 

36. Joannis Leusdenii Philologus Ebraeus, continens Quaestiones 
Ebraicas quae circa Vetus Testamentum Ebraeum fere moveri solent. 
Ultrajecti, 1656, 1672, 1695. 4to. Amstelaedami, 1686. 4to. 

37. Joannis Leusdenii Philologus Ebraeo-Mixtus, una cum spicile- 
gio philologico, continente decern queestionum et positionum praecipue 
philologico-Ebraicarum et Judaicarum centurias. Ultrajecti, 1663, 
1682, 1699. 4to. 

Besides discussing critical questions, this volume of the laborious philologer 
Leusden, treats very copiously on Jewish rites and antiquities. 

38. Johannis Leusdenii Philologus Ebraeo-Graecus generalis, con¬ 
tinens qutestiones Ebraeo-Graecas, quae circa Novum Testamentum 
fere moveri solent. Ultrajecti, 1670, 1685, 1695. 4to. 

Various questions relative to the original language of the New Testament, its 
editions, versions, divisions, &c. are concisely illustrated in this volume. All the 
three preceding volumes of Leusden are valuable, and may frequently be obtained 
at a low price. # 

39. Johannis Leusdenii de Dialectis N. T., singulatim de ejus He- 
braismis Libellus singularis, item editus ab Job. Frider. Fischero. 
Accessit Joh. Vorstii Commentariolus de Adagiis N. T. Hebraicis. 
Lipsiae, 1792. 8vo. 

This publication contains a reprint of Leusden’s critical disquisitions on the 
Hebraisms of the New Testament. They are enriched with very numerous phi¬ 
lological observations of the learned John Frederic Fisclier, who first published 
them in a detached form, in 8vo. in 1754. 

40. Molkenbuhr (Marcellini), Problema Criticum : Sacra Scrip- 


719 


No. I\.] Writers on the Criticism , fyc. of the Scriptures . 

tura Novi Pestamenti in quo idiomate originaliter ab Apostolis edita 
fuit ? Paderbornse, 1822. 8vo. 

41. Binterim (A. J.), Propempticum ad problema criticum, Sacra 
Scriptura Novi Iestamenti in quo idiomate originaliter ab apostoli- 
tdita tuerit ? A Doctore Marco Molkenbuhr nuper propositum. 
Moguntiae, 1822. 8vo. 

The object of Molkenbuhr’s tract is, to revive the absurd and long since' ex¬ 
ploded hypothesis, announced in the former part of the last century by father Har- 
r9 u A r b That the Greek Testament was a translation from the Latin Vulgate. 
Molkenbuhr has been most satisfactorily refuted by Binterim, and with equal learn¬ 
ing and ability. 

42. De Origine Versionis Septuaginta Interpretum : Auctore S. T. 
Muecke, correctore Lycei Soraviensis. Zulliehovise, 1788. 8vo. 

Bp. Marsh pronounces this to be “ a very useful work, as it represents both 
concisely and perspicuously the several topics which suggest themselves for con¬ 
sideration on the origin of the Septuagint version.” (Lectures, part iii. p. 123.) 

43. The Veracity of the Evangelists Demonstrated, by a compara¬ 
tive View of their Histories. By the Rev. Robert Nares, A. M. 
F. R. S., &c. London, 1815, 1818. 2d Edit. 12mo. 

44. An Enquiry into the present State of the Septuagint Version 
of the Old Testament. By Henry Owen, D. D. Rector of St. Olave, 
Hart Street. London, 1769. 8vo. 

45. A Brief Account, Historical and Critical, of the Septuagint 
Version of the Old Testament. By the same Author. London, 1787. 
8vo. 

46. The Modes of Quotation used by the Evangelical Writers, ex¬ 
plained and vindicated. By the same Author. London, 1789. 4to. 

All Dr. Henry Owen’s works are characterised by sound cricicism and laborious 
research. Bp. Marsh, who says that he is an excellent critic, observes that his 
Historical and Critical Account of the Septuagint Version, u should be read by 
every man, who wishes to be acquainted with the history of that version.” 

47. Critica Sacra; or a short Introduction to Hebrew Criticism. 
[By the Rev. Dr. Henry Owen.] London, 1774. 8vo. 

This little tract is not of common occurrence. Dr. Owen was a learned and 
sober critic, but no advocate for the absolute inerrancy and integrity of the He¬ 
brew text. His book was violently attacked by Mr. Raphael Baruh in his Critica 
Sacra Examined. (London, 1775. 8vo.) Dr. Owen rejoined in a learned tract 
• entitled, Supplement to Critica Sacra ; in which the principles of that treatise are 
fully confirmed, and the objections of Mr. Raphael Baruh are clearly answered. 
London, 1775. 8vo. 

48. Palseoromaica, or Historical and Philological Disquisitions : 
inquiring, whether the Hellenistic Style is not Latin Greek 1 Whe¬ 
ther the many new words in the Elzevir edition of the Greek Testa¬ 
ment are not formed from the Latin ? And whether the Hypothesis, 
that the Greek Text of many manuscripts of the New Testament is 
a translation or re-translation from the Latin, seems not to elucidate 
numerous passages, to account for the different recensions, and to 
explain many phenomena hitherto inexplicable to the Biblical Critics ? 
London, 1823. 8vo. 

The absurd reasonings and mischievous tendency of this publication (which is 
noticed here to put the unwary student on his guard against it), are exposed wfith 
equal learning and ability in the British Critic for January, February, and April, 
1823 ; in the Rev. J. J. Conybeare’s “ Examination of certain Arguments” con¬ 
tained in it (Oxford, 1823. 8vo.); and in the Bishop of St. David’s Postscript to the 
second edition of his u Vindication of 1 John v. 7. from the objections of M. 
Griesbach” (London, 1823.) “ The publication, entitled Palaeoromaica, (this dis- 


I 


720 


APPENDIX. 


[No. IV. 

fcinguished prelate lias most justly said,) is a work of very extensive reading and 
research ; and abounds with valuable quotations. But the materials are as desti¬ 
tute of selection, as his,” [the anonymous author’s] “ strictures are of simplicity 
and candour.” (Postscript, p. 196.) The hypothesis, which the author of Palaeo- 
romaica endeavours to maintain, is briefly this : — That the received text of the 
Greek Testament is a servile translation from a Latin original long since lost, and 
that this translation was made by a writer imperfectly acquainted with one or possi¬ 
bly with both of the languages in question. In support of this hypothesis, the 
anonymous writer has recourse to two sorts of proof, direct and indirect. 

1. The direct proof he finds in the many and obvious Latinisms which he asserts 
to exist in almost every page of the Greek Text. The principal Latinisms occur¬ 
ring are enumerated, and accounted for, in p. 30. of this volume : but, besides 
these, the anonymous writer has collected many others, which he has arranged 
under several heads or classes, which the nature of the subject and the limits of 
the present notice forbid us to detail. The reader is therefore necessarily referred 
to pp. 29—51. of Mr. Conybeare’s examination, in which the anonymous writer’s 
errors are completely exposed. 

2. The indirect proofs that the New Testament is a servile translation of a lost 
Latin original are two-fold : first, the existence of certain analogous cases of 
translation from the Latin, and particularly the Aldine edition of the Greek Sim¬ 
plicius ; and secondly, the certainty that the Latin rather than the Greek was the 
prevalent language of Palestine and its neighbourhood, in the age of the evange¬ 
lists and apostles. 

(1.) Both the Bishop of St. David’s (Postscript, pp. 186. et seq.) and Mr. Cony- 
beare (Examination, pp. 7—16.) have demonstrated that the case of the Aldine 
Simplicius is utterly inapplicable to the purpose for which it is adduced : and to 
their learned publications the reader is necessarily referred. It must suffice here 
to remark that the case of this Simplicius is very different from that of a book, 
like the New Testament, which was in the custody of the whole Christian church, 
— a book in which every part of the church took a deep interest, and of which 
every separate congregation had its copy or copies. When the Aldine Greek ver 
sion of the barbarous Latin translation, made by W. de Moorbeka in the thir¬ 
teenth century, was published, the Greek original was unknown, and continued 
to be unknown, until it was discovered a few years since by M. Peyron : whereas 
the Greek Text of the New Testament was never lost or missing. 

(2.) In full disproof of the alleged certainty of the prevalence of the Latin 
language, in Palestine and its vicinity, during the apostolic age, it will be suffi¬ 
cient to refer to pages 15—19. of the present volume, which contain some evi¬ 
dences of the general prevalence of the Greek Language that have escaped the 
researches of Bishop Burgess and of Mr. Conybeare : and also to the fact also 
mentioned in p. 203. that the old Syriac Version of the New Testament made in 
the close of the first, or at the beginning of the second century, contains many 
Greek works untranslated ; — an incontestable proof this, of the previous existence 
of a Greek original. For the following additional evidences of the existence of 
the Greek original of the New Testament we are indebted to that learned prelate. 
“ If,” says he, “ from the prevalence of the Greek language at the time of the 
Apostles, we extend our view to the state of the Christian church in its earliest 
period, we shall find increasing probabilities of a Greek original. All the Gentile 
churches established by the Apostles in the East were Greek churches ; namely, 
those of Antioch, Ephesus, Galatia, Corinth, Philippi, Thessalonica, &c.” Again : 
“ The first bishops of the Church of Rome were either Greek writers or natives 
of Greece. — According to Tertullian, Clemens, the fellow-labourer of St; Paul, 
was the first bishop of Rome, whose Greek Epistle to the Corinthians is still ex¬ 
tant. But whether Clemens or Linus was the first bishop of Rome, they were 
both Greek writers, though probably natives of Italy. Anencletus was a Greek, 
and so were the greater part of his successors to the middle of the second century. 
The bishops of Jerusalem, after the expulsion of the Jews by Adrian, were Greeks. 
From this state of the government of the primitive church by Greek ministers, — 
Greeks by birth, or in their writings, — arises a high probability, that the Chris¬ 
tian Scriptures were in Greek. 

“ The works” also “ of the earliest fathers in the church, the contemporaries and 
immediate successors of the Apostles, were written in Greek. They are alto¬ 
gether silent, as to any Latin original of the New Testament. They say nothing, 
indeed, of a Greek original by name. But their frequent mention of izaXaia avn- 
rvna, without any distinction of name, can mean only Greek originals. 

li But if we have in the Greek fathers no mention of a Greek original, we have 


721 


No. IV.] Writers on the Criticism , fyc. of the Scriptures. 

the most express testimony of Jerome and Augustin, that the New Testament (with 
the exception of the Gospel of St. Matthew, which some of the fathers supposed 
to have been written by its author in Hebrew) was originally composed in Greek. 
Jerome said, that the Greek original of the New Testament ‘ was a thing not to 
be doubted.’ ” 

Of all the [Latin] MSS. of the New Testament, which had been seen by Je¬ 
rome (and they must have been very numerous), the author of Palffioromaica ob¬ 
serves, that ‘ the whole, perhaps, of the Gospels and Epistles might be versions 
from the Greek' Surely this is no immaterial evidence,that Greek was the ori¬ 
ginal text; and this will be more evident, if we retrace the history of the Greek 
text upwards from the time of Jerome. The Greek edition nearest his time was 
that of Athanasius. Before him, and early in the same century, Eusebius pub¬ 
lished an edition by the command of Constantine. In the third century, there 
were not less than three Greek editions by Origen, Hesychius, and Lucianus. In 
the second century, about the year 170, appeared the Diatessaron of Tatian, con¬ 
taining not the whole of the New Testament, but a harmony of the four Gospels. 
And in the same century we have an express appeal of Tertullian to the authenti- 
cum Graecum of St. Paul, which, whether it means the autograph of the Apostle, 
or an authentic copy of it, is, of itself, a decisive proof of a Greek original. Again, 
in the same century, before either Tertullian or Tatian, we have, a. d. 127, the 
Apostolicon of Marcion, which, though not an authcnticum Grsecum, was Grae¬ 
cum. 

“To the evidence from the Greek editions of the New Testament in the second, 
third, and fourth centuries, and Tertullian’s testimony, we may add the language 
of those Greek ecclesiastical writings which were not admitted into the sacred 
canon, but were, for the most part, of primitive antiquity ; — I mean the Apostles’ 
Creed, the Letter of Abgarus to Christ, and the Answer to it; the Liturgies of St. 
James, St. John, and St. Peter ; the Epistle of St. Paul to the Laodiceans ; the 
Apostolical Constitutions, &c. These would never have been written in Greek, 
if the apostolical writings had not been published in the same language.” (Post¬ 
script to Vindication of 1 John v.7. pp. 182—185.) 

Lastly, the language and style of the New Testament are such as afford indis¬ 
putable proof of its authenticity, as an antient volume, and consequently that it 
was originally written in Greek. On this topic compare Volume I. pp. 96—100. 

On all these grounds, we conclude with the learned writers already cited that 
Greek was and is the original language of the New Testament, and consequently 
that there is no evidence whatever to support the hypothesis that it is a translation 
from a lost Latin original. 

49. Institutio Interpretis Veteris Testamenti, auctore Joanne Hen¬ 
rico Pareau, Litterarum Grientalium Professore in Academia Rheno- 
Trajectina. Trajecti ad Rhenum, 1822. 8vo. 

50. Augusti PfeifFeri Critica Sacra, de Sacri Codicis partitione, 
editionibus variis, linguis originalibus et illibata puritate fontium ; 
necnon ejusdem translatione in linguas totius universi, de Masora et 
Kabbala, Talmude et Alcorano. Hresdse, 1670, 1688, 1702, 1721. 
8vo. Lipsiae, 1712. 8vo. Altorfii, 1751. 8vo. Also in the second 
volume of the collective edition of his Philological Works, published 
at Utrecht in 1704. 4to. 

51. Commentatio Critica ad Libros N. T. in genere ; cum praefa- 
tione J. Gottlob Carpzovii. Accurante J. W. Rumpaeo. Lipsiae, 
1757. 4to. 2d edit. 

Critical questions of great variety and importance are here briefly but satisfac¬ 
torily discussed by a reference to the writers of the greatest credit who have 
treated on each of them. 

52. Sebaldi Ravii Exercitationes Philologicae in C. F. Hubigantii 
Prolegomena in Scripturam Sacram. Lugduni Batavorum, 1785. 4to. 

« The principles of Houbigant, who carried his conjectures beyond all bounds, 
have been very ably combated” in this work. (Bp. Marsh.) 

53. F. V. Reinhardi Dissertatio de Versionis Alexandrine authori- 
tate et usu in constituenda Librorum Hebraicorum Lectione genuina. 
Vitembergae, 1777. 4to. 

VOL. II. 


91 


/ 


722 ' APPENDIX. [No. IV. 

54. Joannis Nepomuceni Schaefer Institutiones Scripturisticae usui 
auditorum suorum accommodata. Pars prima, Moguntiae, 1790. 
Pars secunda, Moguntiae, 1792. 8vo. 

55. Joh. Frieder, Schleusneri Opuscula Critica ad Versiones Grae- 
cas Veteris Testamenti. Lipsiae, 1812. 8vo. 

56. Christiani Friderici Sclimidii Historia Antiqua et Vindicatio 
Canonis Sacri Veteris Novique Testamenti. Lipsiae, 1775. 8vo. 

57. J. S. Semleri Apparatus ad Liberalem Veteris Testamenti In- 
terpretationem. Halae Magdeburgicae, 1773. 8vo. 

58. Jo. Sal. Semleri Apparatus ad Liberalem Novi Testamenti In-- 
terpretationem. Illustrationis exempla multa ex epistola ad Roma¬ 
nos petita sunt. Halae Magdeburgicae, 1767. 8vo. 

59. Histoire Critique du Vieux Testament. Par lc Pere Simon. 
Paris, 1678. 4to. Amsterdan), 1680. Rotterdam, 1685. 4to. Best 
edition. 

The first edition was suppressed by the Influence of the Jesuit Le Tellier; it is 
very inferior to the subsequent impressions. 

60. Histoire Critique du Texte du Nouveau Testament; ou l’on 
etablit la Veritc des Actes, sur lesquels la Religion Chretienne est 
fondee. Par le Pere Simon. Rotterdam, 1689. 4to. 

61. Histoire Critique des Versions du Nouveau Testament, ou l’on 
fait connoitre quel a ete l’usage de la lecture des livres sacres dans 
les principales eglises du monde. Par le Pere Simon. Rotterdam, 
1690. 4to. 

62. Histoire Critique des Principaux Commentateurs du Nouveau 
Testament, depuis le commencement du Christianisme jusques a no- 
tre terns. Par le Pere Simon. Rotterdam, 1693. 4toi 

63. Nouvelles Dissertations sur le Texte et les Versions du Nouveau 
Testament. Par le Pere Simon. Rotterdam, 1695. 4to. 

All the works of father Simon are characterised by great learning and research. 

“ The criticism of the Bible being at that time less understood than at present, 
the researches which were instituted by Simon soon involved him in controversy, 
as well with Protestant as with Catholic writers, particularly with the latter ; to 
whom he gave great offence by the preference which he showed to the Hebrew 
and Greek texts of the Bible above that which is regarded as the oracle of the 
church of Rome, — the Latin Vulgate. Though I would not be answerable for 
every opinion (says Bp. Marsh), advanced by Simon, I may venture to assert that 
it contains very valuable information in regard to the criticism both of the Hebrew 
Bible and of the Greek Testament.” (Lectures, part i. p. 52.) Walchius has given 
an account of the various authors who attacked Simon, in his Bibliotheca Theo- 
logica Selecta, vol. iv. pp. 250—259. The Histoire Critique du Vieux Testament 
was translatec^into English “ by a person of quality,” and published at London in 
1G83. 4to. The translation abounds with gallicisms in every page. 

64. Johannis Simonis Analysis et Explicatio Lectionum Masore- 
thicarum Kethiban et Karjan Vulgo dictarum, ea forma quae illee in 
sacro textu extant, ordine alpliabetico digesta. Editio tertia. Halae, 
1823. 8vo. 

65. Stoscli (Eberhardi Henrici Danielis) Commentatio Historico- 
Critica de Librorum Novi Testamenti Canone. Praemissa est Dis- 
sertatio de Cura Veteris Ecclesiae circa Libros Novi Testamenti. 
Francofurti ad Viadrum. 1755. 8vo. 

66. Dissertations on the Importance and best Method of studying 
the Original Languages of the Bible, by Jahn and others ; translated 
from the Originals, and accompanied with notes, by M. Stuart, As- 



No. IV.] Writers on the Criticism, 6fc. of the Scriptures. 


723 


sociate Professor of Sacred Literature, in the Theological Seminary 
at Andover.—Andover (Massachusetts), 1821. 8vo. 

67. Tychsen (O. G.) Tentamen de variis Codicum Hebraicorum 
Veteris Testament! manuscriptorum generibusa Judahs et non-Judahs 
descriptis, eorumque in classes certas distributione et antiquitatis et 
bonitatis characteribus. Rostochii, 1772. 8vo. 

68. Usserii (Jacobi, Armachensis Episcopi) de Graeca Septuaginta 
lnterpretum Versione Syntagma. Londini, 1665. 4to. 

‘‘ It is divided into nine chapters, and relates to the origin of the version ac 
cording to the account of Aristeas (then supposed to be genuine), to the time 
when and the place where it was written, to the alterations which were gradually 
made in its text, to the corrections of Origen, to the modern editions, and other 
subjects with which these are immediately connected. This is a work of great 
merit: it displays much original inquiry ; and may be regarded as the ground work 
of later publications on the Septuagint.” (Bp. Marsh’s Lectures, part li. p. 121.) 

69. Vorstii (Johannis) De Hebraismis Novi Testamenti Commen- 
tarius. Edidit notisque instruxit Johannes Fridericus Fischerus. 
Lipsise, 1778. 8vo. 

70. Waltoni (Briani) in Biblia Polyglotta Prolegomena. Prsefatus 
est J. A. Dathe, Prof. Ling. Heb. Ord. Lipsise, 1777. 8vo. 

71. Wetstenii (Johannis Jacobi) Prolegomena ad Testamenti 
Grseci editionem accuratissimam, e vetustissimis codicibus denuo 
procurandam: in quibus agitur de codicibus manuscriptis Novi Tes¬ 
tamenti, Scriptoribus qui Novo Testamento usi sunt, versionibus ve- 
teribus, editionibus prioribus, et Claris interpretibus ; et proponuntur 
animadversiones et cautiones, ad examen variorum lectionum Novi 
Testamenti. Amstelsedami, 1730. 4to. 


72. Benner (Job. Herm.) Sylloge Thesium, Ilermeneuticce Sacrae 
inservientium. Francofurti et Giessse, 1753. 12mo. 

73. Chladenii (Martini) Institutiones Exegetica?. Wittebergae, 
1725. 8vo. 

74. Danhaueri (Joh. Conradi) Hermeneutica Sacra, sive Methodus 
exj)onendarum Sacrarum Literarum. Argentorati, 1684. 8vo. 

75. Ernesti (Jo. Aug.) Institutio lntcrpretis Novi Testamenti. 8vo, 
Lipsiae, 1761—1809. 8vo. 

The edition of 1809 is generally considered as the best of Ernesti’s admirable 
little manual ; but the prefatory remarks and some of the notes of Dr. Ammon 
must be read with great caution , as they are too frequently destitute of those pri¬ 
mary and indispensable characteristics of a good interpreter, sobriety and discre¬ 
tion. Two volumes of Supplementary Remarks, by Professor Morus, entitled 
Acroases super Hermeneutica Novi Testamenti, were published at Leipsic be¬ 
tween 1795 and 1797, in 8vo.; they relate only to part of Ernesti’s volume, and 
they contain much valuable matter respecting the criticism and interpretation of 
the New Testament, clothed in elegant Latinity. 

76. Elements of Interpretation, translated from the Latin of J. A. 
Ernesti, accompanied with Notes. By Moses Stuart, Professor of 
Sacred Literature in the Theological Seminary at Andover. 12mo. 
Andover, (Massachusetts) 1822. 

A translation of the preceding article. The work of Ernesti, in passing through 
the hands of its translator, has undergone some alterations. Some things have 
been omitted ; notes have been added where the subject appeared to require fur¬ 
ther elucidation; and copious extracts are translated from Morus’s Acroases. as 
well as from Beck’s Monogrammata Hermeneutices Novi Testamenti, and Keiil’s 
Elementa Hermeneutices Novi Testamenti, noticed below. 

77. Franckii (Aug. Herm.) Pnelectiones Hermeneutica? ad viam 



724 


APPENDIX. 


[No. IV. 


dextrae indagandi et exponendi Sensum Scripturae Sacrae. ... Adjecta 
est in fine Brevis et Luculenta Scripturam Sacram cum fructu legen 
di Institutio. Halae, 1717. 8vo. 

78. Franckii (Aug. Herm.) Manuductio ad Lectionem Scripturae 
Sacrae. Halae, 1693, 1704, &c. 8vo. 

This well known and very useful little work was translated into English by Mr. 
Jacques, and entitled “ A Guide to the Reading and Study of the Holy Scrip 
tures.” London, 1813. 8vo. 

79. Franckii (Aug. Herm.) Commentatio de Scopo Librorum Ve- 
teris et Novi Testamenti. Halae, 1724. 8vo. 

80. Franckii (Aug. Herm.) Introductio ad Lectionem Propheta- 
rum, I. Generalis, II. Specialis ad Lectionem Jonae, quae in reliquis 
exemplo esse possit: Utraque directa ad comparandam e prophetis 
agnitionem Jesu Christi. Halae, 1724. 8vo. 

81. Franckii (Aug. Herm.) Christus S. Scripturae Nucleus. Ac- 
cedunt tres Meditationes cognati Argumenti. Ex Germanico in La- 
tinum Sermonem vertit Henricus Grischovius. Halae, 1724. 8vo. 

82. Franzii (Wolfgangi) Tractatus Theologicus novus et perspi- 
cuus de Interpretatione Sacrarum Literarum. Wittebergae, 1619. 
4to. 1708. 8vo. (best edition.) 

83. Glassii (Salomonis) Philologia Sacra, his temporibus accom- 
modata. Post primum volumen Datliii in lucent emissutn, nunc con- 
tinuata, et in novi plane operis formam redacta a Georg. Laurent. 
Bauero. Tomi secundi Sectio posterior. — Hermeneutica Sacra. 
Lipsiae, 1797. 8vo. 

This volume, as already noticed in p. 715. is a corrected edition of that part of 
Glass’s Philologia Sacra, which relates to the interpretation of the Scriptures. 
It is sometimes to be met with as a distinct work, with a separate title page ; and 
such in effect it is, the alterations and additions being so numerous as to render 
it a new publication. It is unquestionably of great value, and has furnished the 
writer of these pages with many important observations and explanations of Scrip¬ 
ture ; but it is at the same time so strongly characterised by that licentiousness of 
interpretation which so eminently marks many of the modern divines of Germa¬ 
ny, that the student cannot be put too much on his guard with respect to Profes¬ 
sor Bauer’s volume. 

84. Jahn (Johannis) Elementa Hermeneuticae Generalis. Lipsiae, 
1815. 8vo. 

85. Keilii (Car. Aug. Theoph.) Elementa Hermeneutices Novi 
Testamenti, Latine reddita a Christ. Aug. Godefr. Emmerling. Lip¬ 
siae, 1811. 8vo. 

86. Langii (Joachimi) Hermeneutica Sacra, exhibens primum 
Genuinae Interpretationis Leges de Sensu Litterali et Emphatico in- 
vestigando; deinde Idiomata Sermonis Mosaici, Davidici, et Pro- 
phetici, necnon Apostolici et Apocalyptici: cum uberiori ipsius 
Praxeos Exegeticae appendice. Halae, 1733. 8vo. 

87. Loescher (Val. Ern.) Breviarium Theologiee Exegeticae, Legi- 
timam Scripturae Sacrae Interpretationem tradens. Wittebergae, 1719. 
8vo. 

88. A Supplement to the Second Part of the Credibility of the 
Gospel History, containing a History of the Apostles and Evange¬ 
lists, Writers of the New Testament, with Remarks and Observations 
upon every Book of the New Testament. By Nathaniel Lardner, 
D. D. 8vo. 3 vols. London, 1756, 1757. 

This history forms the sixth volume of the 8vo. (the third volume of the 4to.) 
edition of Dr. Lardner’s Works, and also the second volume of Bishop Watson’s 


725 


No. IV.] Writers on the Criticism , fyc. of the Scriptures. 


Collection of Tractsit “ is an admirable introduction to the New Testament,” — 
and “ a storehouse of literary information collected with equal industry and fideli- 
ty.” (Bishop Marsh.) 

89. An Introduction to the New Testament, by John David Mi 
chaelis, late Professor in the University of Gottingen. Translated 
from the fourth edition of the German by Herbert Marsh, D. D. 8vo. 
6 vols. Cambridge, 1802. 2d edit. 1818. 

The first edition of Michaelis’s inestimable work was published in Germany in 
1750, and translated into English in 1761. 4to.; its value is very materially en¬ 
hanced by the notes of Bishop Marsh (which unfortunately extend to part of the 
work only), who has further added a Dissertation on the Origin and Composition 
of the three first Gospels. See an ample critique on this work in the British Cri¬ 
tic, (O. S.) vol. iii. p. 601—608. and vol. iv. p. 46—54. 170—176. A French trans¬ 
lation of this work was published at Geneva, in 1822, in 4 volumes 8vo. entitled 
“ Introduction au Nouveau Testament, par J. D. Michaelis ; quatri^me edition, 
traduite sur la troisieme de Herbert Marsh, eveque de Peterborough, avec une 
partie de ses notes, et des notes nouvelles, par M. J. J. Cheneviere, pasteur et 
professeur en theologie it Geneve.” 

90. Essai d’une Introduction Critique au Nouveau Testament, par 
J. E. Cellerier, fils. Geneve, 1823. 8vo. 

Partly a translation, and partly an analysis of the very valuable German Intro¬ 
duction to the writings of the New Testament of Professor Hug. (Fribourg in 
Brisgau, 1821. 2 vols. 8vo.) Though a distinct publication, M. Cellerier’s volume 
may be considered as a necessary supplement to both the English and French 
translations of Michaelis. 

91. A Course of Lectures, containing a Description and Systema¬ 
tic Arrangement of the several Branches of Divinity, accompanied 
with an Account both of the principal Authors, and of the Progress 
which has been made at different Periods, in Theological Learning. 
By Herbert Marsh, D. D. [Bishop of Peterborough.] London, 1S10 
—1823. 8vo. 


Seven parts of these Lectures have been published. They embrace almost every 
topic of Biblical Criticism and Interpretation, and also the genuineness, authenti¬ 
city, and credibility of the Scriptures ; and are particularly valuable for their cri¬ 
tical notices of the principal writers who have treated on these subjects. 

92. Monsperger (Josephi Juliani, in Universitate Vindobonensi P. 
O.) Institutiones Hermeneuticae, V. T. Praelectionibus Academicis 
accommodatse. Lovanii, 1787. 2 vols. 8vo. 

93. Pfeifferi (Augusti) Hermeneutica Sacra, sive Tractatio lucu- 
lenta de interpretatione sacrarum literarum. Dresdae, 1684. 8vo. 
Lipsiae, 1690. 4to.; also in the second volume of the collective edi¬ 
tion of his philological works. 

94. Pfeifferi (Joach. Ehrenfrid.) Institutiones Hermeneuticae Sa¬ 
crae, veterum atque recentiorum et propria quaedam praecepta com- 
plexa. Erlangae, 1771. Svo. 

95. Rambach (Jo. Jacobi) Institutiones Hermeneuticae Sacrae varus 
observationibus copiosissimisque exemplis biblicis illustratae. Cum 
praefatione Jo. Francisci Buddei. Jenm, 1723. 8vo. 

96. Turretini (Joan. Alphonsi) De Sacrae Scripturae lnterpretandae 
methodo, Tractatus bipartitus. Trajecti Thuriorum, 1728. small 
Svo. Francofurti ad Yiadriim, 1776. Svo. 


The edition of 1776 is considered to be the best; it professes to be “ restitutus 
et auctusby William Abraham Teller, some of whose remarks are certainly va¬ 
luable ; but others convey doctrinal interpretations which Turretini (or Turre in 
as he is most usually termed) held in utter abhorrence. The edition of 1728 is 
.therefore to be preferred. 


726 


APPENDIX. 


[No. V. 


97. An Inquiry into the General Principles of Scripture Interpre¬ 
tation, in Eight Sermons preached before the University of Oxford 
in the year 1814, as the Lecture founded by the late Rev. John 
Hampton, M. A. By the Rev. William Vanmildert, D. D. [now 
Bishop of Llandaff.] Oxford, 1815. 8vo. 

98. A Vindication of the Authenticity of the Narratives contained 
in the first Two Chapters of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke, 
being an Investigation of Objections urged by the Unitarian Editors 
of the Improved Version of the New Testament, with an Appendix 
containing Strictures on the Variations between the first and fourth 
Editions of that Work. By a Layman. London, 1822. 8vo. 

In this very elaborate work, the authenticity of Matt. i. and ii. and Luke i. and 
ii. are most satisfactorily vindicated from the objections of the Editors of the Uni¬ 
tarian Version of the New Testament; whose disingenuous alterations in succes¬ 
sive editions of that work are exposed in the Appendix. 


No. V. 


LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL WRITERS, WHO HAVE TREATED ON THE 
ANTIQUITIES, CHRONOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, AND OTHER HISTORICAL 
CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

[Referred to in Page 545. of this Volume .] 


SECTION I. 

Principal Writers on Biblical Antiquities. 

1. PETRI Cunaei de Republica Hebrseorum Libri tres ; editi a Jo. 
Nicolai. 4to. Ludg. Bat. 1703. 

The best edition of a very learned work ; which, till lately, continued to be a 
text-book whence the continental professors of Hebrew antiquities lectured. 

2. Melchioris Leydekkeri de Republica Hebrseorum Libri xii. folio. 
2 tom. Amstel. 1704—1710. 

3. Caroli Sigonii de Republica Iiebneorum Libri vii.; editi a Jo. 
Nicolai. 4to. Lugd. Bat. 1701. 

4. Origines Hebrtese: or the Antiquities of the Hebrew Republic. 
By Thomas Lewis, M. A. 8vo. 4 vols. London, 1724-5. 

This is a laborious compilation, from the most distinguished writers, whether 
Jews or Christians, on the manners and laws of the Hebrews. 

5. Apparatus Historico-criticus Antiquitatum sacri codicis et gen- 
tis HebraeaB. Uberrimis annotationibus in Thomoe Goodwini Mosen 
et Aaronem subministravit Johannes Gottlob Carpzovius, 4to. Fran- 
c-ofurti, 1748. 

The most elaborate system of Jewish antiquities, perhaps, that is extant. 
Godwin’s Moses and Aaron is a small quarto volume, now rather scarce ; it was 
formerly in great request as a text-book, and passed through many editions : the 
latest, we believe, is that of 1678. Numerous other treatises on Hebrew antiqui¬ 
ties are to be found in the 34th volume of Ugolini’s Thesaurus Antiquitatum He- 
braearum. 1 


l Thesaurus Antiquitatum Sacrarum, complectens selectissima clarissimorum 
virorum opuscula, in quibus veterum Hebrseorum mores, leges, instituta, ritus sa¬ 
cri et civiles, illustrantur ; auctore Blasio Ugolino, folio, 34 vols. Venetiis, 1744— 
1769. “ Many other books treating of Jewish antiquities, have been published 







727 


Sect. I.] Principal Writers on Biblical Antiquities. 

6. Jewish, Oriental, and Classical Antiquities; containing Illus¬ 
trations of the Scriptures, and Classical Records, from Oriental 
Sources. By the Rev. Daniel Guildford Wait, LL. B. F. A. S. Vol. 

I. Cambridge, 1823. 8vo. 

The object of this elaborate work is, to illustrate Biblical and Classical Antiqui¬ 
ties from the oriental writings. This first volume is exclusively devoted to a de¬ 
monstration ol the coincidence which subsists between these different departments 
of study : and that coincidence, the author has satisfactorily shown by various 
examples. The subsequent volumes are announced to contain disquisitions on 
detached subjects, and elucidations of the text and assertions of those Greek 
writers, who have treated of Eastern History, or alluded to eastern customs. Mr. 
v\ ait has long been known to biblical students as the author of numerous valua- 
ble articles on saered criticism, which have appeared in different volumes of the 
Classical Journal. 


Various abridgments of sacred antiquities have been written by 
different authors : of these the following are the most valuable. 

1. Hadriani Relandi Antiquitates sacra) veterum Hebraeorum re- 
censuit, et animadversionibus Ugolinianis-Ravianis auxit, Georgius 
Joannes Ludovicus Vogel. 8vo. Halae, 1769. 

The best edition of a valuable little summary, which for many years continued 
to be the text-book of professors. 

2. The Manners of the Antient Israelites, containing an account 
of their peculiar Customs, Ceremonies, Laws, Polity, Religion, 
Sects, Arts, and Trades, &c. &c. By Claude Fleury. 8vo. London, 
1809. 

For this third and best edition, the public are indebted to Dr. Adam Clarke, who 
has enlarged the original work with much valuable information from the principal 
writers on Jewish antiquities. The Abbe Fleury’s work was translated many 
years since by Mr. Farnworth. The late excellent Bishop of Norwich (Dr. Horne) 
has recommended it in the following terms: “ This little book contains a concise, 
pleasing, and just account of the manners, customs, laws, policy, and religion of 
the Israelites. It is an excellent introduction to the reading of the Old Testa¬ 
ment, and should be put into the hands of every young person.” 

3. Antiquitates Hebraic* secundum triplicem Judseorum statum, 
ecclesiasticum, politicum, et ceconomicum, breviter delineat* a Con- 
rado Ikenio. 12mo. Bremae, 1741. editio tertia ; 1764. editio quarta. 

There is no difference between these two editions, excepting that the errors of 
the press in the third edition are corrected in the fourth. The first edition ap¬ 
peared in 1737. This book of Ikenius is valuable for its brevity, method, and per¬ 
spicuity. It continues to be a text-book in some of the universities of Holland 
(and perhaps of Germany). In 1810, there was published at Utrecht, a thick 8vo. 
volume of Professor Schacht’s observations on this work, under the title of Jo. 
Herm. Schachtii Theol. ct Philolol. Harderov. Animadversiones ad Antiquitates 
Hebrceas olim delineatas a Conrado Ikenio Theol. Bremens. Patre mortuo, edidit 
Godfr. Jo. Schacht. This volume only discusses the first of Ikenius’s sections, 
on the ecclesiastical state of the Plebrews ; it contains many valuable additions 
and corrections, with references to other writers. Independently of its being an 
imperfect work, this volume is too bulky to be of use to students generally, but 
would prove valuable in the hands of any one who should compose a new treatise 
on biblical antiquities. 

4. A. G. Waehneri Antiquitates Hebra)orum et Israeliticae Gentis. 
8vo. 2 vols. Gottingen, 1741. 

This work is incomplete, the author having died before its publication ; it con¬ 
tains much valuable information relative to the literature of the Jews. 


but those who have a taste for such sort of reading, will find this collection far more 
useful to them than any other of the kind.” (Bishop Watson.) 





728 APPENDIX. [No. V. 

5. Christ. Briinings Compendium Antiquitatum Hebraeorum. 8vo. 
Francofurti, 17(36. 

6. Compendium Antiquitatum Graecarum e profanis sacrarum, col- 
legit, naturali ordine disposuit, ad sacrarum literarum illustrationem 
passim accommodavit Christianus Briinings. Francofurti, 1759. 8vo. 

7. Jewish Antiquities, or a Course of Lectures on the Three first 
Books of Godwin’s Moses and Aaron. To which is annexed a Dis¬ 
sertation on the Hebrew Language. By David Jennings, D. D. 8vo. 
2 vols. London, 1766; Perth, 1808, and London, 1823, in one 
volume 8vo. 

This work has long held a distinguished character for its accuracy and learn¬ 
ing, and has been often reprinted. “ The Treatises of Mr. Lowman, on the Ritual 
(8vo. London, 1748), and on the Civil Government of the Hebrews (8vo. London, 
1740), may properly accompany these works.” (Bishop Watson.) 

8. Ernesti Augusti Schulzii Theologise Doctoris, et Professoris 
quondam in Academia Viadrina celeberrimi, Compendium Archteolo- 
gi® Hebraic®. Cum figuris ®ri incisis, edidit, emendavit, addenda 
adjecit, notisque locupletavit Abr. Phil. Godefr. Schickedanz. 8vo. 
Dresden, 1793. 

This is, perhaps, the best summary of Hebrew antiquities extant in the Latin 
language ; but, unfortunately, it is incomplete, the author having executed only 
two books which treat of the political and ecclesiastical antiquities of the Hebrews. 
Professor Schulze and his editor have diligently availed themselves of the labours 
of all previous writers on this topic, and have arranged their materials in a manner 
equally concise and valuable. 

9. Ferdinandi Stosch Compendium Arch®ologi® (Economic® Novi 
Testamenti, ducentis thesibus comprehensum, et aliis aliisve notis il¬ 
lustration. 8vo. Lipsi®, 1769. 

A small volume, of considerable rarity in this country ; it treats of the private 
life and manners of the Jews, as mentioned in the New Testament, and may serve 
as a supplement to the imperfect work of Schulze, last noticed. 

10. Arch®ologia Biblica in Epitomen redacta a Johanne Jahn. 
Editio secunda emendata. 8vo. Vienn®, 1814. 

An elaborate compendium of biblical antiquities, abridged from the author’s 
larger work on the same subject in the German language (in four large 8vo. vo¬ 
lumes) and arranged under the three divisions of domestic, political, and ecclesias¬ 
tical antiquities. At the end of the volume are upwards of sixty pages of questions, 
framed upon the preceding part of the work ; the answers to which are to be given 
by students. A faithful English translation of “ Jahn’s Biblical Archaeology,” 
was published at Andover (Massachusetts) in 1823, by T. C. Upham (assistant 
teacher of Hebrew and Greek in the Theological Seminary at that place), with 
valuable additions and corrections, partly the result of a collation of Jahn's Latin 
work with the original German treatise, and partly derived from other sources. 

11. Joliannis Pareau Antiquitas Hebraica breviter delineata. Tra- 
jecti ad Rlienum. 1817. 8vo. 

12. The Antiquities of the Jews carefully compiled from authentic 
sources, and their customs illustrated by modern Travels. By W. 
Brown, D. D. London, 1820. 2 vols. 8vo. 

13. Illustrations of the Holy Scripture, in three Parts. By the 
Rev. George Paxton. Edinburgh, 1819. 2 vols. 8vo. Reprinted at 
Philadelphia, 1821. 2 vols. 8vo. 

14. Scripture Costume exhibited in a Series of Engravings, repre¬ 
senting the principal Personages mentioned in the Sacred Writings. 
Drawn under the Superintendence of the late Benjamin West, Esq., 
P. R. A., by R. Satchwell, with Biographical Sketches and Historical 


Principal Writers on Biblical Antiquities. 


729 


Sect. I.] 


Remarks on the Manners and Customs of Eastern Nations. London, 
1819. Elephant 4to. 

15. Observations on divers passages of Scripture, placing many of 
them in a light altogether new,.by means of circumstances men¬ 

tioned in books of voyages and travels into the East. 13y the Rev. 
Thomas Harmer. London, 181G. 4 vols. 8vo. best edition. 

As books of voyages and travels are for the most part voluminous, the late reve¬ 
rend and learned Thomas Harmer formed the design, which he happily executed, 
of perusing the works of Oriental travellers, with the view of extracting from them 
whatever might illustrate the rites and customs mentioned in the Scriptures. His 
researches form four volumes in 8vo., and were published at different times, to¬ 
wards the close of the last century. The best edition is that above noticed, and 
is edited by Dr. Adam Clarke, who has newly arranged the whole, and made 
many important additions and corrections. In this work numerous passages of 
Scripture are placed in a light altogether new ; the meanings of others, which 
are not discoverable by the methods commonly used by interpreters, are satisfac¬ 
torily ascertained ; and many probable conjectures are offered to the Biblical Stu¬ 
dent. 

1G. The Oriental Guide to the Interpretation of the Holy Scrip¬ 
tures. Two Discourses, preached at Christ Church, Newgate Street, 
with Illustrative Notes, and an Appendix, containing a general and 
descriptive Catalogue of the best writers on the Subject. By the 
Rev. Samuel Burder, A. M. London, 1823. 8vo. 

17. Oriental Customs ; or an Illustration of the Sacred Scriptures, 
by an explanatory application of the customs and manners of the 
Eastern nations. By the Rev. S. Burder, 6th edition. 1822. 2 vols. 
8 vo. 

This is an useful abridgment of Harmer’s Observations, with many valuable 
additions from recent voyagers and travellers, arranged in the order of the Books, 
Chapters and Verses of the Bible. It was translated into German, by Dr. E. F. C. 
Rosenmoller, (4 vols. 8vo. Leipsic, 1819), with material corrections and much 
new matter. Such of these, as were additions to the articles contained in the 
“ Oriental Customs,” have been translated and inserted in the sixth edition above 
noticed. But those articles which are entirely new, being founded on texts not 
before brought under Mr. Burder’s consideration, are translated and inserted in 

18. Oriental Literature, applied to the Illustration of the Sacred 
Scriptures ; especially with reference to Antiquities, Traditions, and 
Manners, collected from the most celebrated writers and travellers, 
both antient and modern, designed as a Sequel to Oriental Customs. 
By the Rev. Samuel Burder, A. M. London, 1822. 2 vols. 8vo. 

19. The Eastern Mirror ; an Illustration of the Sacred Scriptures, 
in which the Customs of Oriental Nations are clearly developed by 
the writings of the most celebrated travellers. By the Rev. W. Fow¬ 
ler. 8vo. Exeter, 1814. 

An abridgment of Harmer’s Observations, and the earlier editions of Burder’s 
Oriental Customs, with a few unimportant additions. 


* * The mode of illustrating Scripture from Oriental voyages and travels, first 
applied by Mr. Harmer, has been successfully followed by the laborious editor of 
the “ Fragments,” annexed to the quarto editions of Calmet’s Dictionary of tho 
Bible, and also by Mr. Vansittart in his “ Observations on Select Places of the 
Old Testament, founded on a perusal of Parsons’s Travels from Aleppo to Bagdad” 
8vo. Oxford and London 1812. 

VOL. II. 


92 




730 


APPENDIX. 


[No. V. 


SECTION II. 

Sacred and Profane History. 

1. The Sacred and Profane History of the World, connected from 
the Creation of the World to the Dissolution of the Assyrian Empire. 
By S. Slmckford, M. A. 8vo. 4 vols. London, 1743, best edition. 
This well known and valuable work has been several times re-printed. 

2. The Old and New Testament connected in the History of the 
Jews and neighbouring Nations, from the Declension of the Kingdoms 
of Israel and Judah to the time of Christ. By Humphrey Prideaux, 
D. D. 8vo. 4 vols. London, 1749. 10th edit, reprinted in 4 vols. 8vo. 
1808. 

3. Commentaries on the Affairs of Christians before the time of 
Constantine the Great: or an enlarged view of the Ecclesiastical 
History of the first three centuries. Translated from the Latin of 
Dr. Mosheim, by R. S. Vidal, Esq. 8vo. 2 vols. London, 1813. 

4. Jo. Francisci Buddei Historia Ecclesiastica Veteris Testamenti. 
Ed. tertia, duobus tomis, 4to. Halae, 1726. 1729. 

5. A New History of the Holy Bible, from the Beginning of the 
World to the Establishment of Christianity, with answers to most of 
the controverted questions, dissertations upon the most remarkable 
passages, and a connection of Profane History all along. By Thomas 
Stackhouse, A. M. folio. 2 vols. London, 1752. 

This work has always been highly esteemed for its utility and the variety of 
valuable illustration which the author has brought together from every accessible 
source. A new edition of it was published in 1817, in three volumes, 4to., with 
important corrections and additions, by the Ilev. Dr. Gleig, one of the Bishops of 
the Scotch Episcopal Church. 

6. The Credibility of the Gospel History ; or the facts occasionally 
mentioned in the New Testament, confirmed by passages of antient 
authors who were contemporary with our Saviour or his Apostles, or 
lived near their time. By Nathaniel Lardner, D. D. 

The two first volumes of this great and valuable work illustrate a multitude of 
passages occurring in the New Testament; its publication commenced in 1733, 
and was continued for many years, until completed in twelve volumes, to which was 
added a supplement of three volumes. The “ Credibility” and “ Supplement” are 
contained in the first six volumes of the 8vo. edition, and in the first three volumes 
of the 4to edition of Dr. L.’s collective works. 


Much valuable information relative to the history of the Moabites, 
Philistines, "Babylonians, and other nations mentioned in the Scrip¬ 
tures, is exhibited by Vitringa in his commentary on Isaiah, by 
Bishop Newton in his Dissertations on the Prophets, and by Reland 
in his Palcestina ; to whom, perhaps, may be added Rollin in his An¬ 
tient History of the Greeks, Assyrians, &c. 8 vols. 8vo. 


SECTION III. 

Principal Writers on Sacred Chronology. 

1. Ludovici Cappelli Chronologia Sacra, 4to. Paris, 1655. 

This work is reprinted by Bishop Walton, in the prolegomena to his edition of 
the Polyglott Bible. 





731 


Sect. III.] Principal Writers on Sacred Chonology. 

2. Gerhardi Johannis Vossii Chronologise Sacrae Isagoffe. Hag. 
Com. 4to. 1659. 

3. Annales Veteris et Novi Testamenti, a prima mundi origine de- 
ducti. A Jacobo Usserio, Archiepiscopo Ajmachano. Folio, Genevse, 
1722. 

The best edition of a most valuable work; the chronology of Archbishop Usher 
is followed in the margins of all our large Bibles. 

4. The Scripture Chronology demonstrated by Astronomical Cal¬ 
culations. By Arthur Bedford. Folio, London, 1730. 

5. Chronologie de lTIistoire Sainte. Par Alphonse de Vignolles. 
4to. 2 vols. Berlin, 1738. 

0. Chronological Antiquities ; or the antiquities and chronology of 
the most antient kingdoms from the creation of the world. By the 
Rev. John Jackson. 4to. 3 vols. London, 1752. 

7. A New Analysis of Chronology, in which an attempt is made to 
explain the History and Antiquities of the primitive Nations of the 
World, and the Prophecies relating to them, on principles tending to 
remove the imperfection and discordance of preceding systems. By 
the Rev. William Hales, D. D. 4to. 3 vols. in four parts. London, 
1809—1812. 

This is the most elaborate system of chronology extant in our language. There 
is scarcely a difficult text in the sacred writings which is not illustrated. Dr. 
Hales follows the chronology of Josephus, whose genuine numbers he conceives 
that he has restored ; and that, by a comparison with the Septuagint and the other 
texts, he has ascertained the true series of primeval times. The longer chronolo¬ 
gy, established by Dr. II. with great success, is unquestionably preferable to that 
founded on the Masoretic text, as it removes many of those difficulties with which 
the Scripture history is encumbered in that text. His “ New Analysis” ought to 
have a place in the library of every biblical student who can procure it. 

8. Historiae Universte Tabulae Etlmographico-Periodico-Synchro- 
nisticae, ab rerum primordiis ad nostrum diem, post doctissimorum 
virorum curas iisque ducibus ad praestantissima temporis putandi ex- 
empla juxta aeram vulgarem dispositae ; adjectis clarissimarum genti¬ 
um genealogiis copiosoque rerum quarumlibet indice: praemissa etiam 
aerarum inter se comparata delineatione, item totius historiae adfini- 
umque doctrinarum notitia literaria, in usum historiae amicorum ador- 
natae studio Francisci Josephi Dumbeckii. Berolini, 1821. folio. 

These chronological tables claim a place in the student’s library, not only for 
their cheapness, but also for their utility. They are noticed here on account of 
the clear exhibition which they contain of sacred chronology and the affairs of 
those nations with whom the Jews had any intercourse. The modern events are 
brought down to the year 1820. 

9. Les Fastes Universels, ou Tableaux Historiques, Chronologi- 
ques et Geographiques, contenant, siecle par siecle et. dans des co- 
lonnes distinctes, depuis les terns les plus recules jusqu’a nos jours : — 

1. L’Origine, les progres, la gloire, et la decadence de tous les 
peuples, leurs migrations, leurs colonies, l’ordre de la succession des 
Princes, See. 

2. Le Precis des epoques et des evenemens politiques ; 

3. L’histoire generale des religions et de leurs differentes sectes; 

4. Celle de la philosophic et de la legislation chez tous les peuples 
anciens et modernes; 

5. Les decouvertes et les progres dans les sciences et dans les arts; 

6. Une notice sur tous les hommes celebres, rappelant leurs ceuvr- 


APPENDIX, 


732 


[No. V. 


ages ou leurs actions. Par M. Buret de Longchamps. Paris, 1821. 
Atlas 4to. 

This work contains the most copious set of Chronological Tables that is extant 
in any language. That part of it which includes sacred chronology is displayed 
with great perspicuity. 


SECTION IV. 

Principal Writers on Sacred Geography. 

1. Samuelis Bocharti Geographia Sacra, sive Phaleg et Canaan, 
in the third volume of the folio edition of his works. 

2. Johannis Davidis Michaelis Spicilegium Geographic Hebneo- 
rum extene post Bochartum. Partes i. ii. Gottingen, 1760. 1780. 
4to. 

Some observations on the first part of this learned work, which is not always to 
be procured complete, were published by John Reinhold Forster, intituled Epistola 
ad J. D. Michaelis , hujus spicilegium Geogr. Hehr. jam confirmantes , jam casti- 
gantes. Gottingen, 1772. 4to. It is desirable to unite this with the work of Mi¬ 
chaelis ; but unfortunately both works are extremely rare and dear. 

3. Hadriani Relandi Palestina ex monumentis veteribus et tabulis 
adcuratis illustrata. 4to. 2 vols. Traject. Batav. 1714. 

This elaborate work is also to be found in the sixth volume of Ugolino’s The¬ 
saurus Antiquitatum Sacrarum ; the fifth, sixth, and seventh volumes of which 
collection, contain various works relating to sacred geography. 

4. Sacred Geography : being a geographical and historical account 
of places mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. By Edward Wells, D.D. 

This learned work has frequently been printed at the Oxford press, and is too 
well known to require commendation; a new edition, revised and corrected 
from the Discoveries of Sir William Jones and other eminent scholars, was pub¬ 
lished by the English editor of Calmet’s Dictionary in 4to. in the year 1804. There 
are also copies in two or three vols. crown 8vo. 

Dr. Wells’s Geography of the New Testament was translated into German by 
M. Panzer, with numerous additions and corrections, in 2 vols. 8vo. Nuremberg, 
1764. 

Most of the preceding works are illustrated with maps. There is an excellent 
map of Palestine in D’Anville’s Ancient Atlas ; it lias been consulted for the maps 
accompanying this work, which have been drawn with great care, and corrected 
from the researches of modern Geographers. The quarto Atlas published by the 
late Rev. Thomas Scott, as an accompaniment to his commentary on the Bible, 
possesses the double merit of being correct as well as cheap. The Scripture Atlas , 
published by Mr. Leigh, is executed in a superior style, and has had a very ex¬ 
tensive sale. Mr. Wyld’s Scripture Atlas is a neat publication. But the most 
useful singTe map is that published by Mr. Leigh, and entitled 

5. An Historical Map of Palestine or the Holy Land, exhibiting 
the peculiar features of the country, and of all places therein, con¬ 
nected with Scripture History ; interspersed with ninety-six vignettes 
illustrative of the most important circumstances recorded in the Old 
and New Testaments 

The size of this beautifully executed map is 40 inches by 21 The vignettes 
will be found very amusing to young persons, while they serve to impress on the 
mind the leading points of sacred history and geography. The map is accompa¬ 
nied by a folio sheet of letter press, containing explanatory references to the vig¬ 
nettes. The design of the latter is to embody and connect with the names 
of places marked upon the map, the principal incidents in Jewish history — by 
placing the texts of Scripture in which such incidents are mentioned, close to the 
name of the place where the transaction occurred. The sheet of letter press also 
comprises a brief outline of the history of Palestine from the earliest period — the 




Sect. VI.] Introductions to the Scriptures. 733 

stations of the tribes and Buhle’s economical calendar of the country, exhibiting 
the state of the weather in the Holy Land throughout the different months of the 
year, and containing useful remarks on the various productions of the soil. 


SECTION V. 

Principal Writers on the Natural History of the Bible. 

1. Samuelis Bocharti Hierozoicon, sive deanimalibus sacroe Scrip- 
tuia}. 4th edit, folio. Lug. Bat. 1714; also in 3 vols. 4to. Lipsiae, 
1793, and following years. 

This last is unquestionably the best edition ; it was published by Professor Ro- 
senmitller, to whose researches biblical students are so largely indebted; and who 
has corrected it throughout, as well as enlarged it with numerous facts from the 
writings of modern travellers, &c. 

‘2. Olai Celsii Hierobotanicon, sive de plantis sacrae Scripturae, two 
parts, 8vo. Upsalae, 1745—7. 

3. Petri Forskal Descriptiones Animalium, Amphibiorum, Piscium, 
Insectorum, Vermium qua? in Itinere Orientali observavit. 4to. Hau- 
niae (Copenhagen), 1775. — Ejusdem Flora iEgyptio-Arabica. 4to. 
Hauniae, 1775. Ejusdem leones Rerum Naturalium, quas Itinere 
Orientali depingi curavit. 4to. Hauniae, 177C. 

M. Forskal was a learned Swedish Naturalist, who was sent in 17G1, at the ex¬ 
pense of his Danish Majesty, to investigate the natural productions of the East, in 
company with the celebrated traveller Neibuhr. He died at Jerim in Arabia, in 
1763, and his unfinished notes, valuable even in their imperfect state, were pub¬ 
lished by his colleague in the three works just noticed. 

4. Physica Sacra : hoc est, historia naturalis Bibliae a Joanne Ja- 
cobo Scheuchzero edita, et innumeris iconibus seneis elegantissimis 
adornata, 4 vols. folio, August. Vindel. 1731—1735. 

This is one of the most beautiful and useful works which has appeared on the 
natural histo^ of the Bible ; the engravings, 750 in number, were executed by the 
most eminent artists of that day. A German translation appeared at Augsburgh, 
at the same time with the Latin edition, to which it is preferred on account of 
its having proof impressions of the plates. The French translation, published at 
Amsterdam, in 1732—1738, in 4 vols. folio, is inferior to both the preceding edi¬ 
tions as it respects the plates, though the text and typographical execution are 
equally valuable. From the costly price of this work, it is chiefly to be found in 
great public libraries. Michaelis and other learned German writers have also ably 
illustrated the Natural History of the Scriptures. 

5. Scripture Illustrated by Engravings, referring to Natural Sci¬ 
ence, Customs, Manners, &c. By the Editor of Calmet’s Dictionary 
of the Bible. 4to. 1802. 

Many otherwise obscure passages of the Bible are in this work happily illus¬ 
trated from natural science, &c. It is handsomely and ably executed : and though 
it does not profess to be a complete natural history of the Scriptures, yet it illus¬ 
trates that interesting subject in so many instances, as to demand a place in the 
student’s library. 


SECTION VI. 

Introductions to the Scriptures. — Dictionaries of the Bible. 

The various topics discussed by the writers noticed in the preceding 
lists, are also considered by the authors of most of those useful com- 
pendiums usually termed Introductions to the Scriptures, and Die- 






73 4 


APPENDIX. 


[No. v. 


tionaries of the Bible. Of the former, such as treat more particularly 
of sacred criticism and interpretation have been already mentioned. 
The following are those which remain to be noticed, together with 
the principal Biblical Dictionaries, which are more particularly wor¬ 
thy of attention. 

1. Georgii Pritii Introductio ad Lectionem Novi Testamenti, in qua 
quae ad rem criticam, historiam, chronologiam, et geographiam perti¬ 
nent, breviter et perspicue exponuntur. 1st edit. Lipsiae, 1704. 12mo. 
4th edit, by Hoffman, in 1737. 8vo. and reprinted with corrections, 
in a large octavo volume, in 1764. 

u The service rendered by Carpzov to the Old Testament was performed by 
Pritius for the New. The improvements of his editor, Hoffman, on the original, 
are so considerable, that whoever purchases the Introduction of Pritius ( and it de¬ 
serves to be purchased by every student in divinity ) must be careful in regard to 
the date of the title page.” (Bishop Marsh.) 

2. Salomonis Van Til Opus Analyticum, comprehendens Intro- 
ductionem in Sacram Scripturam, ad Joh. Henrici Heideggeri En¬ 
chiridion Biblicum IEPOMNHMONIKON concinnatum. Trajecti 
ad Rhenum. 1720. 2 vols. 4to. 

A most minute Analysis of every Book and almost of every Chapter in the 
Scriptures. Heidegger’s Enchiridion Biblicum , on which Van Til’s work is a com¬ 
mentary, was first published at Zurich (Tiguri) in 1681, and was frequently re¬ 
printed in Germany, in the course of the last century. It contains prefaces to the 
different books of the Old and New Testament, together with analyses of the differ¬ 
ent books. Where Heidegger’s statements were correct, Van Til has corrobo¬ 
rated them; where he was in error, the latter has corrected his mistakes, and 
supplied his omissions. 

3. Dissertations, qui peuvent servir de Prolegomenes de l’Ecriture 
Sainte. Par Dorn. Calmet. 4to. 3 tomes. Paris, 1720. 

These dissertations were originally prefixed by Calmet to the different books of 
Scripture, and published in his commentary ; in this 4to. edition Calmet has col¬ 
lected them with considerable additions. 

4. An Introduction to the reading of the New' Testament, by MM. 
Beausobre and L’Enfant. 8vo. Cambridge, 1779. 

This was originally a preface to the French version of the New Testament pub¬ 
lished by MM. Beausobre and L’Enfant at Amsterdam in 1718. It has been 
several times printed, and is also to be found in the third volume of the Theologi¬ 
cal Tracts collected by Bishop Watson ; who observes that “ this is a work of ex¬ 
traordinary merit. The authors have scarcely left any topic untouched on which 
the young student in divinity may be supposed to want information.” 

5. T^he Sacred Interpreter : or a Practical Introduction towards a 
beneficial reading and thorough understanding of the Holy Bible. 
By David Collyer, Vicar of Great Coxwell, Berks. 8vo. 2 vols. Lon¬ 
don, 1746. Carlisle, 2 vols. 8vo. 1796. Last edition, 2 vols. 8vo. 
Oxford, 1815. 

11 The author of this work lived in the former part of the last century ; it not 
only went through several editions in England, but in 1750 was translated into 
German. It is calculated for readers in general, and it is a good popular prepa¬ 
ration for the study of the Holy Scriptures.” (Bishop Marsh.) 

6. Johannis Henrici Danielis Moldenhaweri Introductio in omnes 
Libros Canonicos, cum Veteris, turn Novi Foederis, ut et eos qui Apo- 
cryphi dicuntur, cum Appendice, quaetradit acta Apostoli Pauli chro- 
nologice digesta. 8vo. Regiomonti, 1744. 

Few treatises, professing to be Introductions to the Bible, are more useful than 
this work of Professor Moldenhawer’s. Having briefly shown the canonical au¬ 
thority of the Bible, and noticed its various divisions, he treats of each book in its 


735 


i 


Sect. VI.] Introductions to tlic Scriptures , Sfc. 

order, showing its author, time of writing, argument, scope, chronology, and di¬ 
vision. He carefully points out those passages which are more particularly wor¬ 
thy of consideration, or more difficult ; and under each book of the Old Testament 
he specifies the types and prophecies of Jesus Christ, and the citations from each 
book in the New Testament. The author has derived much assistance from the 
labours of Moldenhawer in the fourth volume of this work. 

7. An Introduction to the Study and Knowledge of the New Tes¬ 
tament. By Edward Harwood, D. D. London, 1767, 1771. 2 vols. 

8 vo. 

The learned author designed a third volume, which was to embrace the chief 
critical questions respecting the New Testament. This work “ contains a collec¬ 
tion of dissertations, relative, partly to the characters of the sacred writers, partly 
to the Jewish History and Customs, and to such part of heathen antiquities as 
have reference to the New Testament. As these dissertations display great eru¬ 
dition and contain much information illustrative of the New Testament, Dr. Har¬ 
wood’s Introduction is certainly to be recommended to the Theological Student.*” 
(Bishop Marsh.) Another experienced divinity tutor (the late Rev. Dr. Williams) 
has also justly remarked that this work may be read with advantage, making al¬ 
lowance for the author’s theological sentiments, (Christian Preacher, p. 417.) which 
were Arian. The writer of these pages has derived many useful illustrations from 
Dr. Harwood’s labours in the third volume of this work. 

8. Dictionnaire Historique, Chronologique, Geograpliique, et La¬ 
teral de la Bible. Par Augustin Calmet. Folio. 4 tomes. Paris, 1730. 

A translation of this truly valuable work, with occasional remarks, was publish¬ 
ed in 1732, in three folio volumes ; which having become extremely scarce, an 
edition was published in 1801, in two thick 4to. volumes, by Mr. Taylor, with a 
volume of additions from books of voyages and travels, &c. under the title of 
“ Fragments.” A new edition, (being the fourth) enlarged and greatly improved, 
was published in 1823, in five volumes 4to. The work is pleasingly illustrated 
with numerous engravings, which convey an accurate idea of Oriental mappers 
and customs. Calmet’s Dictionary is the basis of all other modern works of the 
like kind. 

9. A Dictionary of the Holy Bible. By the Rev. John Brown, of 
Haddington. 2 vols. 8vo. 

The author was a minister in the Secession-church of Scotland; and in his 
doctrinal views Calvinistic. Allowance being made for some of his sentiments, 
his work may be advantageously substituted for the preceding, the price of which 
necessarily places it above the reach of many persons. The best edition of Mr. 
Brown's dictionary is the fifth, which costs about eighteen shillings. A professed 
abridgment of this work was published in 1815, in two small volumes, 18mo. The 
u Compendious Dictionary of the Holy Bible,” first published by Mr. Button in 
1796, and since reprinted with additions and corrections in 12mo. is a judicious 
abridgment of Brown’s Dictionary. “ By means of a very small but clear type, 
a vast quantity of matter is comprised within the compass of this little volume. 
The book, without doubt, may be serviceable to many.” (British Critic, Old Se¬ 
ries, vol. x. p. 201.) 

10. A Theological, Biblical, and Ecclesiastical Dictionary ; serv¬ 
ing as a general note-book to illustrate the Old and New Testament, 
as a guide to the Practices and Opinions of all Sects and Religions, 
and as a Cyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge. By John Robinson, 
D. D. London, 1815. 8vo. 

It is no small commendation of this work that, within a few months after its 
publication, it was recommended by several dignitaries of the Anglican church to 
the attention of candidates for the ministerial office. It is very closely printed, and 
presents a valuable digest, with references to authorities at the end of each article, 
of almost all that has hitherto been written on biblical literature. Most cordially 
do we join in the following commendation of it in a modern critical journal. “ It 
is clearly the work of a man of much industry in collecting, and of much judgment 
in arranging his matter. To every theological student, who has not access to an 
extensive library, this volume will prove a very useful subsidiary ; to many, in¬ 
deed, who have neither attainment nor abilities for research, it will become neces- 


736 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


sary.” (Brit. Crit. N. S. vol. vii. p. 305.) We cannot however help expressing 
our regret that, on some topics, Dr. R. should have referred to writers, whose 
publications (though useful in some respects) are calculated to subvert the fun¬ 
damental doctrines of the Gospel; and though we cannot but differ from the 
learned author in some of his positions, yet we have no hesitation in saying, that 
it is the most compendious Dictionary of the Bible extant in our language. The 
work is illustrated by several neatly engraved maps. It may be proper to add, 
that it is noticed with merited commendation in the Evangelical Magazine for 
1817, vol. xxv. p. 48(3. and in the Antijacobin Review, vol. xlix. pp. 1—15. 

11. The Biblical Cyclopaedia; or, Dictionary of the Holy Scrip¬ 
tures, intended to facilitate an acquaintance with the inspired writ 
ings. By William Jones. 1816. 2 vols. Svo. 

The compiler of this work is advantageously known to the public as the aathor 
of a valuable “ History of the IValdenses.” The plan of his Biblical Cyclopaedia 
is less extensive than that of Dr. Robinson’s Dictionary, before which some parts 
of it appeared, though it bears date one year later than the latter work. 

12. Thesaurus Ecclesiasticus, e Patribus Graecis, ordine alphabe- 
tico exhibens quaecunque Phrases, Ritus, Dogmata, Hsereses, et hu- 
jusmodi alia hue spectant, a Johanne Casparo Suicero. Folio. 2 vols. 
Amsterdam, 1728. 

This is the best edition of a most valuable work ; which, though indispensably 
necessary for understanding the writings of the Greek fathers, incidentally con¬ 
tains many illustrations of Scripture. It is said to have cost the learned author 
twenty years’ labour ; the first edition appeared at Amsterdam in 1082, in two 
volumes, folio. 

It may be proper to add, that most of the questions relative to the 
history, geography, &>c. of the Bible are noticed in Schleusner’s valu¬ 
able Lexicon to the Septuagint version, and also in his Greek and 
Latin, and in Mr. Parkhurst’s Greek and English Lexicons to the 
New Testament; where they are illustrated with equal learning and 
accuracy. 


No. VI. 

A LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL COMMENTATORS 

And Biblical Critics of Eminence ; with Bibliographical and Critical 
Notices , extracted from authentic Sources. 

[Referred to in page 566. of this Volume .] 

A COMPLETE History of Commentators would require a volume 
of no ordinary dimensions. The present list is therefore necessarily 
restricted to an account of the Principal Commentaries and Critical 
Works illustrating the Holy Scriptures. The reader who may be de¬ 
sirous of prosecuting this subject more at length, will find much in¬ 
teresting information relative to the early commentators in Rosen- 
muller’s Historia Interprctationis Librorum Sacrorum in Ecclcsia 
Christiana, inde ab Apostolorum Aft ate usque ad Originem, published 
in detached fasciculi at Leipsic, between the years 1795—1814, and 
forming foe tomes usually bound in two vols. Svo. This elaborate 
work treats exclusively on the early commentators. Father Simon’s 
Histoire Critique du Vicux Testament , 4to. 1680 (liv. iii. pp. 416— 
466), and his Histoire Critique des Principaux Commentatcurs du Nou¬ 
veau Testament , 4to. Rotterdam, 1689, contain many valuable stric¬ 
tures on the Expositors of the Old and New Testaments, up to his 
own time. In 1674 was published at Frankfort, in two large folio 




Sect. I.] List of the Principal Commentators. 737 

volumes, Joh. Georg. Dorschei Bihlia Numerata, seu Index Specialis in 
Vet us lestamentum ad singula omnium Lihrorum Capita, et Commata. 
It contains a list of Commentators (four hundred and ninety-one in 
number), who had illustrated any book, chapter or verse of the Scrip¬ 
tures, with references to the books, chapters and pages of their seve¬ 
ral works. The merits and demerits of commentators are likewise 
^o US no! in . W * lchius ’ s Bibliotheca Tlieologica Select a, vol. iv. pp. 
dt>y—SMI.; m Ernesti’s Institutio Interprets Novi Testamenti, part 
111. cap. ix. pp. 2/8 311.; and in Morus’s Acroases Academical, vol. 

PP-^>4-^40. Rambach, in his Institutions Hermeneutical , pp. 
bbd— /2(>.; Professor Keil, in his Elcmcnta Hermeneutices Novi Tes - 
tamenti (8vo. Leipsic, 1811), pp. 159. et seq. and Professor Beck, in 
his Monogrammata Hermeneutices Librorum Novi Foederis (8vo. Lip- 
siae, 1803), part i. pp. 168. et seq. respectively notice the principal 
expositors of the Scriptures, particularly those written in the German 
Language, which being understood by few biblical students in this 
country, all commentaries in that tongue are necessarily omitted in 
the following bibliographical notices of commentators. 


SECTION I. 

SCHOLIA ON THE ENTIRE BIBLE, OR THE GREATER PART THEREOF. 

1. Joannis Marianas Scholia in Vetus et Novum Testamentum. 
Paris, 1620. folio. 

2. IIugonis Grotii Annotationes ad Vetus et Novum Testamen¬ 
tum. 

The Scholia on the Old Testament were first published at Paris, in 1644 : ana 
those on the New Testament at the same place, in three volumes, in 1641, 1646, 
and 1650. They are also to be found in the fourth volume of his Opera Thcolo- 
gica (Basil, 1732, folio), as well as in the Critici Sacri, and in Calovius’s Biblia 
Illustrata. They were republished in 4to., with numerous corrections by Vogel, 
vol. i. Hala?, 1775 ; vol. ii. and vol. iii. were published in 1776 by Doederlein, who, 
in 1779, published an Auctarium , also in 4to., which was separately sold under the 
title of Scholia in Libros Poeticos Veteris Testamenti. An edition of them was 
published by Mr. Moody, in two vols. 4to., London, 1727; and his Scholia on the 
New Testament were reprinted at Erlang in 1755, and following years, in 4to. 
We have been thus minute in stating the editions of Grotius’s Scholia, on account 
of their intrinsic value. Father Calrnet has criticised many parts of them with 
great severity, particularly his preface to and explanation of the Canticles. “ Gro- 
tius,” says Dr. Doddridge, “ has done more to illustrate the Scriptures, by what 
is generally called profane learning, than perhaps almost all the other commenta¬ 
tors put together ; nevertheless, he too often gives up prophecies, which, in their 
original sense, relate to the Messiah. His notes on some texts are large and 
learned dissertations, which might have profitably been published by themselves.” 
“ His learning,” says an eminent biblical critic of the present day, “ was very ex¬ 
tensive ; his erudition profound 5 and his moderation on subjects of controversy 
highly praise-worthy. No man possessed a more extensive and accurate know¬ 
ledge of the Greek and Latin writers ; and no man has more successfully applied 
them to the illustration of the sacred writings. He is, perhaps justly, suspected 
of Socinian sentiments ; and is, in general, so intent upon the literal meaning of 
the Scriptures, as to lose sight of the spiritual.” (Dr. A. Clarke .) 1 On the New 

1 The references above, as well as in the following pages, to Drs. Doddridge and 
Adam Clarke, are, to the “ Lectures on Preaching” of the former, inserted in the 
fifth volume of his detached works, printed at Leeds, 1804, pp. 471. et seq., and to 
the li General Preface ” of the latter , prefixed to vol. i. of his Commentary on the 
Bible, which is noticed in a subsequent page. 

vol. 11. 93 





APPENDIX. 


738 


[No. VI. 


Testament, Grotius is particularly valuable fbr understanding the history and He¬ 
braisms. 

3. Diodati (John) Annotations on the Bible, translated from the 
Italian. London, 1664. folio. 

Diodati was an eminent Italian divine and reformer in the early part of the 17th 
century ; his annotations are properly Scholia, rather practical than critical, but 
containing many useful hints ; a considerable portion of them was introduced into 
the “ Assembly’s Annotations,” noticed in a subsequent page. 

4. Jo. Christ. Frid. Sciiulzii et Geo. Laur. Baueri Scholia in 
Vetus Testamentum. Norimbergce, 1783—1797. 10 vols. 8vo. 

The three first volumes only of these learned Scholia were ostensibly written 
by Professor Schulze, 1 who states in his preface, that, in imitation of Rosenmtil- 
ler’s Scholia on the New Testament, he undertook similar short notes on the Old 
Testament. For this purpose, he has made extracts from the best philological and 
critical Scholia, chiefly from German works which are not readily accessible or 
intelligible by foreigners ; this is no small advantage ; and, independently of it, 
Schulze has added numerous critical notes of his own, beside the contributions of 
his learned friends. (Maty’s Review, vol. v. p. 406—412.) On the death of 
Schulze, Professor Bauer continued the work, and published the remaining seven 
volumes on the same plan. 

5. Ernest. Frid. Car. Rosenmulleri Scholia in Vetus Testa¬ 
mentum. Lipsise, 1795—1821. 18 vols. 8vo. 

6. J. G. Rosenmulleri Scholia in Novum Testamentum. Edit. 
Nova, Norimbergse, 1801—1808. 5 vols. 8vo. 

These Scholia have long had a very extensive circulation in Germany, but are 
now beginning to be known in this country, though their high price renders them 
accessible to comparatively few students. The Scholia on the Old Testament are 
written by RosenmUller the son; and those on the New Testament by Rosenmtll- 
ler the father. The latter is upon the whole a much safer and sounder critic than 
his son, whose Scholia in many passages are made conformable to the lax and 
(miscalled) rational system of interpretation, which for many years has been but 
too prevalent among the German Biblical Critics. In the improved editions above 
noticed of their very valuable Scholia, the two RosenmUllers have diligently 
availed themselves of every possible aid, which their own researches, or those of 
their friends, could procure for them. The author of the present work is indebted 
to these eminent critics for many valuable observations on the Analysis, &c. of 
the Sacred writings. A third edition of the younger Rosenmttller’s Scholia on the 
book of Genesis (so much enlarged and corrected as almost to form a new work), 
and a second of those on the Psalms, was published at Leipsic in 1821, 8vo. 

7. Reeves. —The Holy Bible, containing the Old Testament and 
the New, translated out of the original tongues, and with the former 
translations diligently compared and revised. London, printed for 
John Reeves, Esq., one of the Patentees of the office of King’s 
Printer." 9 vols. royal 4to. 9 vols. royal 8vo. 9 or 10 vols. crown 8vo. 

Although the beautiful editions of the Bible here noticed do not profess to be 
commentaries, yet as they are accompanied by short explanatory and Philological 
Scholia, it would be injustice towards Mr. Reeves’s splendid and public-spirited ef¬ 
forts to render the Scriptures attractive to the higher classes, were we to pass 
them in silence. On this account Mr. Reeves’s editions may justly claim a place 

1 Jahn affirms that they were not written by Schulze himself, but by Schoder 
under his name ; and he further adds, that, in general, on difficult passages, an 
antient and a modern interpretation is given, and the decision between them is left 
to the reader’s judgment. (Jahn, Enchiridion Hermeneuticce Generalis, p. 173.) 
Whether Schoder or Schulze wrote the first three vols. is not material now to 
know ; useful as the work unquestionably is, the reader should be informed that the 
author has adopted the fashionable hypothesis of many German divines, that Mo¬ 
ses was a clever mythologuc, who compiled his history from certain mythi or tra¬ 
ditional narratives! This hypothesis is also adopted by RosenmUller, ami by Dathe; 
and it was embraced by the late Dr. Geddes in his version of the Bible. See it 
examined, and (we trust satisfactorily) refuted, infra, Vol. IV. pp. 6—0. 




Sect. II.] 


739 


List of Jewish Commentators. 

in the present list of Scholiasts on the Bible. His notes are selected with great 
judgment from the labours of Bishop Patrick, Lowth, Whitby, and others ; and his 
mode of printing the text is admirable. The historical parts, which are in prose, 
are printed in continuous paragraphs ; and the poetical parts are divided into 
verses. Each book is divided into’ sections, conformable to the natural divisions 
of the several subjects; and to facilitate reference, the chapters and verses are 
distinctly pointed out in the margin. There is a learned preface to all the edi¬ 
tions. In our analysis of the different books of Scripture, particularly of the Old 
Testament, we have frequently adopted Mr. Reeves’s sectional divisions, which are 
lhe most part very judiciously made. It may bo proper to add that the printing 
ot Mr. Reeves’s editions was executed by Messrs. Bulmer & Co., and by Mr. Ben- 
sley, and may safely challenge competition with the most beautiful specimens of 
British typography. There are some copies extant in four volumes, Bvo., without 
the Scholia. 


SECTION II. 

JEWISH COMMENTATORS. 

A FEW only of the Jewish Rabbins have illustrated every individual 
book of the Old Testament: the following are those held in the high¬ 
est estimation by the Jews. 1 

Rabbi Solomon Jarchi, Ben Isaac, usually cited as Raschi from 
the contraction of his names, was a native of Troyes in Champagne : 
he wrote commentaries on the entire Bible, as well as the chief part 
of the Talmud, and from his extensive learning is accounted one of 
the most learned Jewish expositors. His style, however, is so ex¬ 
ceedingly obscure as to require an ample comment to make it intel¬ 
ligible. He died a. d. 1180. Many of his commentaries have been 
printed in Hebrew, and some have been translated into Latin by 
Christians ; as that on Esther by Philip Daquin, that on Joel by 
Genebrard, and those on Obadiah, Jonah, and Zephaniah, by Pontac. 
A German version of his entire Commentary on the Pentateuch, and 
on some other books of the Old Testament, was published by Brei- 
thaupt, in 4to. at Gotha, in 1710. 

2. Rabbi Abraham Aben Ezra was a native of Spain, and flourish¬ 
ed in the twelfth century; his Commentaries on the Scriptures, 
written in an elegant style, are much esteemed both by Jews and 
Christians. 

3. Rabbi David Kimchi was also a native of Spain, and flourished 
towards the close of the twelfth century ; he wrote Commentaries on 
the Old Testament, which are highly valued, particularly that on the 
prophet Isaiah. 

4. Rabbi Levi Ben Gershom, a Spanish Jew, was contemporary 
with Kimchi : his Commentaries on the Scripture, especially on the 
Pentateuch, are much esteemed. He accounted for the miracles 
from natural causes. 

5. Rabbi Isaac Abarbanel, or Abravanel, (as he is sometimes 
called) a Portuguese Jew, flourished in the fifteenth century, and 
wrote Commentaries on the Pentateuch, the whole of the Prophets, 

1 In this account of the Jewish Expositors, we have chiefly followed Carpzov, in 
his Introducti.o ad Libros Canonicos Veteris Testamcnti , pp. 35. et seq. and Do 
Rossi’s scarce work, entitled Bibliotheca Judaica Antichristiana. qud editict inediti 
Judaorum Libri recensentur . Royal 8vo., Parma, 1800. Wolfius has also treated 
on the Jewish Commentators, in his Bibliotheca Hcbrcea , tom. ii. p. 308. et passim. 
For an account of the Chaldee Paraphrases, see Part I. pp. 15T—103. of this vo¬ 
lume, supra. 




740 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


and some other Books of Scripture : notwithstanding his inveterate 
enmity against Christianity, his writings are much valued by Chris¬ 
tians, and are highly extolled by the Jews. 

(3. Rabbi Solomon Abenmelech, a native of Spain, flourished in 
the sixteenth century, and wrote Scholia on the whole of the Old 
Testament, in which he has interspersed the best of Kimchi’s Gram¬ 
matical Observations. 

The Commentaries of these Rabbins are inserted in the Biblia Rabbinica , pub¬ 
lished by Bomberg at Venice, in 4 vols. folio, 1518, and again in 1525 and 1526, 
and in Buxtorf s edition, printed at Basle, 1618, in 4 vols. folio. 

7. Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon, usually called Maimonides, though 
not a Commentator on the whole of the Old Testament, ought not 
to be omitted, on account of his Moreh Nevochim, or Teacher of the 
Perplexed, a valuable work that explains difficult phrases, passages, 
parables, and allegories. The best edition of this work is that of Ba¬ 
sil, 1029, 4to. His Porta Mosis was edited by Pococke (in Arabic 
and Latin) at Oxford, 1645, 4to. and his Treatises, De Jure Paupe¬ 
ris■, <$fc. (Heb. and Lat.) by Prideaux, Oxford, 1679 ; and De Sacri- 
jiciis , 4to. London, 1683. 

Several parts of the works of the above-mentioned Rabbins have 
been printed in a separate form, viz. 

1. Abarbanel. — Commentarius in Pentateuchum, cura Henrici 
Van Bashuisen. Hanover, 1710. folio. 

Ejusdem, Commentarius in Prophetas priores, cura Augusti Pfeif¬ 
fer. Lipsi®, 1686. folio. 

Ejusdem, Commentarius in Hoseam, Latine, cum notis, Fr. ab 
Husen. Lugd. Bat. 1686. 

Ejusdem, Commentarius in Nahum, cura J. D. Sprecheri. Helm- 
stadt, 1703. 4to. 

2. Abenmelech. — Ex Michlal Jophi seu Commentario R. Salom. 
Abenmelech in Veteris Testamenti Libros, una cum spicilegio R. Jac. 
Abendan®, particula, complectens prophetiam Jon®. Heb. et Lat. 
edente Ernest. Christ. Fabricio. Gottingen, 1792. 8vo. 

3. Jarchi. —R. Sal. Jarchii Commentarius in omnes Veteris Tes- 
tamenti Libros, versus et illustratus a Jo. Frid. Breithaupto, 3 vols. 
4to. Goth®, 1713. 

4. Kimchi. — R. D. Kimchii Commentarius in Jesaiam, Latine 
versus d C®sare Malamineo. Florence, 1774. 4to. 

5. Malachias, cum Commentariis Aben Ezr®, Jarchii et Kimchii 
disputationibus. Cura Sam. Bohl. Rostock, 1637. 4to. 

6. Hoseas, illustratus Chaldaica Versione et philologicis celebrium 
Rabbinorum Raschi, Aben Ezr®, et Kimchii Commentariis. Helm- 
stadt, 1702. 4to. Reprinted at Gottingen, 1780. 

7. Joel et Obadiah, cum paraphrasi Chaldaica, Masora, et Com¬ 
mentariis trium Rabbinorum. Heb. et Lat. cura Jo. Leusden. Utrecht, 
1657. 4to. 

8. Johannis Merceri Commentarii in Vates quinque priores, qui- 
bus adjunct! sunt R. Sal. Jarchi, Aben Ezra, et Dav. Kimchii Com¬ 
mentarii, ab ipso Latinitate donati, editio altera, cura G. C. Biirklini. 
Giss®, 1695. 

9. J. B. Carpzovii Collegium Rabbinico-Biblicum in libellum Ruth, 
Heb. et Lat. Lipsi®, 1703. 4to. 

This work contains the Hebrew text of the book of Ruth, the Tar<nim, the oreat 

/ 0/0 


741 


Sect. III.] Commentaries by the Fathers of the Church. 

and little Masora, and four Rabbinical Commentaries, together with Latin versions, 
and copious notes by the editor, J. B. Carpzov. Calmet states, that this book will 
be found of great service to those who are learning Hebrew, and will also servo 
as an introduction to the reading of the rabbinical writers. 


SECTION III. 

COMMENTARIES BY THE FATHERS AND DOCTORS OF THE CHRISTIAN 
CHURCH PREVIOUSLY TO THE REFORMATION. 

LEARNED men are by no means agreed as to the degree of autho¬ 
rity to be conceded to the writings of the fathers of the Christian 
Church ; by some they are depreciated beyond measure, while on 
the other hand they are estimated as repositories of every thing that 
is valuable in sacred literature. It is however a singular circum¬ 
stance, that, in almost all theological controversies, both parties are 
desirous of having the fathers on their side. Considering the ques¬ 
tion, then, without prejudice or predilection, we may safely assume, 
that the primitive fathers were men eminent for their piety and zeal, 
though occasionally deficient in learning and judgment; that they 
may be relied upon in general for their statements of facts, but not 
invariably for the constructions which they put upon them, unless in 
their expositions of the New Testament, with whose language they 
were intimately acquainted ; and that they are faithful reporters of 
the opinions of the Christian Church, but not always the most judi¬ 
cious interpreters of Scripture. “ The labours of the fathers,” says 
Luther, “ demand our veneration ; they were great men, but neverthe¬ 
less they were men liable to mistake, and they have committed mis¬ 
takes.” 1 As repositories, therefore, of Christian antiquity, as preachers 
of Christian virtue, and as defenders of the true Christian doctrine, 
they may still be very advantageously consulted ; but it is in the cha¬ 
racter of expositors of Holy Writ that we are now to consider the 
fathers of the church; and in this character we may profit by them, 
if we do not expect that from them which they could not have. The 
fathers applied themselves to the reading of the Scriptures with un¬ 
divided attention, with intense thought, and with holy admiration, as 
to that which was alone worthy to be studied. No part of Scripture 
was neglected by them; they were so earnestly intent upon it, that 
not a jot or tittle escaped them. This, with the advantages which 
they had (especially the Ante-Nicene fathers) in point of languages 
and antiquities, could not fail to produce remarks which it must be 
very imprudent in any age to neglect. The mistakes, charged upon 
the fathers in their expositions of the Old Testament, originated in 
their being misled by the Septuagint version, which their ignorance 
of Hebrew, together with their contempt of the Jews, and their un¬ 
willingness to be taught that language by them, induced them to trust 
implicitly. And that excess of allegorical interpretation into which 
some of the antients ran, was probably occasioned by their studying, 
with a warm imagination, prophecies and types, parables and allu- 


1 Labores patrum venerari decet; fuerunt magni viri, sed tamen homines qui 
abi potuerunt, et lapsi sunt. Martin Luther. Comment, in Gen. ii. p. 27. 






APPENDIX. 


742 


[No. VI. 


sions, and by our Saviour’s not developing the whole of his plan 
during his lifetime. 1 

The following are the principal Commentators on the sacred writ¬ 
ings, who are to be found among the primitive fathers and doctors 
of the Christian Church : but, in consulting their writings, the best 
editions only should be referred to, especially those by Protestants ; 
as the editions, superintended by divines of the Romish Church, are 
not only frequently corrupted, but spurious writings are also often 
ascribed to the fathers, in order to support the anti-scriptural dogmas 
of that church. 2 

1 . Origen flourished in the latter part of the second and through 
the first half of the third century : he was a native of Alexandria, 
where he chiefly resided, and was distinguished not more by his 
learning than by his piety and eloquence. He wrote Commentaries 
on the Old and New Testaments, the greater part of which is now 
lost: the best edition of what has been preserved was published by 
Huet at Rouen, 1668, in 2 vols. folio ; and in the Benedictine edition 
of his works, in 4 vols. folio, Paris, 1733—1759. He also wrote 
Scholia or short notes explanatory of difficult passages of Scripture, 
in which he chiefly attended to the literal sense. Of these Scholia 
some extracts only are preserved in the collection made by Gregory 
Nazianzen and Basil the Great, entitled Philocalia , and published at 
Paris, in 1618, 4to. His Homilies, in which he addressed himself to 
the capacities of the people, as well as his numerous other works, 
both practical and controversial, our limits permit us not to detail; 
and his critical labours on the sacred writings are noticed in another 
part of this work. 3 In the Commentaries above mentioned, Origen 
gave full scope to his learning and imagination, in what appeared to 
him to be the historical, literal, mystical, and moral sense of the Bi¬ 
ble. 4 Origen’s grand fault is that of allegorising the Scriptures too 
much; and this method of interpretation he adopted from the Alex¬ 
andrine philosophers, in the hope of establishing an union between 
Heathen philosophy and Christian doctrine. His fundamental canon 
of criticism was, that, wherever the literal sense of Scripture was 
not obvious, or not clearly consistent with his peculiar tenets, the 
words were to be understood in a spiritual and mystical sense ; a 
rule by which he could easily incorporate any fancies, whether ori¬ 
ginal or borrowed, with the Christian creed. Mosheim has justly 
characterised this father as one of the most eminent of the writers of 
the third century, who distinguished themselves by their learned and 
pious productions ; and as “ a man of vast and uncommon abilities, 

1 Dr. Key’s Norrisian Lectures, vol. i. pp. 105—118. Quarterly Review, vol. xiii. 
pp. 183—188. See also some admirable observations of the learned Dr. Gregory 
Sharpe, in his Argument in Defence of Christianity, taken from the Concessions 
of the most antient adversaries, pp. 90—99. 

2 See numerous proofs of this remark in James’s Treatise of the Corruption of 
.Scripture Councils and Fathers by the prelates, &c. of the church of Rome, for 
maintenance of popery, pp. 1—271. London, 1688. 8vo. 

3 See Part I. pp. 172—176. of this volume. 

4 Jahn’s Enchiridion Hermeneuticse Generalis, pp. 163,164. A further account 
of Origen’s expository labours may be seen in Ernesti’s Institutio Interpretis Novi 
Testamenti, pp. 286, 287., and in Morus’s Acroases super Hermeneutica Novi Foe¬ 
deris, tom. ii. pp. 230—236.; in Rosenmtlller’s Iiistoria Interpretationis Librorum 
Sacrorum, tom. iii. pp. 17—156., and Simon’s Hist. Crit. du Vieux Test. liv. iii. 
ch. ix. pp. 439—442. 



Sect. III.] Commentaries by the Fathers of the Church. 743 

the greatest luminary of the Christian world that this age exhibited 
to view. Had the justness of his judgment been equal to the immen¬ 
sity of his genius, the fervour of his piety, his indefatigable patience, 
his extensive erudition, and his other eminent and superior talents, 
all encomiums must have fallen short of his merit. Yet, such as he 
was, his virtues and his labours deserve the admiration of all ages; 
and his name will be transmitted with honour through the annals of 
time, as long as learning and genius shall be esteemed among men.” 1 
— The best edition of Origen’s works is that of Father De la Rue, 
in 4 vols. folio : Paris, 1733-59 : reprinted by M. Oberthiir at Wurce- 
burg, in 15 vols. 8vo. 1780, and following years. 

2. John Chrysostom, who flourished in the fourth century, was a 
pupil of Diodorus of Tarsus, who had himself been a disciple of Ori¬ 
gen’s. He wrote homilies on the greater part of the Old Testament, 
and on the whole of the New Testament, with the exception of the 
Catholic epistles. His homilies on the New Testament are every 
way preferable to those on the Old. Ernesti is of opinion, that none 
of the productions of the fathers are equal to those of Chrysostom on 
St. Paul’s Epistles ; and that all subsequent Greek commentators on 
them have exclusively followed him. On the historical books, his 
commentary on St. Matthew is incomparably the best and most co¬ 
pious, and is particularly worthy of being perused. Chrysostom’s 
manner of expounding is this : he first takes a verse of Scripture, 
which he explains ; and then investigates and elucidates the meaning 
of particular words, pointing out the scope of the sacred author, 
whose style and genius he examines, and rendering all Hebraisms by 
equivalent intelligible Greek expressions. He throughout adheres to 
the literal sense, which he maintained to be the true one. The homi¬ 
lies are found in the beautiful Editio Princeps of liis works published 
by Sir Henry Savile, in 8 vols. folio, Eton, 1612 ; and Montfaucon’s 
edition, which is the best, published at Paris in 13 vols. folio, 1718— 
1738. An admirable French translation of a selection from Chry¬ 
sostom’s Homilies, and other works, was printed by Auger, at Paris, 
1785, in 4 vols. 8vo. In 1807, Matthsei published 52 of his homilies 
at Moscow, in 8vo. with various readings, a commentary and index. 2 

3. Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus or Cyropolis in Syria, wrote m 
the fifth century : though he chiefly follows Chrysostom in his com¬ 
mentary on St. Paul’s Epistles, he has added many new and striking 
observations of his own, and has successfully vindicated many pas¬ 
sages against the Arians, and other sectaries of his time. The best 
edition of his works is that published by Schulz and Noesselt, Halae, 
1769—1774, in 5 vols. 8vo. 

4. Theophylact, metropolitan of Bulgaria, flourished in the 11th 
century : his Scholia on the principal books of Scripture are chiefly 
abridged from Chrysostom. Those on the Gospels, Acts, and St. 
Paul’s Epistles, are particularly valuable. The best edition of his 
works is that published at Venice, 1754—1763, in 4 vols. folio. The 


1 Mosheim’s Eccl. Hist. vol. i. p. 270. edit. 1806. 

2 Several editions of Chrysostom’s Homilies are enumerated by Harles, in his 
Brevior Notitia Literatures Graecas, pp. 739—741.; to which work, as well as to 
those of Ernesti and Morus, above referred to, we arc chiefly indebted for the fol¬ 
lowing notices of the Greek fathers. 




744 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


fourth volume contains a commentary on the Psalms by Euthymius 
Zigabenus. 

5. (Ecumenius, Bishop of Tricca in Thessaly, towards the close 
of the tenth century, wrote commentaries on the Acts of the Apos¬ 
tles, and the whole of the Epistles. His work is a judicious compi¬ 
lation from Origen, Chrysostom, Eusebius, and others. It is worthy 
of observation, that the controverted clause in St. John’s First Epis¬ 
tle (1 John v. 7.) was not known to this writer. The best edition is 
that of Paris, 1631, in 2 vols. folio. 

6. Euthymius Zigabenus, a monk of Constantinople, in the early 
part of the twelfth century, wrote commentaries on different parts of 
the Bible, the whole of which have not been printed. His principal 
work is a commentary on the four Gospels, published by Matthaei at 
Leipsic, in 1792, in 3 vols. 8 vo. The hitherto inedited Greek text is 
diligently revised from two MSS. in the library of the Holy Synod at 
Moscow, written in the time of the author. Vol. I. contains the pre¬ 
faces and Gospel of St. Matthew ; Vol. II. the Gospels of St. Mark 
and St. Luke ; Vol. III. the Gospel of St. John, with Hentenius’s La¬ 
tin Version of the whole of Euthymius’s Commentary, his Critical 
Remarks, and those of the learned editor. Euthymius’s Commenta¬ 
ry on the Psalms was published with the Works of Theophylact. 

7. Very similar to the works of Theophylact and (Ecumenius, 
above noticed, are the Catenae, or Commentaries on the Scriptures, 
consisting of separate passages or interpretations of the fathers, re¬ 
duced to the order of chapters and verses of the books ; they are de¬ 
nominated Catena , because, as a chain is composed of several links 
connected together, so these compilations consist of numerous differ¬ 
ent passages, or the sentences and expositions of different writers, 
so connected together as to form one continued work. The earliest 
compiler of a Catena was Procopius of Gaza, whose entire work on 
the Scriptures has never been printed ; though particular portions 
have been published, as his Catena on the Octateuch, or eight first 
books, in Latin, Tiguri (Zurich), 1555, folio; on the two books of 
Kings and Chronicles, Gr. Lat. 4to. Lug. Bat. 1620 ; a specimen of 
hi^ Catena on the Heptateuch, or seven first books, and on the Song 
of Solomon, edited by Ernesti, Leipsic, 1785, 4to. ; on Isaiah, edited 
by Courtier, folio, Paris, 1580. Procopius was followed by Olym- 
piodorus, who is supposed to have flourished in the seventh century ; 
his Catena on the book of Job was published at Venice in 15S7, 4to. 
A Catena on Job, Psalms, Matthew, and John, was printed by Plan- 
tin at Antwerp, in Greek and Latin, in seven vols. folio, 1630, and 
following years. One of the most valuable works of this kind is the 
Catena of Nicephorus on the Octateuch, the two books of Samuel, 
and the tw r o books of Kings ; it is a compilation from fifty-one wri¬ 
ters, and was published in Greek, in two vols. folio, at Leipsic, 1792. 
Possin and Corderius published a Catena in Greek and Latin, on the 
Four Evangelists, in 1628, 1630, 1646, and 1647, at Antwerp and 
Thoulouse, in four large folio volumes ; and a Greek Catena of Vic¬ 
tor, a presbyter of Antioch, and other fathers, on the Gospel of St. 
Mark, was edited by Matthaei, at Moscow, 1775, in 2 vols. 8 V 0. 1 


1 Morus (tom. ii. p. 253.) has enumerated several catenae on particular parts of 
the New Testament. The best account of these compilations is to be found in 



745 


Sect. III.] Commentaries by the Fathers of the Church. 

8. Jerome, of all the Latin fathers, has rendered the most impor¬ 
tant services to the Christian world, by his elaborate Commentary on 
the Scriptures, and his prefaces to the different books. His com¬ 
mentary on the Prophets is reckoned the best part of his works ; his 
valuable Latin version of the Scriptures, has already been noticed. * 1 
The principal editions of this eminently learned father’s works are 
those of Paris, 1693—170(5, in five vols. folio, and of Verona, 1734 
—1742, in eleven vols. folio. 

9. Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, in the fourth century, wrote Com¬ 
mentaries on the Psalms, and on the Gospel of St. Matthew, which 
are extant in the Paris edition of his works, 1693, folio, and in that 
printed at Verona, 1730, in two vols. folio. These Commentaries 
consist more of what he borrowed from Origen, than of the results 
of his own studies ; and on this account Morns is of opinion, that lit¬ 
tle assistance can be derived from consulting them. This author must 
not be confounded with Hilary, surnamed the Deacon, from the office 
which he filled in the church of Rome, in the middle of the fourth 
century : and who wrote a Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistles, which 
is printed in the second volume of the Benedictine edition of Am¬ 
brose’s works (Paris, 1686—1690, 2 vols. folio), to whom they are 
erroneously ascribed. 

10. Augustine, the celebrated Bishop of Hippo in Africa, in the 
fourth century, wrote several Treatises on the Scriptures, and parti¬ 
cularly Commentaries on the Psalms, neither of which are now held 
in much estimation, notwithstanding the high rank he holds in eccle¬ 
siastical history. His piety, indefatigable application, sublime genius, 
unwearied pursuit of truth, and the acuteness of his wit, are univer¬ 
sally allowed. “ It is however certain,” says Mosheim, “ that the 
accuracy and solidity of his judgment were by no means proportion- 
able to the eminent talents now mentioned ; and that upon many oc¬ 
casions, he was more guided by the violent impulse of a warm ima¬ 
gination, than by the cool dictates of reason and prudence. Hence 
that ambiguity which appears in his writings, and which has some¬ 
times rendered the most attentive readers uncertain with respect to 
his real sentiments; and hence also the just complaints which many 
have made of the contradictions that are so frequent in his works, 
and of the levity and precipitation with which he set himself to write 
upon a variety of subjects, before he had examined them with a suffi¬ 
cient degree of attention and diligence.” 2 Jalin has remarked that 
the genius of Augustine resembled that of Origen rather than that of 
Jerome, to both of whom he was greatly inferior in learning, being 
totally ignorant of Hebrew, and but moderately versed in Greek. 3 
His Treatises on the Scriptures form the third, and his Commenta¬ 
ries on the Psalms the fourth volume of the Benedictine edition of 
his works. He accommodates the Scriptures more frequently to his 
own ideas, than he accommodates these to the former, and is perpe- 


Ittigius’s Tractatus dc Catenis Patrum, Leipsic, 1707, Svo.; and in Noesselt’s Ob- 
servationes de Catenis Patrum Greecorum in Novum Testamcntum. Halae, 1762, 
4to. See also Walchii Bibliotheca Theologica, vol. iv. pp. 388—391. 

1 See 198, 199. of this volume. 

2 Mosheim’s Ecclesiastical History, vol. i. p. 363. 

3 Jahn, Enchiridion Hermeneuticoe Generalis, p. 167. 

vol. ii. 94 




746 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


tually hunting out mysteries, especially in numbers. 1 Such was the 
authority in which the writings of Augustine were held, that his ex¬ 
positions continued to be followed by all Latin interpreters from his 
time until the Reformation ; who have selected expositions not only 
from his professedly biblical labours, but also from his other practi¬ 
cal and controversial writings. Among the principal compilations of 
this kind are the Glosses , or short interpretations of Strabo and An¬ 
selm. 

11. Walafridus Strabo or Strabus, who flourished in the ninth 
century, composed a work on the whole Bible, which was called 
Glossa ordinaria or marginalis; because the entire margin, at the top 
and bottom, as well as on each side of the page, was filled with anno¬ 
tations. His work is in fact a catena or collection of comments from 
all the Latin fathers who preceded him, and particularly from Au¬ 
gustine and Rabanus Maurus, whose pupil Strabo was, and who wrote 
a voluminous catena on the Gospel of St. Matthew, and St. PauFs 
Epistles, besides an entire comment on the Bible, which is still in 
manuscript. Strabo endeavours to show the literal, historical, and 
moral sense of the Scriptures, but not always with success. For 
many years the labours of Strabo continued to be received as the sole 
authorised interpretation of the Bible. The best edition of his work 
is that of Antwerp, 1634, folio. 2 

12. Anselm, an ecclesiastical writer of the eleventh century, wrote 
an Literlineary Gloss , so called because it is confined to the insertion 
of a very brief exposition of obscure passages in the same line with 
the text. 

13. Thomas Aquinas, a celebrated scholastic doctor of the thir¬ 
teenth century, compiled a Catena on the four Gospels, from upwards 
of eighty Greek and Latin fathers, whose words he chiefly gives, 
rather than their meaning, and quotes the Greek fathers from Latin 
versions of their works. His comment long held a distinguished place 
in the Western church; it is found in the fourth and fifth vols. of the 
Venice edition of his works, 1755, 4to. 

There were however a few, though but few, interpreters of better 
note, who flourished during the period now under consideration, and 
“who followed a better mode of interpretation. We shall briefly enu¬ 
merate them. 

14. The venerable Bede, who lived in the eighth century, compos¬ 
ed a catena on nearly the whole of the New Testament, from the 
writings of the fathers, in which he interspersed but fetv remarks of 
kis own. Deeply versed in Greek literature, he has the peculiar 
praise of drawing from original sources. His commentaries are to 
l>e found in the fifth and sixth volumes of the Cologne edition of his 
works, 1688, folio. 

15. Alcuin, the countryman and contemporary of Bede, compiled 
a commentary on some parts of the Scriptures, in which he made 
selections from Jerome, Chrysostom, Augustine, Bede, and other 
writers ; not always with the best judgment. His biblical labours are 
contained in the first volume of Froben’s edition of his works. 

1 Rambachii Instit. Herm. p. 679. 

2 Much curious information relative to the Biblia Glossata, or Glosses on the 
Scriptures, is contained in Masch’s edition of Le Long’s Bibliotheca Sacra, part ii. 
vol. iii. cap. ii. sect. iii. pp. 353. et seq. 




747 


Sect. IV.] List of the Principal Foreign Commentators. 

f 

1 G. Nicholas de Lyra or Lyranus, so called from the place of 
his nativity, a small town in Normandy, is reputed to have been a 
Jew by descent, but having’ embraced Christianity, he entered into 
the religious society of Friars Minors at Verneuil. lie deservedly 
holds a distinguished rank among commentators, his explanations of 
the Scriptures being far superior to the manner and spirit of the age 
in which he flourished. His compendious expositions of the Bible 
were called post-ills , from his manner of placing them, viz. first exhi¬ 
biting the sacred text, and post ilia (after the words of the text) offer¬ 
ing his own explication. In this work he shows a greater acquaint¬ 
ance with the literal sense of Scripture than any preceding commen¬ 
tator, and has availed himself of his intimate knowledge of Hebrew 
to select the best comments of the most learned Rabbins, particularly 
Jarchi. Being, however, less intimately acquainted with Greek than 
with Hebrew, he is less happy in his expositions of the New Testa¬ 
ment than in those of the Old. His notes are allowed to be very ju¬ 
dicious, and he principally attends to the literal sense, with which, 
however, he occasionally intermingles the subtleties of the school¬ 
men. The best edition of this work is that of Antwerp, 1G34, in 6 
vols. folio : it is also found in the Biblia Maxima , edited by Father 
De la Haye, in 19 vols. folio. Lyra was also the author of Moralia y 
<or Moral Commentaries upon the Scriptures . 1 


SECTION IV. 

THE PRINCIPAL COMMENTATORS ON THE SCRIPTURES GENERALLY, 

SINCE THE REFORMATION. 

§ 1. Foreign Commentators. 

i. The illustrious reformer, Martin Luther, wrote Commentaries 
on most of the books of Scripture. A collection of them was publish¬ 
ed at Wittenberg, in four volumes, folio, 1549. All the writings of 
this great man are deservedly held in the highest estimation in Ger¬ 
many, especially his Commentaries on Genesis, and on St. Paul’s 
Epistles to the Romans and Galatians. His Commentary on the Ga¬ 
latians is best known in this country by a translation, which was first 
printed in 1580 in 4to. and subsequently in folio, octavo, and in two 
vols. 12mo. In 1821, was published, in Svo. a translation of Lu¬ 
ther’s Commentary on the Psalms, called Psalms of Degrees; in which 
among many other valuable Discourses on Individual, Household , and 
Civil Affairs, the Scriptural Doctrine respecting the divinely instituted 
and honourable Estate of Matrimony is explained and defended against 
the Popish Perversion of Enforced Celibacy, Monastic Vows, Orders , 
fyc. fyc. To which is prefixed, An Historical Account of the Monastic 
Life, particularly of the Monasteries of England. 

2. The biblical writings of John Calvin, another illustrious re¬ 
former, consist of Commentaries, Homilies, and Lectures on almost 

1 Masch’s edition of Le Long’s Bibliotheca Sacra, part ii. vol. iii. p. 357—302. 
Lyra’s commentary was attacked by Paul bishop of Burgos (Paulus Burgensis), a 
converted Jew, and was defended by Matthias Doring. Ibid. pp. 363, 364. Wal- 
chii Bibliotheca Theologica, vol. iv. pp. 396, 397. 







748 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


the whole of the Scriptures : they are to be found in the folio edi¬ 
tion of his works, printed at Amsterdam, in 1671, in nine volumes. 
The Commentaries and other expository writings of this great man 
have always been deservedly celebrated and admired : though it has 
been the fashion with some modern divines to depreciate them, on 
account of those peculiar dogmas which Calvin deduced from the 
Sacred Writings. “ Calvin’s Commentaries,” says the learned Mat¬ 
thew Poole, in the preface to the ‘ Synopsis Criticorum Sacrorum,’ 
noticed below, “ abound in solid discussions of theological subjects, 
and in practical improvements of them. Subsequent writers have 
borrowed most of their materials from Calvin ; and his interpreta¬ 
tions adorn the books even of those who repay their obligation by 
reproaching their master.” The great critic Scaliger said that no 
commentator had better hit the sense of the prophets than Calvin; 
and another eminent critic of our own time (Rosenmiiller) has re¬ 
marked, that although Calvin was not deeply versed in Hebrew, yet 
as he possessed an acute and subtle genius, his interpretations of 
Isaiah in particular, contain many things which are exceedingly use 
ful for understanding the prophet’s meaning. Nothing indeed can 
more satisfactorily evince the high estimation to which the commen¬ 
taries of Calvin are still entitled from the biblical student, than the 
following eulogium of one of the most learned prelates that ever 
adorned the Anglican Church — Bishop Horsley. “ I hold,” says 
he, 1{ the memory of Calvin in high veneration; his works have a 
place in my library ; and, in the study of the Holy Scriptures, he is 
one of the Commentators whom I most frequently consult.” The 
writer of these pages has not often had occasion to refer to the writ¬ 
ings of Calvin in the prosecution of this work ; yet he has never con¬ 
sulted them but with advantage and with pleasure. 

3. Victorinus Strigelius was nearly contemporary with Luther 
and Calvin, and wrote arguments and notes to the whole of the Bi¬ 
ble, with the exception of Isaiah, which were published at different 
times between the years 1566 and 1586, and in various sizes. 1 They 
are much admired for their exactness, particularly his Ttfo^vr^araon 
th§ New Testament, which are noticed in a subsequent page. 

4. Ludovici de Dieu Critica Sacra, sive Animadversiones in Loca 
quaedam difficiliora Veteris et Novi Testamenti. Amsterdam, 1693, 
folio. 

A work of acknowledged character : “ Perhaps no man ever possessed a more 
consummate knowledge of the Oriental languages than De Dieu, nor employed his 
knowledge to more useful purposes.” (Bibliog. Diet. III. 123.) 

5. Sebastiani Schmidii Commentarii in Genesin, Josuam, Ruth, 
Reges, Samuelem, Jobum, Psalmos, Ecclesiasten, Iesaiam, Jeremi- 
am, Hoseam, Evangelium Johannis, et Epistolas Pauli ad Romanos, 
Galatas, et Hebraeos. Argentorati, 1687, et annis sequentibus, 4to. 

Sebastian Schmidt was at least the most laborious and voluminous commenta¬ 
tor of his age (the seventeenth century). Mosheim’s Eccl. Hist. vol. v. p. 296. 

6. Critici Sacri : sive Annotata doctissimorum Virorum in Vetus 
ac Novum Testamentum ; quibus accedunt Tractatus varii, Theolo- 
gieo-Philologici, 9 tomis in 12 voluminibus, Amsterdam, 1698, folio. 


I Masch has given the titles and dates of their respective publications ; vol. iii. 
pp. 424—497 



749 


Sect. IV.] List of the Principal Foreign Commentators. 

This great work, first published at London in 1C60, in 9 vols. folio, under the 
direction of Bishop Pearson, John Pearson, Anthony Scattergood, and Francis 
Gouldman, is considerably augmented in the above second and best edition. The 
notes of Grotius, Vatablus, and Drusius, Munster, Castalio, Clarius, Junius, and 
Tremellius, are to be found in this collection, besides a multitude of commentators 
on particular books, and numerous valuable disquisitions on particular subjects, 
which are enumerated by Dr. A. Clarke in the general preface to his Commenta¬ 
ry, vol. i. p. xiii. To complete this great work, there were published at Amster¬ 
dam, in 1701, Thesaurus Theologico-Philologicus, in 2 vols. folio, and in 1732, in 
two folio volumes also, Thesaurus Novus Theologico-Philologicus, — two valuable 
collections of critical and philological dissertations by the most eminent biblical 
critics of that day. These are necessary to complete the Critici Sacri; of which 
great work an admirable abridgment has been published under the title of, 

7. Matthau Poli Synopsis Criticorum aliorumque SS. Interpre- 
tum. London, 1669—1674, 5 vols. folio. Utrecht, 5 vols. folio, 1684 ; 
also Frankfort, 1712, 5 vols. folio, and 1694, 5 vols. large 4to. 

On this most elaborate work the learned author spent ten years; it consolidates 
with great skill and conciseness all the Critici Sacri of the London edition into 
one continued comment, besides many valuable additions from other authors of 
note, Hammond, &c. and his own corrections and decisions in several places. It 
has many advantages over the Critici Sacri, not only in point of size, but also in 
its admirable arrangement and concentration of evidence, and in the author’s re¬ 
marks ; and it furnishes a most complete material index to the Critici Sacri. (Dr. 
Hales’s Analysis of Chronology, vol. ii. preface, p. xviii.) Of the various editions 
above noticed, that edited at Utrecht by Professor Leusden, is by far the best and 
most correct. The folio Frankfort edition is not worth purchasing, on account of 
its incorrectness. The 4to. edition, which is somewhat better, is nevertheless very 
inaccurate : it is badly printed, and sells at a very low price. 

8. Joannis Clerici Translatio Librorum Veteris Testamenti, cum 
ejusdem Paraplirasi perpetua, Commentano Philologico, Disserta- 
tionibus Criticis, Tabulisque Chronologicis et Geographicis, folio, 4 
vols. Amsterdam, 1708, 1710, 1713. Ejusdem, Translatio ex An- 
glica Lingua Henrici Hammondi Paraphrasis et Adnotationum in 
Novum Testamentum, Animadversionibus suis illustrata. Frankfort, 
1714. 2 vols. folio. 

Le Clerc’s Translation and Commentary are highly commended by Bishop Wat¬ 
son : of Dr. Hammond’s Paraphrase and Notes on the New Testament, some ac¬ 
count is o-iven below. Many of Le Clerc’s observations throw great light on the 
Scriptures; in others he has indulged hisownfancy, and, what is most to be regretted, 
lias completely frittered away the meaning of the Prophecies concerning our Sa¬ 
viour. He considers the miracles as the effects of nature. His Commentaries on 
the Prophets and on the Hagiographa are greatly inferior to those on the Penta¬ 
teuch. John Justus Von Einem published a volume of Animadvcrsiones ad Jo - 
annis Clerici Commentaries, at Magdeburgh, 1735. 8vo. 

9. La Sainte Bible, expliquee par David Martin, Amsterdam, 
1707. 2 vols. folio. 

M. Martin revised the Geneva version of the French Bible and corrected it so 
materially, that it is frequently considered as a new translation. The short notes, 
which he has annexed, contain much good sense, learning, and piety. 

10. Ostervald (Jean-Frederic) La Sainte Bible, avec les Argu- 
mens et Reflexions, Neufchatel, 1772. folio. 

M. Ostervald was an eminent divine of the French Protestant Church. The 
French Text of the Bible is that of the Geneva Version, revised and corrected by 
himself; whence it is often considered as a new version. Ostervald’s arguments 
and reflections are very valuable, and have been liberally consulted by later com¬ 
mentators. A detached translation of them, in three vols. 8vo., was published by 
Mr. Chamberlayne in the early part of the eighteenth century, at the request and 
under the patronage of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge. 

11. Joannis Cocceii Commentarii in Sacras Scripturas, in ejus 
Operibus. Amsterdam, 10 vols. folio, 


750 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 

The commentaries of Cocceius are also extant in quarto and folio, under differ¬ 
ent dates as they were published. It is the fault of this learned man that he has 
in the Old Testament spiritualised every thing to the utmost; his commentaries, 
however, particularly on the New Testament, abound with valuable illustrations, 
and will amply repay the trouble of perusal. 

12. Calmet. — Commentaire Litteral sur tous les Livres de l’A ri¬ 
de u et du Nouveau Testament, par Augustin Calmet. Paris, 1719 
—1726. 8 tomes in 9 vols. folio. 

“ It contains the Latin text of the Vulgate, and a French version in collateral 
columns, with the notes at the bottom of each page. It has a vast apparatus of 
prefaces and dissertations, in which immense learning, good sense, sound judgment, 
and deep piety are invariably displayed. This is without exception the best com¬ 
ment on the Sacred Writings ever published, either by Catholics or Protestants.” 1 
(Dr. A. Clarke.) Walchius (Bibl. Theol. vol. iv. p. 433.) has pronounced an equally 
strong but well-deserved eulogium on this valuable work, to which we have been 
largely indebted in the course of these volumes. 

13. Chais. — La Sainte Bible, avec un Commentaire Litteral, et 
des Notes choisies, tirees de divers Auteurs Anglois, <fcc., par Charles 
Chais. Hague, 1743—1790. 7 vols. 4to. 

Besides a French translation, which in general is judicious, this learned and 
elaborate work contains a valuable comment on the Old Testament as far as the 
end of the historical books. The seventh volume was posthumous, and was edi¬ 
ted by the late Rev. Dr. Maclaine. “ It is much to be regretted that the learned 
and pious author did not complete the whole. What he has published, however, 
at long intervals, is excellent. His notes are chiefly taken, as he professes, from 
the best English Commentators, to whom he gives a decided preference above the 
foreign, Houbigant, Calmet, &c.; all of whom he appears to have carefully stu¬ 
died. It may therefore be justly considered as a considerable and valuable improve¬ 
ment upon his predecessors, of every description, as far as it goes.” (Dr. Hales.) 

14. Jo. Aug. Dathii Libri Veteris Testamenti, ex Recensione Tex- 
tus Hebrrei et Versionum Antiquarum, Latineversi, notis pbilologicis 
et criticis illustrati. Haloe, 1773—1789. 6 vols. 8vo. 

This work is in high repute on the continent, where it was published at differ¬ 
ent times in six volumes or parts, most of which have been several times reprinted 
with improvements. See a notice of it, in Part I. p. 224. of this volume. The 
difficult and obscure passages are illustrated by notes placed at the bottom of the 
page. After M. Dathe’s decease, Rosenmiiller edited a collection of his Opuscula 
ad Crisin et Intcrpretalionem Veteris Testamenti spectantia, 8vo. Lipsice, 1795. 
These should be added to the above work, as they contain critical disquisitions 
on some antient versions, &c. 

15. Libri Sacri Antiqui Foederis ex Sermone Hebneo in Latinum 
translati; notatione brevi praecipuae Lectionum et Interpretationum 
diversitatis addita. Auctoribus D. Henrico Augusto Schott et Julio 
Friederico Winzer, volumen primum. Altonae et Lipsiae, 1816. 8vo. 

This volume comprises the Pentateuch only ; the first three books were trans¬ 
lated by M. Schott, and the two last by M. Winzer, but the whole work has been 
so carefully revised, that it appears to be the production of only one person. With 
a few exceptions, the version is said to be close ; and the annotations, which are 
very brief, are strictly confined to the indication of the principal various lections, 
and of the different interpretations proposed by eminent biblical critics. This 
work has not been continued. 


§ 2. British Commentators on the whole Bible. 

1. The Reformers’ Bible. —The Holy Bible, containing the Old 
and New Testaments, according to the Authorised Version ; with 
short Notes by several learned and pious Reformers, as printed by 
Royal Authority, at the time of the Reformation, with additional 
Notes and Dissertations. London, 1810. 4to. 



751 


Sect. IV.] List of British Commentators on the Bible. 

The notes on the Old Testament in this edition are reprinted from those append¬ 
ed to the English version of the Bible, published at Geneva by Coverdale, Samp¬ 
son, and other reformers who fled to that city during the reign of Queen Mary: 
whence their translation is generally known by the appellation of the Geneva Bi¬ 
ble. The annotations on the New Testament are translated from the Latin of 
Theodore Beza. Although in this edition the orthography is modernised, and the 
style has in some few instances been improved, the editor (the Rev. Thomas 
Webster, M. A.) states that the utmost caution has been observed, that no altera¬ 
tion should be made in the sentiments of the reformers, whose “ notes and illustra¬ 
tions,’’ the late eminent Bishop Horsley (no mean judge of biblical literature) has 
pronounced to be “ very edifying, except that in many points they savour too 
much of Calvinism.” The notes on the Apocalypse are selected by the editor 
from various commentators : he has also occasionally supplied arguments to the 
different books of the Old and New Testaments : his dissertations on which, 
though concise, are sufficiently comprehensive for those readers who have not 
leisure to consult more expensive commentaries. A few useful maps and tables 
accompany the work, which is further ornamented with some neatly executed vig¬ 
nette engravings. 

2. Hall (Bishop). — Contemplations on the Old and New Testa¬ 
ments. 2 vols. 1808. 8vo. 

These have been reprinted at various times and in different forms ; the edition 
now noticed was published by the Rev. Josiah Pratt, B. D. and is very correctly 
printed. Bishop Hall’s Contemplations “ are incomparably valuable for language, 
criticism, and devotion.” (Dr. Doddridge.) The Bishop also wrote a “ Paraphras¬ 
tic Exposition of hard Texts,” which forms the 3d and 4th vols. of Mr. Pratt’s 
edition of his whole works. These expository notes Dr. D. pronounces to be “ very 
valuable, especially for showing the spirit and force of many expressions that oc¬ 
cur.” They do not, however, contain much learned criticism. Most of them, if 
not all, are inserted in the valuable Commentary of Bp. Mant and Dr. D’Oyly, no¬ 
ticed below. 

3. Annotations upon all the Books of the Old and New Testa¬ 
ment : this third, above the first and second editions, so enlarged, as 
they make an entire Commentary on the Sacred Scripture ; the like 
never before published in English. Wherein the text is explained, 
doubts resolved, Scriptures paralleled, and various readings observ¬ 
ed ; by the labour of certain learned divines thereunto appointed, 
and therein employed, as is expressed in the preface. London, 1657. 
2 vols. folio. 

This valuable work (for valuable and learned it is, considering the time when it 
was composed) is usually called the “ Assembly’s Annotations from the circum¬ 
stance of its having been composed by members of the Assembly of Divines who 
sat at Westminster during the great rebellion. The reader will find an account 
of its authors in Dr. Calamy’s Life of Mr. Baxter, p. 86. et seq. 

4. Poole. — Annotations upon the Holy Bible, wherein the sacred 
text is inserted, and various readings annexed; together with the pa¬ 
rallel Scriptures. The more difficult terms are explained ; seeming 
contradictions reconciled ; doubts resolved, and the whole text open¬ 
ed. By the Rev. Matthew Poole, folio, London. 2 vols. 1683. Edin¬ 
burgh, 1803. 4 vols. 4to. 

The annotations are mingled with the text, and are allowed to be very judicious ; 
the author (who was an eminent non-conformist divine) wrote them only as far as 
the 58th chapter of Isaiah ; the remainder of the notes was compiled after the 
same manner, by several eminent dissenting ministers. It is no mean praise of 
this valuable work, that it is in the list of books recommended to clergymen by 
Bishop Tomline. 

5. Clarke. — The Old and New Testament, with Annotations 
and parallel Scriptures. By Samuel Clarke, A. M. London, 1690. 
folio. 

The selection of parallel texts is admirable ; and the notes, though very brie! 


V52 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 

are written with great judgment. The work was commended in very high terms 
by Drs. Owen and Bates, as well as by Mr. Baxter and Mr. Howe. “ It has been 
an excellent fund for some modern commentators, who have republished a great 
part of it with very little alteration.” (Chalmers’s Biog. Diet. vol. ix. p. 403.) 
This work, notwithstanding the learned author was a non-conformist, is inserted 
in the list of books recommended by the Bishop of Chester (Dr. Cleaver) to the 
attention of the younger clergy. It is unfortunately very scarce and dear. The 
purchaser must be careful that he be not misled by another Bible published also 
in one vol. folio, in 1811, in the name of S. Clarke, in numbers; and which is a 
very indifferent compilation by some anonymous editor from various commenta¬ 
tors, all of whom lived long after the time of Mr. Clarke. 

6 . The Rev. Dr. Edward Wells published a Help for the Right. 
Understanding of the Scripture, in various parts, between the years 
1709 and 1728. As this useful work is not often to be met with, 
complete , the following bibliographical notice of it is copied from the 
Rev. Dr. Cotton’s List of Editions of the Bible and of parts thereof. 
(Appendix, pp. 163—165.) 

(1.) Wells's Paraphrase of the Old Testament. 

Part I. The Title, “ An Help for the more easy and clear understand- 
“ ing of the Holy Scriptures : being the book of Genesis explained after 
“the following method: viz. The common English Translation rendered 
“ more agreeable to the original. A paraphrase. Annotations.” Oxford, 
printed at the Theatre, 1724. “ A preface to the reader,” 5 pages. “ The 

“general preface,” xv. pages. “A discourse of the year, &c. in use 
“ among the Jews,” p. 1—91. “ A Chronological Account,” &c. 23 pages, 
not numbered. Additional notes, 6 pages, not numbered. The text, p. 

1—277. A synopsis to the Pentateuch, 2 pages. 

Part II. Title, “ An Help,” &c. as before: containing Exodus, Leviti¬ 
cus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, printed 1725. “ A preface to the read¬ 

er,” p. i—xi. Errata, 1 leaf, not numbered. Exodus, p. 1—149. Le¬ 
viticus, p. 1—86. Numbers and Deuteronomy, p. 1—236. 

Part III. Title, “ An Help,” &c. containing Joshua, Judges, and Ruth : 
printed 1725. A preface to the reader, 11 pages. Joshua, p. 1—84. Sy¬ 
nopsis, 1 leaf, not numbered. Judges and Ruth, p. 1—102. 

Part IV. “ An Help,” &c. containing two books of Samuel, and two 
of Kings : printed 1726. Preface, p. i—vi. Samuel to 1 Kings, chapter i. p. 

I—182. Errata, 1 leaf, not numbered. 1 Kings, chapter ii. &c. p. 1—148. 

Part V. “ An Help,” &c. containing Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and 
Esther: printed 1727. Preface to the reader, p. i—v. Chronicles, p. 1— 
136. Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, p. 1—80. a continuation of Jewish his¬ 
tory, p. 81—109. Chronological tables, 2 pages. 

Part VI. “ An Help,” &c. containing Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, 
and Canticles : printed 1727. Preface to the reader, 2 pages. Job to Psalm 
lx. p. 1—160. Psalm lxi—cl. p. 1—115. Preface to Proverbs, &c. 4 pages, 
unnumbered. Proverbs, &c. p. 1—116. 

Part VII. “ An Help,” &c. containing Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Lamenta¬ 
tions: printed 1728. A general discourse, p. i—xvi. Isaiah, p. 1—162. 
Jeremiah and Lamentations, p. 1—168. 

Part VIII. “ An Help,” &c. containing Ezechiel: printed 1728. The 
text of Ezechiel, p. 1—178. 

Part IX. “An Help,” &c. containing Daniel: printed 1716. Dedica¬ 
tion, 4 pages, not numbered. General preface, with a table, p. 1—10. 
Discourse, with four tables, p. 11—44. Daniel, p. 1—134. Synopsis, 1 
leaf. Various readings, p. 137—170. N. B. This edition of Daniel was 
published with the New Testament: a second was printed 1728. 

Part X. “ An Help,” &c. containing the twelve Minor Prophets : printed 
1723. General preface, p. i—v. Preface to Hosea, p. i—vi. Hoseato Oba- 
diah, p. 1—121. Jonah to Zephaniah, p. 1—88. Haggai to the end, p. 1— 


753 


Sect. IV.] List of British Commentators on the Bible. 

77. N. B. A second edition was published in 1729, containing a preface, 2 
pages. Text, p. 1—244. 

(2.) Paraphrase of the New Testament. 

Part I. “ An Help,” &c. containing the Gospels and Acts. Oxford, at 
the Theatre, 1718. General preface, p. i—iv. Two discourses, p. v—xx. 
Chronological tables, p. xxi—xxxv. The contents of St. Matthew and 
St. Mark, 5 pages, not numbered. Then follows a second title, “ An 
Help,” &c. containing the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark, dated 
1717. The text, p. 3—411. 

Part II. “ An Help,” &c. containing St. Luke and the Acts : dated 1719. 
Advertisement, &c. 6 pages. St. Luke, p. 1—225. Acts, p. 1—209. 

Part III. “An Help,” &c. containing St.John’s Gospel: dated 1719. 
Advertisement, &c. 4 pages. Text, p. 1—195. 

Part IV. A treatise on the harmony of the four Gospels, with a table. 
Preface, 2 pages. The treatise, p. 1—83. 

Part V. “ The second pari, of an Help,” &c. containing the Epistle to 
the Romans: dated 1711. Preface, 2 pages. Procemial discourse, p. 1 — 
24. Text, p. 1—125. A second edition was published in 1715, with a 
title professing the part to contain all St. Paul’s Epistles. General pre¬ 
face, synopsis, and lists of books written by Dr. E. Wells, G pages, not 
numbered. Advertisement, &c. 2 pages. Procemial discourse, p. 1 —20. 
Text, p. 21—145. 

Part VI. “An Help,” &c. containing the Epistles to the Corinthians: 
printed 1714. Errata, 1 leaf. Text, p. 1—171. 

Part VII. “An Help,” &c. containing the Epistles to the Ephesians, 
Philippians, Colossians, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon : printed 1715. The 
text, p. 1—173. 

Part VIII. “A specimen of an Help,” &c. being the Epistles to the 
Thessalonians and Galatians : printed 1709. Dedication, 2 pages. Preface, 
5 pages. Text, p. 1—76. N. B. In 1716 was published a second edition; 
the contents and pages the same. 

Part IX. “ An Help,” &c. containing the Epistle to the Hebrews: 
printed 1713. Preface, 2 pages. Text, p. 1 —95. 

Part X. “ An Help,” &c. being the Catholic Epistles: printed 1715. 
Advertisement, &c. 2 pages. Text, p. 1—149. 

Part XI. “ An Help,” &c. being the Revelation of St. John: printed 
1717. Dedication, 2 pages. Preface, 3 pages. Table and Explanation. 
Text, p. 1—183. 

7. Patrick, Lowth, Whitby, and Arnald’s Commentary on the 
Bible. London, 1727—1760. 7 vols. folio. London, 1809. 8 vols. 
4to. 1821. 7 vols. 4to. 

Bishop Patrick wrote the commentary on the historical and poetical books of 
the Old Testament, in 2 vols. ; Mr. W. Lowth, (father of Bishop Lowth) that on 
the Prophets, in one vol.; Dr. Whitby, that on the New Testament, in 2 vols.; 
and Mr. Arnald, the commentary on the Apocryphal books. The four volumes 
of Patrick, Lowth, and Arnald, are justly valued, as containing one of the best 
commentaries on the Old Testament and Apocrypha which we have in the En¬ 
glish language. As Dr. Whitby’s work on the New Testament is very frequently 
found separate from the above commentaries, the reader will find some account 
of it, infra, in the list of commentators on the New Testament. 

8. Henry. — An Exposition of the Old and New Testament, by 
tiie Rev. Matthew Henry, folio, 5 vols. 4to. 6 vols. 

The value of this commentary is too well known to require any testimonies to 
its merit: it is perhaps the only one “ so large, that deserves to be entirely and 
attentively read through. The remarkable passages should be marked : there is 
much to be learned in this work in a speculative, and still more in a practical 
way.” (Dr. Doddridge.) The quarto edition was superintended by the Rev, 
Messrs. Burder and Hughes, and is very correctly and handsomely printed; there 
are some copies on royal paper. 

VOL. II. 


95 


754 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI 


9. Gill. — An Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, in 
which the sense of the sacred text is given ; doctrinal and practical 
truths are set in a plain and easy light; difficult passages explained; 
seeming contradictions reconciled ; and whatever is material in the 
various readings, and the several Oriental versions, is observed. The 
whole illustrated by notes from the most antient Jewish writings. 
By John Gill, D. D. London, 1748—1763. 9 vols. folio. London, 
1809. 9 vols. 4to. 

In rabbinical literature Dr. Gill had no equal, and he has hence been enabled 
to illustrate many important passages of Scripture. But he has often spiritualised 
his text to absurdity. l( The massy volumes of Dr. Gill might almost form a class 
of their own, as they comprehend everjr method of interpretation ; and sometimes, 
by giving to the same passage too great a variety of meanings, they leave the 
weak reader to doubt whether that book can have any certain meaning, which an 
ingenious expositor can interpret, or rather torture, in so many different ways.” 
An occasional reference to his learned work is all perhaps that can be recom¬ 
mended. 

10. Purver. — A New and Literal Translation of all the Books 
of the Old and New Testaments, with Notes critical and explanatory. 
By Antony Purver. London, 1764. 2 vols. folio. 

The author of this translation was one of the Society of Friends or Quakers; 
who, under very considerable disadvantages, acquired a competent knowledge of 
the Hebrew and other Oriental languages, and also of the Greek. His work 
was published at the expense of Dr. J. Fothergill; although it contains many improv¬ 
ed renderings and useful notes, it “ has never been highly valued, and is much less 
literal and much less simple than the habits of the man, and those of the religious 
■community to which he belonged, might authorise one to expect.” (Dr. A. 
Clarke.) See a further account in the Monthly Review, (O. S.) vol. xxxii. pp 
194—205. 

11. Wesley. — Notes on the Old and New Testaments, by the 
Rev. J. Wesley, M. A. Bristol, 1764. 4 vols. 4to. 

In consequence of the author being obliged to retrench his notes, in order to 
comprise the work within the prescribed limits of four volumes, “ the notes on the 
Old Testament are allowed on all hands to be meagre and unsatisfactory. The 
notes on the New Testament, which have gone through several editions, are of a 
widely different description ; though short, they are always judicious, accurate, 
spiritual, terse, and impressive, and possess the happy and rare quality of leadincr 
the reader immediately to God and his own heart.” (Dr. A. Clarke.)' The Rev* 
Dr. Hales pronounces these notes to be “ commendable for their conciseness, and 
acutely pointed to the hearts and consciences of his readers and he mentions 
the notes on the Apocalypse, which are chiefly abridged from the critical and ex¬ 
pository writings of Bengel, as being the most valuable part of Mr. Wesley’s work. 
(Analysis of Chronology, vol. ii. pp. 1287, 1288.) The text is inserted in conti¬ 
nuous paragraphs, the verses being thrown into the margin, and it contains several 
happy corrections of the received version, which are frequently cited by Mr. Gran¬ 
ville Sharp and Dr. Hales. 

12- The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, 
according to the present authorised English Version, with Notes, 
critical, explanatory, and practical ; all the marginal readings of the 
most approved printed copies of the Scriptures, with such others as 
appear to be countenanced by the Hebrew and Greek originals ; a 
copious collection of references to parallel texts; summaries of the 
contents of each book and chapter, and the date of every transaction 
and event recorded in the Sacred Oracles, agreeably to the calcula¬ 
tion of the most correct chronologers. By the Rev.' Joseph Benson. 
London, 1811—1818. 5 vols. 4to. 

An elaborate and very useful commentary on the Sacred Scriptures, which (in¬ 
dependently of its practical tendency) possesses the merit of compressing into a 


7o5 


Sect. IV.] List of British Commentators on the Bible. 

comparatively small compass, the substance of what the piety and learning of 
former ages have advanced, in order to facilitate the study of the Bible. Its late 
learned author was particularly distinguished for his critical and exact acquaint¬ 
ance with the Greek Testament. 

13. Cruden. — The Complete Family Bible : or a Spiritual Expo¬ 
sition of the Old and New Testament ; wherein each chapter is sum¬ 
med up in its context, and the sacred text inserted at large, with 
Notes, spiritual, practical, and explanatory. By the Rev. Mr. Cru¬ 
den. London, 1770. 2 vols. folio. 

The compiler of this indifferently executed commentary is not to be confounded 
with Mr. Alexander Cruden, author of the well known Concordance to the Holy 
bcriptures. It appears to have been originally published in numbers, which cir¬ 
cumstance may account for the paucity of copies now to be met with. 

14. Dodd. — A Commentary on the Books of the Old and New 
Testaments, in which arc inserted the Notes and Collections of John 
Locke, Esq. Daniel Waterland, D. D., and the Right Hon. Edward 
Earl ot Clarendon, and other learned persons, with practical im¬ 
provements. By W. Dodd, LL. D. London, 1770. 3 vols. folio. 

In the compilation of this work, Dr. Dodd availed himself liberally of the labours 
of Calmet, Chais, and Houbigant, besides the most eminent commentators of our 
own country, and the manuscript collections mentioned above. The purchaser 
should see that vol. i. contains a Dissertation on the Pentateuch, and vol. iii. ano¬ 
ther on the Inspiration of the New Testament; which are not unfrequently wanting, 
especially the first, probably from the work being originally published in numbers. 
Dr. Dodd’s Commentary was reprinted a few years since by the late Dr. Coke, 
with several retrenchments and some unimportant additions, in six handsome vo¬ 
lumes quarto. 

15. An Illustration of the Holy Scriptures by Notes and Explica¬ 
tions on the Old and New Testaments, 3 vols. folio. 

The publication of this work commenced in the year 1759, and it has been fre¬ 
quently reprinted. It was edited by Mr. Goadby of Sherborne , “it contains many 
judicious notes but, “ while it seems to be orthodox, is written entirely on the 
Arian hypothesis.” (Dr. A. Clarke.) 

16. Haweis. — The Evangcdical Expositor ; or a Commentary on 
the Holy Bible, wherein the Sacred Text is inserted at large, the 
sense explained, and different passages elucidated, with practical 
observations, &c. By T. Haweis, LL. B. M. D. London, 1765. 2 
vols. folio. 

17. Scott. — The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Tes¬ 
taments ; with original notes, practical observations, and copious 
marginal references. By Thomas Scott, Rector of Aston Sandford. 
London, 1822, 6 vols. 4to. Fifth and best edition, with the author’s 
last corrections. 

The first edition of this work (the constant and increasing sale of which proves 
’ the high estimation in which it is deservedly held), begun in 1788 and published 
in numbers, consisted of five thousand copies; the second, in 1805, of two thou¬ 
sand ; the third, in 1810, of two thousand ; the fourth, in 1812, of three thousand ; 
and the fifth and latest edition, completed and published in 1822, is stereotyped , — 
the largest work ever submitted to that process. Besides these, eight other edi¬ 
tions, consisting all together of twenty-five thousand two hundred and fifty copies 
were printed in the United States of America from 1808 to 1819; where the local 
and temporary prejudices, from which the writer could not escape in his own coun¬ 
try, having less force, its value seems to have been at once acknowledged. — On 
the last edition of this Commentary its late learned author was engaged at the 
time of his death, and bestowed the utmost pains upon its revision, so as to render 
it as accurate as possible. More particularly, 1. As sundry small variations have, 
during the lapse of two centuries, crept into our common Bibles, considerable 
pains have been taken, by the collation of different editions, to exhibit an accurate 


756 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 

copy of the sacred text according to the authorised version. — 2. Not only have 
the marginal references throughout been revised with the utmost care, but it will 
be found that the Author has inserted, in the notes, and practical observations, fre¬ 
quent references to other parts of his Commentary. To this improvement he 
attached considerable importance : and its value will, no doubt, be felt by those 
readers who may bestow sufficient pains upon the subject to enter into his design. 
The student may be advantageously referred to the book of Proverbs for a speci¬ 
men of this addition to the work. — 3. But the most important improvement which 
it has received, consists in the copious critical remarks which have been intro¬ 
duced. Many of these occur in the Old Testament, in all which the original 
words in Hebrew characters, pointed, have been substituted for the English letters, 
by which they had been before expressed, wherever any thing of the kind occur¬ 
red. In the New Testament these remarks are numerous. Here also new au¬ 
thorities are adduced in support of the criticisms which have been previously 
made, particularly from Schleusner, to whose valuable Lexicon of the Greek Tes¬ 
tament the Author was indebted for much assistance. The critical remarks, it is 
also to be observed, are now uniformly carried to the end of the note, instead of 
being interspersed in the body of it. — 4. Mr. Scott had finished the actual revision 
of this great work nearly to the end of the second epistle to Timothy. The last 
passage to which he put his hand, was that striking declaration of St. Paul (2 Tim. 
iii. 1, 2.) so applicable to the present times. Although several alterations (and 
some of them of considerable importance) have been made in the fifth edition, 
subsequent to the verse just named ; yet these have not been introduced without 
authority, but are taken, according to the author’s directions, from a copy of the 
fourth edition, which he read over soon after its publication, making such correc¬ 
tions as occurred. The critical remarks also, contained in the former edition, 
have been, to the close, arranged, as nearly as possible, according to the plan 
adopted in the preceding parts of the work. 

“ The capital excellency of this valuable and immense undertaking, perhaps, 
consists in the following, more closely than any other, the fair and adequate mean¬ 
ing of every part of Scripture without regard to the niceties of human systems: 
it is in every sense of the expression a scriptural comment. It has likewise a 
further and a strong recommendation in its originality. Every part of it is thought 
out by the author for himself, not borrowed from others. The later editions in¬ 
deed are enriched with brief and valuable quotations from several writers of credit 
— but the substance of the work is entirely his own. It is not a compilation, it is 
an original production, in which you have the deliberate judgment of a masculine 
and independent mind on all the parts of Holy Scripture. Every student will un¬ 
derstand the value of such a work. Further, it is the comment of our age, pre¬ 
senting many of the last lights which history casts on the interpretation of pro¬ 
phecy, giving several of the remarks which sound criticism has accumulated from 
the different branches of sacred literature, obviating the chief objections which 
modern annotators have advanced against some of the distinguishing doctrines of 
the Gospel, and adapting the instructions of Scripture to the peculiar circum¬ 
stances of the times in which we live. I may observe also that the faults of 
method and style which considerably detract from the merit of some of his other 
writings, are less apparent here, where he had only to follow the order of thought 
in the sacred book itself; whilst all his powers and attainments have their full 
scope. It was the very undertaking which required, less than any other, the qua¬ 
lifications which he did not possess, and demanded, more than any other, those in 
which he excelled. It required matured knowledge of Scripture, skill as a textu- 
ary, sterling honesty, a firm grasp of truth, unfeigned submission of mind to every 
part of the inspired records, a holy temper of heart, unparalleled diligence, and 
perseverance : and these were the very characteristics of the man. When to these 
particulars it is added that he lived to superintend four editions, each enriched 
with much new and important matter, and had been engaged above three years 
in a new one, in which for the fifth time he had nearly completed a most labori¬ 
ous revision of the whole work, we must at least allow the extent and importance 
of the author’s exertions. Accordingly, the success of the work has been rapidly 
and steadily increasing from the first, not only in our own country, but wherever 
the English language is known. It will soon be in the hands of most careful stu¬ 
dents of the holy volume, whether in the first instance, they agree with the au¬ 
thor's chief sentiments or not. Nor is the time distant, when, the passing con¬ 
troversies of the day having been forgotten, this prodigious work will generally 
be confessed in the Protestant churches, to be one of the most sound and instruc¬ 
tive commentaries produced in our own or any other age.” — (Rev. Daniel Wil- 


Sect. IV.] List of British Commentators on the Bible. 757 

son's Sermons occasioned by the death of the Rev. Thomas Scott, pp. 33—35. 98. 
3d edition.) ’ 1F 

To the preceding just character of this elaborate commentary, the writer of these 
pages (who does not view all topics precisely in the same point of view with its 
late learned author) deems it an act ol bare justice to state that he has never con¬ 
sulted it in vain, on difficult passages of the Scriptures. While occupied In con¬ 
sidering the various objections of modern infidels, he for his own satisfaction 
thought out every answer (ifhe may be allowed the expression) for himself; re¬ 
ferring only to commentaries in questions of more than ordinary difficulty. And 
in every instance, — especially on the Pentateuch, — he found, in Mr. Scott's com¬ 
mentary, brief but solid refutations of alleged contradictions, which he could find 
rn no other similar work extant in the English lano-uacrc. 

18. \V ilson (Bishop).— The Holy Bible: containing the Books 
of the Old and New Testaments, carefully printed from the first edi¬ 
tion (compared with others) of the present translation; with notes 
by Thomas Wilson, I). D. Bishop of Sodor and Man, and various 
renderings, collected from other translations, by the Rev. Clement 
Crutwell, editor. London, 1785. 3 vols. 4to. 

The text and marginal references are printed with equal beauty and correctness. 
“ The editor has greatly increased the value of this edition by inserting in the 
margin different renderings of the same passage, from all the translations he could 
procure. He has also prefixed a particular account of the several English trans¬ 
lations of the Bible, and of their authors. The bishop’s notes are only to be con¬ 
sidered as brief hints either for the explanation or the practical improvement of 
particular passages. As illustrations of the text, their value is inconsiderable; 
especially as the author frequently decides and pronounces without proof, and 
falls into mistakes through inadvertency.” (Monthly Review, O. S. vol. lxxiv. 
p. 297.) 

19. Yonge. — A Practical and Explanatory Commentary on the 
Holy Bible, taking the whole in one point of view, from the Creation 
to the End of the World. By J. Yonge. London, 1787. 4to. 

“ The point of view in which the Scriptures are here considered, is their refer¬ 
ence to the Redemption of the world by Jesus Christ; which great event is 
traced through the historical and prophetical writings of the Old Testament, 
and the narrative and epistolary records of the New, to show that the whole has 
one leading object and design. Tiiis work is rather intended as a practical help 
to the meditations of the pious Christian, than as a critical elucidation of the sacred 
writings.” (Monthly Review, O. S. vol. Ixxviii. p. 173.) 

20. A revised Translation and Interpretation of the Sacred Scrip¬ 
tures, after the Eastern manner, from concurrent authorities of cri¬ 
tics, interpreters, and commentators, copies, and versions ; showing 
that the inspired writings contain the seeds of the valuable sciences, 
being the source whence the antient philosophers derived them, also 
the most antient histories and greatest antiquities, and are the most 
entertaining as well as instructing to both the curious and serious. 
Glasgow, 1799, 8vo. Second Edition, 1815, 4to. 

We have transcribed the long title of this curious work, in which the author has 
certainly succeeded in introducing very many approved renderings; but in which 
he has also marred exceedingly that venerable simplicity and dignity, which are 
so eminently conspicuous in the authorised version. His explanations of differen: 
passages are included in short paraphrases, comprehended between parentheses. 
No solier student or critic, however, can approve of the manner in which Dr. 
M £ Rae (such, we are told, is the author’s name) has attempted to elucidate “ Sol¬ 
omon’s Allegoric Song,” (as he terms it) “ on the mutual love of Christ and his 
church, written twenty years after his Egyptian nuptials.” As this work is very 
little known, we transcribe the first seven verses of the twelfth chapter of Eccle¬ 
siastes, containing Solomon’s admirable portraiture of old age, by way of speci¬ 
men : — 

“ 1. Remember thy Creator in the days of youth, before the days of affliction 
come, and the years of old age approach, when thou shalt say, I have no 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


758 

pleasure in them. 2. Before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, be¬ 
come dark to thee , and the clouds return after rain, or one trouble come upon another. 
3. When (the arms) the keepers of the (corporeal) house shall shake, and the strong 
ones (the limbs) be feeble, and (the teeth) the grinders shall cease, as being few 
(and unfit for use) ; and they that look out at the windows (the optic nerves of 
the eyes) become dim ; 4. And the doors be shut in the streets (the lips fall in, 
the teeth being gone), and the sounding of the grinding (in eating) be low ; and 
they shall rise up at the sound of the bird (sleep being diminished, and easily 
broken) ; and all the daughters of music (the accents of the voice, and acuteness 
of the ear) fail. 5. They shall also be afraid of (ascending) the place which is 
high (being weak and breathless) ; and fears (of stumbling) shall be in the way ; 
and (gray hairs like) the almond tree’s leaves shall flourish ; and the grasshopper 
shall be a burden (small matters being troublesome, as being crooked and fretful); 
and the desire of enjoyment shall fail; for man goeth to his long home, and the 
mourners go about the streets. C. Before the silver cord (the marrow of the back 
bone, with its root and branches) be contracted ; or the golden vial (the brain's 
membranes) be cracked, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain (the cavities and 
conveyers of the blood from the heart), or the wheel be broken at the cistern (the 
returners of it from the lungs, liver, head, hands, and feet); the double, yea, qua¬ 
druple, circulation, (galal and ruts) being repeated, be interrupted and cease. 7. 
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was ; and the spirit shall return to 
God who gave it.’* 

21. Bulkley. — Notes on the Bible, by the late Rev. Charles Bulk- 
ley. London, 1802, 3 vols. 8vo. — See a notice of this work in p. 
309. of this volume. 

22. Priestley (Dr.) — Notes on all the Books of Scripture, for 
the use of the Pulpit and of Private Families, by Joseph Priestley, 
LL. D. F. R. S. 8vo. 4 vols. Northumberland, (N. Am.) 1803. 

For a notice of this work, see p. 568. of this volume. 

23. Trimmer (Mrs.) — A Help to the unlearned in the Study of 
the Holy Scriptures; being an attempt to explain the Bible in a fa¬ 
miliar way adapted to common apprehensions, and according to the 
opinions of approved Commentators. By Mrs. Trimmer. London, 
1805. 8vo. 

The late amiable and benevolent authoress of this work was well known by her 
unwearied assiduity in promoting the welfare of the rising generation. Novelty 
of information, she did not pretend to offer ; but, without approving of every sen¬ 
timent asserted in her work, it is but just to say, that it is a most useful help to 
the unlearned, and that the object announced in her preface has been fully accom¬ 
plished ; viz. — To render “ the study of the Bible easy and profitable to those 
who have but little leisure, or who may not be able to understand expositions of 
Scripture, in which more learning is displayed. The endeavour of the compiler 
has been, to explain what is difficult, as far as is necessary for Christians in gene¬ 
ral to understand it; and to direct the attention of the Bible student to such pas¬ 
sages and texts as require particular consideration, in order to produce a rational 
faith, and a right practice, founded immediately upon the word of God.” 

24. Burder. —The Scripture Expositor; a new Commentary, 
Critical and Practical, on the Holy Bible. By the Rev. Samuel Bur¬ 
der, A. M. London, 1809. 2 vols. in 4 parts, 4to. 

One prominent object of this work, which is both critical and practical, is, to 
illustrate the Scriptures by the assistance of Eastern customs ; the author is ad¬ 
vantageously known by his Oriental Customs , already noticed, and Oriental Lite¬ 
rature. (See p. 729. supra.) 

25. Fawcett. — The Devotional Family Bible; containing the 
Old and New Testaments, with copious notes and illustrations, partly 
original, and partly selected from the most approved Commentators, 
both antient and modern. With a devotional exercise or aspiration 
at the close of every chapter, by way of improvement. By John 
Fawcett, D. D. London, 1811. 2 vols. royal 4to. 


759 


Sect IV.] List of British Commentators on the Bible. 

this work is wholly designed for family use, to which it is excellently adapted; 
but the marginal renderings and parallel texts have been entirely omitted. The 
absence of these is inexcusable in any edition of the Bible above the size of a duo¬ 
decimo volume. 

2(3. Hewlett. — The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New 
Testament, with the Apocrypha, with Critical, Philological, and Ex¬ 
planatory Notes. By the Rev. John Hewlett, B. D. London, 1812. 
3 vols. 4to. 

The typographical execution of this variorum edition of the Scriptures is sin¬ 
gularly correct and beautiful; the parallel texts and marginal renderings are put 
at the foot of the text, and above the notes, which are selected with uncommon, 
industry. To the first volume are prefixed very copious prolegomena, containing 
every requisite information relative to the authenticity and inspiration of the 
Scriptures ; the formation of the sacred Canon, MSS. and editions of the Bible, 
sects, &c. with a variety of useful tables; and to the third volume is prefixed a 
compendious history of the Jews, from their restoration to Judsea, to the destruc¬ 
tion ot Jerusalem by the Romans ; the whole forming a connection between the 
history ot the Old and New Testament; and the work is terminated by three use¬ 
ful indexes. On many occasions we have consulted this commentary with equal 
pleasure and advantage ; there are, however, some discrepancies in the notes, 
which we have observed with regret. Many of these are stated and animadverted 
upon in an ably conducted critical journal. (See British Critic, New Series, vol. 
ii. pp. 339. ct seq.) Several of Mr. Hewlett's notes are elaborate critical disquisi¬ 
tions on important topics. Copies of this work may be purchased with maps, and 
numerous well executed engravings, after pictures by the most celebrated painters. 
In 1810, an edition of the notes, &c. was published without the text, in 5 vols. 
octavo, entitled Commentaries and Disquisitions on the Holy Scriptures. 

27. D’Oyly and Mant. — The Holy Bible according to the Au¬ 
thorised Version, with Notes explanatory and practical ; taken prin¬ 
cipally from the most eminent writers of the United Church of En¬ 
gland and Ireland ; together with appropriate introductions, tables, 
indexes, maps, and plans, prepared and arranged by the Rev. G. 
D’Oyly, B. D. (now D.D.), and the Rev. Richard Mant, D. D. (now 
Bishop of Killaloe). Oxford and London, 1817. 3 vols. 4to. 

This work, which is published under the sanction of the venerable Society for 
promoting Christian Knowledge, professes to communicate only the results of the 
critical inquiries of learned men, without giving a detailed exposition of the in¬ 
quiries themselves. These results, however, are selected with great judgment, 
so that the reader who may consult them on difficult passages will rarely be dis¬ 
appointed ; and the sale of more than twenty thousand copies proves the estima¬ 
tion in which this laborious work is held. Of the labour attending this publica¬ 
tion some idea may be formed, when it is stated that the works of upwards of one 
hundred and sixty authors have been consulted for it, amounting to several hun¬ 
dred volumes. On the fundamental articles of Christian verity, — the Deity and 
atonement of Jesus Christ, and the personality and offices of the Holy Spirit, — 
this work may be pronounced to be a library of divinity. The maps and engrav¬ 
ings, though only outlines, are executed with much spirit. An index of matters, 
and a concordance, together with a geographical index, are subjoined. The small 
paper copies are unquestionably the cheapest of all the commentaries extant. 
There is an useful concordance in 4to. edited by the Rev. T. W. Bellamy, M. A. 
which is usually bound up with this commentary: and in the year 1818, the Rev. 
Dr. Wilson published another index, which is much more complete than that an¬ 
nexed to the work ; and the student, who can afford it, will do well to purchase it. 

28. Clarke (Dr. A.) — The Holy Bible, containing the Old and 
New Testaments ; the Text carefully printed from the most correct 
copies of the present authorised translation, including the marginal 
readings and parallel Texts; with a Commentary, and critical Notes, 
designed as a help to a better understanding of the Sacred Writings. 
By Adam Clarke, LL. D. F. A. S. London, 1810—1823. 4to. 

Three volumes of this elaborate work have appeared, comprising the whole of 


700 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


the New Testament, and ten parts of the Old Testament, from Genesis to the 
fiong of Solomon. In this work, Dr. Clarke states, that the whole of the text has 
heerT collated with the Hebrew and Greek originals, and all the antient versions ; 
“ the most difficult words are analysed and explained ; the most important read¬ 
ings in the collections of Kennicott and Dc Rossi on the Old Testament., and in 
those of Mill, Wetstcin, and Grieshach, on the New, are noticed, the date of every 
transaction, as far as it has been ascertained by the best chronologers, is marked; 
the peculiar customs of the Jews, and neighbouring nations, so frequently alluded 
to by the prophets, evangelists, and apostles, are explained from the best Asiatic 
authorities; the great doctrines of the Law and Gospel of God are defined, illus¬ 
trated, and defended ; and the whole is applied to the important purposes of prac¬ 
tical Christianity.” The literary world in general, and biblical students in particu¬ 
lar, are greatly indebted to Dr. Clarke for the light he has thrown on many very 
difficult passages. 

29. Thomson. — The Old Covenant, commonly called the Old 
Testament, translated from the Septuagint. — The New Covenant, 
commonly called the New Testament, translated from the Greek. 
By Charles Thomson, late Secretary to the Congress of the United 
States. Philadelphia, 1808. 4 vols. 8vo. 

This translation is executed with great fidelity, though that of the Old Testa¬ 
ment, being a version of a, version, can hardly afiford much assistance to the bibli¬ 
cal student. The translation of the New Testament is much improved in the 
punctuation, and also in the arrangement of the objections and replies that occar 
sion such frequent transitions in St. Paul’s Epistles. The notes which accompany' 
this work are very brief, but satisfactory as far as they go. 

30. Bellamy. — The Holy Bible, newly translated from the Ori¬ 
ginal Hebrew, with notes critical and explanatory. By John Bella¬ 
my. London, 1818-21. 4to. 

Three parts of this new translation have been published. The arrogant claims 
of the author and his extravagancies of interpretation have been exposed in the 
Quarterly Review, vols. xix. pp. 250—280. and xxiii. pp. 290—325.; in the Ec¬ 
lectic Review, vol. x. N. S. pp. 1—20. 130—150. 280—299.; in the Antijacobin 
Review, vol. liv. pp.97—103. 193—207. 305—316.; in Mr. Whittaker’s Historical 
and Critical Inquiry into the Interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures, and Sup¬ 
plement to it, 8vo., Cambridge, 1819, 1820; in Professor Lee’s Letter to Mr. Bel¬ 
lamy, Cambridge, 1821 ; and last, though not least in value, in Mr. Hymen Hur- 
witz’s “ Vindicia? Hebraicse ; or, a Defence of the Hebrew Scriptures, as a Vehi¬ 
cle of R,evealed Religion : occasioned by the recent Strictures and Innovations 
of Mr. J. Bellamy; and in confutation of his Attacks on all preceding Transla¬ 
tions, and on the established Version in particular. London, 1821.” 8vo. This 
author is a learned Jewish Teacher ; who, while he has exposed Mr. Bellamy’s 
misinterpretations with great learning, has rendered to British Christians an in¬ 
calculable service, by showing the general excellence of our authorised English 
Version; and has also, perhaps unwittingly, silenced the Jewish objector, who 
used to deny the validity of the Old Testament as cited from that version. 

31. Boothroyd. — A new Family Bible, and Improved Version, 
from corrected texts of the originals, with notes Critical and Expla¬ 
natory, and short practical Reflections on each chapter. By the 
Rev. B. Boothroyd, D. D. Pontefract and London, 1818, 1821, 1823. 
3 vols. 4to. 

The Rev. Dr. Boothroyd has long been advantageously known as the editor of 
the critical edition of the Hebrew Bible with philological notes, of which we have 
given an account in p. 124. of the present volume. His improved English Version 
of the Bible will be found a valuable help to the critical understanding of the 
Sacred Scriptures. Where any reading, in the original, is supported by the au¬ 
thority of antient MSS. and Versions, Dr. B. has availed himself of it, and has in¬ 
serted it in the text; always apprising his readers of such changes, which (as we 
have had occasion to remark in our chapter on various readings) are not unfre- 
quently real improvements. The Historical Books are printed in continuous 
paragraphs, the Poetical Books being printed in single lines. The two first vo¬ 
lumes contain the Old Testament; the third, the New Testament. The numbers 


761 


Sect. V.] Principal Commentators on the Old Testament. 


of the different verses are judiciously thrown into the margin ; and the notes, 
which are placed at the foot of each page, possess the rare merit of condensing 
much important critical and explanatory matter, in comparatively a small compass. 
To the whole, Dr. B. has prefixed a well-executed abridgment of Michaelis’s Com 
mentaries on the Law of Moses. 


SECTION V. 

PRINCIPAL COMMENTATORS ON THE OLD TESTAMENT, AND ON 

DETACHED BOOKS THEREOF. 


§ 1. Commentators on the Old Testament. 

1 . Richardson (Bishop). — Choice Observations and Explanations 
upon the Old Testament, containing in them many remarkable mat¬ 
ters, either not taken notice of, or mistaken by most: which are ad¬ 
ditional to the large annotations made by some of the Assembly of 
Divines: to which are added some further and larger observations 
upon the whole book of Genesis. By John Richardson, Bishop of 
Ardagh. London, 1655. folio. 

Bishop Richardson has been characterised by his contemporaries as a man of 
profound learning, well versed in the Scriptures, and of exact knowledge in sacred 
chronology. His Harmony of the Four Gospels, in which he led the way to a 
more exact arrangement of the narratives of the four evangelists, is printed in 
Archbishop Usher’s Annals. Bishop Richardson’s Annotations were published 
after his death ; as they sell at a low price, they are not unworthy of the student’s 
attention. 

2. Pyle. — A Paraphrase with short and Useful Notes on the 
Books of the Old Testament. By the Rev. Thomas Pyle, M. A. Svo. 
4 vols. London, 1717—1725. 

These volumes extend to all the historical books of the Old Testament; Dr. 
Doddridge calls it “ an elegant and judicious contraction” of Bishop Patrick’s 
work, noticed in p. 753. supra ; and adds, that it is “ vastly to be preferred to his 
Paraphrase on the Epistles, which is mentioned infra, in the list of commentators 
on the New Testament. 

3. Orton. — A short and plain Exposition of the Old Testament, 
with devotional and practical Reflections, for the use of families, sub¬ 
joined to each chapter, somewhat in the manner of Dr. Doddridge’s 
Family Expositor. By the late Rev. Job Orton. Svo. 6 vols. 1788 
—1791 ; second edition. London, 1822. 

The w T ork was published after the author’s death by Mr. Gentleman of Kidder¬ 
minster ; it contains notes chiefly collected from modern expositors, of which “ it 
cannot be said that they are eminently critical; but they often convey valuable 
instruction, and the reflections are admirably adapted to promote the purposes of 
serious religion.” (Biographia Britannica, 2d edit. vol. v. p. 311. See also Month. 
Rev. O. S. vol. lxxix. p. 320.) To form a complete comment on the Scriptures, 
Mr. Orton’s paraphrase may be joined with the late Mr. Palmer’s abridgment of 
Dr. Doddridge, noticed infra, in the list of commentators on the New Testament. 

4. Geddes. — The Holy Bible, or the Books accounted sacred , 
otherwise called the Books of the Old and New Covenants, faithfully 
translated from the corrected Texts of the Originals, with various 
readings, explanatory notes, and critical remarks. By Alexander 
Geddes, LL. D. 4to. London, vol. i. 1792, vol. ii. 1797. Critical 
Remarks on the Hebrew Scriptures, 4to. London, 1800, vol. i. on 
the Pentateuch. 


VOL. II. 


96 





762 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 

The two volumes of Dr. Geddes’s version include the historical books from Ge¬ 
nesis to Chronicles, and the book of Ruth. Of the doctor’s heterodox commenta¬ 
ries and version, the reader may see an ample examination and refutation in the 
4th, 14th, 19th, and 20th volumes of the British Critic, old series. The learned 
doctor’s work is here noticed, lest the author should be charged with designedly 
omitting it. 

O m 

% 2. Principal Commentators on Detached Books of the Old Testament. 

ON THE PENTATEUCH. 

1. Annotations upon the Five Books of Moses, the Book of Psalms, 
and the Song of Songs or Canticles. By Henry Ainsworth. Lon¬ 
don, 1639. folio. 

This work “ is a good book, full of very valuable Jewish learning; and his 
translation is in many places to be preferred to our own, especially on the Psalms.” 
(Dr. Doddridge.) It was translated into Dutch in 1690, and is highly esteemed 
on the continent. 

2. A Commentary on the Five Books of Moses; with a Disserta¬ 
tion concerning the author or writer of the said Books, and a gene¬ 
ral argument to each of them. By Richard Kidder, Bishop of Bath 
and Wells. London, 1694. 2 vols. 8vo. 

3. Joannis Marckii Commentarius in praecipuas quasdam partes 
Pentateuchi. Lug. Bat. 1713. 4to. 

4. A Critical and Practical Exposition of the Pentateuch ; with 
Notes, theological, moral, critical, philosophical, and historical. To 
which are subjoined two dissertations: — 1. On the Mosaic history 
of the creation, and 2. On the destruction of the seven nations of Ca¬ 
naan. London, 1748. folio. 

This Exposition is compiled with considerable industry from the labours of the 
best interpreters, antient and modern. It was originally published in numbers, 
and was designed to have been a complete commentary on the entire Bible : but. 
not meeting with sufficient encouragement, the author (a Mr. Jamieson) proceed¬ 
ed no further than the Pentateuch. It is not of common occurrence. 

5. A New and Literal Translation, from the original Hebrew, of 
the Pentateuch of Moses, and of the Historical Books of the Old 
Testament to the end of the second Book of Kings; with notes criti¬ 
cal and explanatory. By the late Rev. Julias Bate. London, 1773. 
4to. 

“ It is most certainly a new translation, and so very literal, as to be really unin¬ 
telligible to a plain English reader.” (Monthly Rev. O. S. vol. i. p. 106.) 

6. The Pentateuch, or the Five Books of Moses illustrated ; being 
an Explication of the Phraseology incorporated with the Text, for 
the use of Families and Schools. By the Rev. S. Clapham, of Christ 
Church, Hants. 1818. l2mo. 

7. Horse Mosaicse ; or a view of the Mosaical Records, with re¬ 
spect to their coincidence with profane antiquity, their internal cre¬ 
dibility, and their connection with Christianity. By George Stanley 
Faber, A. M. 8vo. 2 vols. London, 1801; second edition, London, 
181.8, 2 vols. 8vo. 

Although this and the four following works are not, in strictness, commentaries 
on the Pentateuch, yet they illustrate so many important passages, that the author 
would have deemed this work imperfect, if he had not noticed them here. Mr. Fa¬ 
ber’s learned Treatise contains the substance of the eight Bampton Lectures de¬ 
livered by him. u Those who have not the means or leisure to consult the very 
valuable works of Mr. Bryant, Mr. Maurice, and Sir W. Jones in this line, will 
6nd in these volumes many of the most striking facts brought together, and so ar¬ 
ranged as jointly to corroborate and confirm the events recorded in the Pentateuch 


763 


Sect. V.] Principal Commentators on the Old Testament. 

i ho references to other authors are numerous, nor are these confined solely 
to the antients. Additional notes and illustrations are to be found at the end of 
each volume.” (Brit. Crit. vol. xix. O. S. pp. 382. 388.) The second edition, 
published in 1818, is very materially enlarged and greatly improved by its learned 
author. 

8. An Analytical Exposition of the whole first Book of Moses, 
called Genesis, and of xxiii. Chapters of his second Book called Exo¬ 
dus. Wherein the various readings are observed ; the original text 
explained ; Doubts resolved ; Scriptures paralleled ; the Scripture 
Chronology from the Creation of the World to the giving of the Law 
at Mount Sinai cleared; and the whole illustrated by Doctrines col¬ 
lected from the Text. Delivered in a Morning Exercise on the Lord’s 
Day. By George Hughes, B. D. late minister of the Gospel in Ply¬ 
mouth. (Plymouth) 1672. folio. 

A very elaborate and curious work; it is not of common occurrence. 

9. Lectures on the Four last Books of the Pentateuch, designed to 
show the divine origin of the Jewish religion, chiefly from internal 
evidence ; in three parts. By the Rev. R. D. Graves, D. D. (now 
Dean of Ardagh.) London, 1815. 2 vols. 8vo. 

The first edition of this valuable work appeared in 1807; in this impression it 
is very materially improved, and is indispensably necessary to the biblical student. 

10. Commentaries on the Laws of Moses. By the late Sir John 
David Michaelis, K. P. S. F. R. S. Professor of Philosophy in the 
University of Gottingen ; translated from the German by Alexander 
Smith, D. D. London, 1814. 4 vols. 8vo. 

The spirit of the political and ceremonial law, contained in the writings of 
Moses, is copiously investigated in this work. Valuable as these “ Commenta¬ 
ries” of Michaelis are in many respects, it is much to be regretted that they are 
not free from that licentiousness of conjecture and of language, as well as ten¬ 
dency to scepticism, which are the too frequent characteristics of modern biblical 
critics in Germany. Great caution, therefore, will be necessary in consulting this 
work. 

11. The Character of Moses established for Veracity as an Histo¬ 
rian, recording Events from the Creation to the Deluge. By the 
Rev. Joseph Townsend, M. A. vol. i. London, 1813: vol. ii. Bath, 
1815. 4to. 

For an analysis of this elaborate work, see the Quarterly Review, vol. xiv. pp. 
96—112. and the Eclectic Review, O. S. vol. x. pp. 32—49. 

12. The Hebrew Text of the Parallel Prophecies of Jacob and 
Moses, relating to the Twelve Tribes, with a translation and notes, 
and the various lections of near forty MSS. &c. &c. By D. Durell, 
D. D. Principal of Hertford College. Oxford, 1764. 4to. 

GENESIS. 

13. Joannis Merceri Commentarius in Genesin. Geneva, 1598. 
folio. 

14. A Few and New Observations upon the Book of Genesis ; also 
a Handful of Gleanings out of the Book of Exodus. By John Light- 
foot, D. D. Works, vol. i. p. 698. Lond. 1684. 

15. A New English Translation, from the original Hebrew, of the 
Three First Chapters of Genesis, with marginal illustrations, and 
notes, critical and explanatory. By Abraham Dawson, M. A. Lon¬ 
don, 1763. 4to. 

16. A Fourth and Fifth Chapter of Genesis, translated from the 
original Hebrew. By Abraham Dawson, M. A. London, 1772. 4to. 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


7M 

17. The Six and Eleven following Chapters of Genesis, translated 
from the original Hebrew, &c. &c. By Abraham Dawson, M. A. 
London, 1786. 4to. 

For an account of these three elaborate pieces, see the Monthly Review, Old 
Series, vol. xxix. pp. 293—299.; vol. xlvii. pp. 1—7.; and vol. Ixxvii. pp. 140—147. 

18. Annotations upon Genesis, with observations doctrinal and 
practical. By the Rev. Thomas Harwood. London, 1789. 8vo. 

This is a compilation from various authors; “ which, if not a brilliant, may in 
some degree be considered as a useful performance.” (Monthly Rev. New Series, 
vol. iv. p. 106.) 

19. Sacred Literature, or Remarks on the Book of Genesis, col¬ 
lected and arranged to promote the knowledge and evince the excel¬ 
lency of the Scriptures. By James Franks, A. M. London, 1802. 
8 vo. 

This work is nearly similar in design and execution to the preceding; it con¬ 
sists principally of extracts from other books. The author u has contented him¬ 
self with forming the arrangement, which is clear and good, and inserting short 
passages to serve for connection and elucidation. The volume begins with gene¬ 
ral remarks on the Scriptures, and then proceeds through the book of Genesis in 
the order of the chapters ; containing in the whole three hundred and fifteen re¬ 
marks upon that book, illustrative of the matter contained in it, and collected from 
the best authors of all descriptions.” (Brit. Grit. O. S. vol. xxi. pp. 680,681.) 

20. Notes on Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, 
and the Minor Prophets. By the Rev. H. Dimock. Gloucester, 
1804. 4to. 

21. Expository Discourses on the Book of Genesis, interspersed 
with practical reflections. By Andrew Fuller. London, 1806. 2 vols. 
8vo. 

The late respected author of this work has long been known by his able publi¬ 
cations on the absurdity of deism, and the immoral tendency of Socinian tenets. 
Those “ Expository Discourses,” which are short and fifty-eight in number, were 
originally delivered as lectures to Mr. Fuller’s congregation at Kettering. “ The 
author selects a paragraph of convenient length, and furnishes a concise exposi¬ 
tion of its leading circumstances, accompanied with a few practical reflections, 
and occasionally with a useful criticism. The paragraphs are not inserted at 
length, but referred to by the initial and final verses. Much originality of critical 
remark must not be expected, nor must the reader be surprised, if he often meet 
with a trite and obvious reflection; but we will venture to promise him, much 
more frequently, a manly, judicious, and useful train of observation, expressed in 
simple and vigorous language.” (Eclectic Review, O. S. vol. ii. part ii. p. 896.) 

22. Lectures on the Book of Genesis. By J. Rudge, D. D. F. R. S. 
London, 1823. 2 vols. 8vo. 


Though not a Commentary on the book of Genesis, “ The Mosaic History of 
the Creation of the World, illustrated by Discoveries and Experiments derived 
from the present State of Science, by Thomas Wood,” (8vo. London, 1818) de¬ 
serves a notice in this place as a very elaborate illustration of the first chapter of 
Genesis. Science is here rendered the handmaid of Revelation. To the work i 3 
prefixed a view of the cosmogony of the antients, which exhibits very considera¬ 
ble research. The religious improvements are both natural and scriptural: the 
doctrine of the Trinity is here scripturally defended, and its authorities are clearly 
adduced. A philosophical exposition of the first chapter of Genesis is attempted 
in “ The Antient Principles of the True and Sacred Philosophy, as lately explain¬ 
ed by John Hutchinson, Esq. Originally published in Latin by A. S. Catcott. 
Translated, with Notes, and a Preliminary Dissertation on the Character and 
Writings of Moses. By Alexander Maxwell.” London, 1822. 8vo. 

EXODUS. 

23. Exodus; a corrected Translation, with notes, critical and ex¬ 
planatory. By William Hopkins, B. A. London, 1784. 4to. 



765 


Sect. V.] Principal Commentators on the Old Testament. 

The translator has, in general, executed his task with fidelity ; and a where it 
could be done with propriety, (or where the readings of the Samaritan copy would 
permit it,) ‘ he has adopted,’ he says, ‘ the English vulgar translation, in order to 
prevent any prejudices, that might be infused into the minds of the common peo¬ 
ple by uncharitable bigots.’ In the notes we meet with little that can gratify the 
taste of curious and critical readers ; and his severe reflections on the articles and 
liturgy of the church of England might well have been spared in a work of this 
nature.” (Monthly Rev. O. S. vol. lxxii. p. 412.) 

JOSHUA AND THE OTHER HISTORICAL BOOKS. 

24. Josu86 lmperatoris Historia, illustrata atque explicata ad An¬ 
drea Masio. Antwerp, 1574, folio; and also in the Critici Sacri. 

A work of very considerable value, on account of its containing the readings of 
the Syriac Hexaplar version, the manuscript of which Masius possessed. This 
manuscript is said to have been written in the year 606, and is the only one that 
preserves the readings of Joshua, as given by Origen. 

•25. Joh. Ilenr. Michaelis, Chr. Ben. Michaelis, et Joh. Jac. Ram- 
bachii, Notre uberiores in Hagiographa. Hake, 1735—1751.3 vols. 4to. 

Of this work, the Elder Michaelis wrote the annotations on the first book of 
Chronicles, the Psalms, book of Job, and Song of Solomon ; C. B. Michaelis was 
t.he author of those on Proverbs, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and the Prophet 
Daniel; and the notes on the second book of Chronicles, Ruth, Esther, Nehemiah, 
and Ecclesiastes, were written by Ilambach. 

26. J. G. Dahler, de librorum Paralipomenorum auctoritate atque 
fide historica. 8vo. Lipsise, 1819. 

27. A Critical History of the Life of David, in which the principal 
events are ranged in order of time ; the chief objections of Mr. Bayle 
and others against the character of this prince, and the Scripture 
accqunt of him, and the occurrences of his reign are examined and 
refuted ; and the Psalms which refer to him are explained. By the 
late Rev. Samuel Chandler, D. D. London, 1766. 2 vols. 8vo. 

A book above all praise ; it was occasioned by the publication, in 1762, of a vile 
and blasphemous tract entitled “ The History of the Man after God’s own heart.” 

28. Lectures on the Book of Ruth. By G. Lawson, D. D. Lon¬ 
don, 1805. 12mo. 

29. Lectures on the Book of Esther. By G. Lawson, D. D. 12mo. 
London, 1809. 

For accounts of these two works, the reader is referred to the Eclectic Review, 
vol. i. part ii. pp. 684—691. and vol. iii. part i. pp. 4/9 483. 

30. A. G. F. Schirmer, Observationes Exegetico-Criticse in Librum 
Esdrse. Vratislaviae, 1820. 4to. 

ON THE POETICAL BOOKS GENERALLY. 

31. The Annotations of Michaelis above noticed. 

32. A Paraphrase on the Books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Ec¬ 
clesiastes, with notes, critical, historical, and practical. By Law¬ 
rence Holden. 1764. 4 vols. 8vo. 

“ To what class of readers this performance will be useful or agreeable, we 
really know not; but this we verily believe, that persons of taste, learning, or 
judgment, will find very little in it to engage their attention.” (Month. Review, 
O, S. vol. xxxi. p. 73.) ’ The public opinion seems to have been in unison with 
that of the Monthly Reviewers ; the book has never been popular, and is to be 
purchased at a very low price ; on which account, this notice is inserted as a cau¬ 
tion to the student who may be inexperienced in the real value of books. 

33. Critical Remarks on the Books of Job, Proverbs, Psalms, Ec- 
clesiastes, and Canticles. By D. Durell, D. D. London, 1772. 4to, 

See Monthly Review, O. S. vol. xlvii. pp. 119—129. 


APPENDIX. 


No. VI. 


7 66 


34. Job. Chr. Doederlein Scholia in Libros Veteris Testamenti 
Poeticos. Ilalce, 1779. 4to. 


JOB. 

35. A Translation of the Book of Job, with annotations, arguments, 
and dialogues on each chapter, is given in the second tome or part of 
the celebrated Hugh Broughton’s works, pp. 246—294. 

36. An Exposition, with Practical Observations on the Book of 
Job. By Joseph Caryl. London, 1669. 2 vols. folio. 

This work was originally published in six volumes 4to. at different times. 4* 
have never had an opportunity of examining it; but Walchius says, that it is one 
of the best commentaries extant on the Book of Job; and that the author has in¬ 
vestigated and explained its meaning with great diligence, and that his practical 
observations are excellent. (Biblioth. Theol. vol. iv. p. 487.) A late learned di¬ 
vine of our own country has also characterised this as “ a most elaborate, learned, 
judicious and pious work, containing a rich fund of critical and practical divinity.” 
(Dr. Williams.) Its bulk, however, prevents it from being generally useful. 

37. Francisci Vavassoris Jobus, brevi Commentario et Metaphrasi 
poetica illustratus. Paris, 1679. 8vo. 

The best edition of a learned and useful work. 

38. Liber Jobi, cum nova versione et commentario perpetuo. Edi- 
dit Albertus Schultens. Lug. Bat. 1737. 2 vols. 4to. 

Of this learned and elaborate work, an abridgment was printed at Halle, in 1773, 
by Prof. Vogel, entitled Alberti Schultensii Cominentarius in Jobum, in compen¬ 
dium redactus, cum observationibus criticis et exegeticis. 8vo. 2 vols. 

39. Elihu, or an Inquiry into the principal Scope and Design of 
the Book of Job. By Walter Hodges, D. D. London, 1750. 4to. 

This work is written on the Hutchinsonian system, and is designed to show that 
Elihu was no other personage than the Son of God himself! See Monthly Re¬ 
view, O. S. vol. ii. pp. 219—225. 347—352. 

40. A Commentary on the Book of Job, in which are inserted the 
Hebrew text and English translation, &c. by Leonard Chappelow, B., 
D. Arabic Professor in the University of Cambridge. 1752. 2 vols. 4to. 

See Month. Rev. O. S. vol. vii. pp. 197—205. 

41. An Essay towards a New English Version of the Book of Job, 
from the original Hebrew, with a Commentary and some account of 
his Life. By Edward Heath, Esq. London, 1756. 4to. 

“ It is but justice to this new Essay upon Job, to observe, that the translation is 
in many places, very different from that in common use ; and that, in the notes, 
there are many observations entirely new — all of them ingenious, and many of 
them true.” (Month. Rev. O. S. vol. xiv. p. 156.) 

42. A Critical Dissertation on the Book of Job. By Charles Pe¬ 
ters, A. M. London, 1757. 4to. 

The first edition of this work appeared in 1751. (See Month. Rev. O. S. voJ. 
iv. pp. 401—409.) In it, the author particularly considers Bishop Warburton’s 
account of the Book of Job, vindicates its antiquity, and shows that the antient 
Jews did believe in a future state. 

43. The Book of Job in English verse, translated from the origi¬ 
nal Hebrew ; with remarks, historical, critical, and explanatory. By 
T. Scott. London, 1773. 8vo. 

The first edition of this close and exact translation was published in 1773, in 
4to.: and the commentary is particularly valuable, from the author’s u great know¬ 
ledge of the oriental languages, his diligent study of the original, and his com 
plete acquaintance with the best critics.” (Month. Rev. O. S. vol. xlvi. p. 376.) 


767 


Sect. V.] Principal Commentators on the Old Testament. 

44. An Improved Version, attempted, of the Book of Job, with a 
preliminary Dissertation and Notes, critical, historical, and explana¬ 
tory. By Charles Garden, D. D. London, 1796. 8vo. 

A book of great pretensions, but indifferent execution. See an analysis of it in 
the British Critic, O. S. vol. ix. pp. 168—175. 

4c*. J. Jac. Reiske Conjecturae in Jobum et Proverbia, cum ejus- 
dem oratione de studio Arabic* linguae. Lipsiae, 1779. Svo. 

46. The Book of Job, metrically arranged according to the Maso- 
ra, and newly translated into English ; with notes critical and ex¬ 
planatory, accompanied, on the opposite page, by the authorised 
English version. By the Right Rev. Joseph Stock, Bishop of Killala. 
Bath, 1805. 4to. 

“We have now finished our remarks on this translation of the Book of Job, and 
find in it much to praise, and some things to blame. In a vast variety of passages, 
there is a sense brought out, striking, yet perspicuous, considerably out of the 
track of the common versions ; yet, in most instances, close to the letter of the 
Hebrew. — Of all the versions of the different books of Scripture which have fall¬ 
en under our notice in different languages, this is the most remarkable for the 
novelty of the rendering ; yet in general exact, having very little supplement, and 
keeping close in the track of the original.” (Brit. Crit. O. S. vol. xxix. p. 507.) 

47. The Book of Job, translated from the Hebrew, by the late 
Miss Elizabeth Smith ; with a preface and annotations, by the Rev. 
T. Randolph, D. D. London, 1810. 8vo. 

This was a posthumous publication of an amiable and accomplished young lady. 
— “ Considering the age of Miss Smith, and the circumstances under which she 
studied the Hebrew language, her translation of the Book of Job may certainly be 
deemed a very surprising work ; and had it not been characterised in the extrava¬ 
gant terms of commendation with which Dr. Randolph has introduced it to the 
public, it might have borne generally a more favourable report than it will gain 
from that scrutiny which his eulogium seems to challenge. — It was evidently left 
in an unfinished state ; and the editor felt himself bound in honour not to make 
the smallest correction. We have it, therefore, just as Miss Smith wrote it; and 
we receive it as a monument of her industry and genius, though we cannot regard 
it as having effected much towards the elucidation of the Book of Job.” (Month. 
Rev. N. S. vol. lxv. p. 152. See also a similar critique in the Eclectic Review, 
vol. vi. part ii. p. 780.) 

48. The Book of Job, literally translated from the original He¬ 
brew, and restored to its natural arrangement, with notes critical and 
illustrative, and an introductory dissertation on its scene, scope, lan¬ 
guage, author, and object. By John Mason Good, M. D. F/R. S. 
&c. London, 1812. 8vo. 

“ On the whole, we regard this work as a valuable accession to our stock of 
sacred literature ; and we can recommend it with confidence to the biblical stu¬ 
dent, as containing a great mass of useful information and valuable criticism.” 
(Christian Observer, vol. xii. p. 306.) 

49. Henr. Middeldorff, Cur* Hexaplares in Jobum, e Codice 
Syriaco-Hexaplari Ambrosiano Mediolanensi. 4to. Vratislavise, 1817. 

50. Le Livre de Job, nouvellement traduit d’apres le texte origi¬ 
nal non ponctue et les anciennes versions, notamment l’Arabe et la 
Syriaque ; par. J. Louis Bridel, Professeur de Langues Orientales, 
et de Pinterpretation des Livres Saints, dans l’Academie de Lausanne. 
Paris, 1818. Svo. 


PSALMS. 

51. Paraphrases and Annotations upon the Book of Psalms. By 
Henry Hammond, D. D. London, 1659. folio. 


768 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


Dr. Hammond’s notes are exceedingly valuable, and contain many learned ob¬ 
servations that had escaped preceding commentators on the Book of Psalms. They 
are also to be found in the fourth volume of his collected works, published at Lon¬ 
don in 1C84, in folio. 

52. David’s Harp Strung and Tuned ; or an Easie Analysis of the 
whole Book of Psalms, cast into such a method, that the Summe of 
every Psalm may be quickly collected and remembered. With a de¬ 
vout Meditation or Prayer at the end of every Psalm, framed for the 
most part out of the words of the Psalm, and fitted for several Occa¬ 
sions. By William [Nicholson] Bishop of Gloucester. London, 1662. 
folio. 

In this work every verse of the Psalms is divided and subdivided with great mi¬ 
nuteness ; it is wholly practical and explanatory. In his explications, the Rt. Rev. 
Author steers between the two extremes of literal and spiritual interpretation. 
The prayers at the end of each Psalm are expressed nearly in the very words of 
the inspired authors. Though the quaint and scholastic mode which obtains in 
this work is somewhat repulsive, it may nevertheless be consulted with advantage 
by those who cannot command other and more critical commentaries; especially 
as the book may be occasionally met with at a low price. 

53. The Book of Psalms, with the argument of each psalm, and a 
preface giving some general rules for the interpretation of this sa¬ 
cred Book. By a Divine of the Church of England. London, 1701. 
8vo. 

54. Martini Geieri Commentarius in Psalmos Davidis, fontium 
Ebneorum mentem, et vim vocum phrasiumque sacrarum sensumque 
adeo genuinum, adductis copiose locis parallelis, collatis etiam (ubi 
opus) versionibus interpretumque sententiis, et enodatis difficultati- 
bus, cum cura eruens. Leipsic, 1681 or 1697; Amsterdam, 1695; 
Dresden, 1709. folio. 

Geier was an eminently learned divine of the Lutheran church, and Professor 
of Hebrew at Leipsic, where the substance of his commentary on the Psalms was 
delivered in lectures to the students. It is very little known in this country ; but 
on the continent it is very highly esteemed for its erudition and piety. (Walchius, 
vol. iv. p. 495.) 

55. An Essay towards a new English Version of the Book of 
Psalms. By the Rev. Zechariah Mudge. London, 1744. 4to. 

This work is now so exceedingly rare, that we have not been able to procure a 
sight of it, nor have we met with any notice of it in the literary journals of that 
time. How highly Mr. Mudge was esteemed by Dr. Johnson, may be seen in the 
character of him drawn by the latter, in Boswell’s Life of Dr. Johnson, vol. iv. 
pp. 82—84. 

56. A new English translation of the Psalms, from the original 
Hebrew, reduced to Metre by the late Bishop Hare ; with notes cri¬ 
tical and explanatory; illustrations of many passages drawn from 
the classics; and a preliminary dissertation, in which the truth and 
certainty of that learned prelate’s happy discovery is stated and prov¬ 
ed at large. By Thomas Edwards, A. M. London, 1755. 8vo. 

The design of this learned work was “ to make Bishop Haro’s discovery of the 
Hebrew metre better known ; to show its truth and certainty; and to prove that, 
by a judicious application of it, great light may be thrown upon the poetical parts 
of the Holy Scriptures.” (Monthly Review, O. S. vol. xii. pp. 485—487.) Mr. 
Edwards was of opinion that Dr. Hare’s hypothesis was rejected by many persons, 
partly from an over hasty determination, and partly from too scrupulous a venera¬ 
tion for the Hebrew text. Of Dr. Hare’s system a short account is given. 

57. The Psalter, in its original form ; or the Book of Psalms re¬ 
duced to lines, in an easy and familiar style, and a kind of blank 


( 


7 69 


Sect. V.] Principal Commentators on the Old Testament. 

verse of unequal measures, answering for the most part to the origi* 
nal lines, with arguments pointing out the general design of elich 
Psalm, and notes, accounting for some passages in the translation ; 
opening and explaining also, in some places, the prophetical views, 
<fcc. [By the Rev. George Fenwick, B. D.] London, 1759. 8vo. 

The object of this publication is, to show that the Psalms were written in the 
spirit of prophecy, with a special and direct reference to Christ and his church, in 
the different ages and periods of the Christian dispensation. 

58. Phil. Davidis Burkii Gnomon Psalmorum. Stutgardia?, 17G0. 
2 vols. 4to. 

This work “ is written in a pure strain of piety, but rather too much in a tech¬ 
nical form.” (Dr. Clarke.) 

59. A New Translation of the Psalms from the Hebrew Original, 
with Notes critical and explanatory ; to which is added a Disserta¬ 
tion on the last prophetic words of Noah. By Wm. Green, M. A. 
1763. 8vo. 

This work contains u some judicious alterations in the version, and valuable 
criticisms in the notes ; which throw considerable light on many obscure passages 
m the Psalms, and will cause those excellent compositions, which have been the 
admiration and delight of pious minds through so many ages, to be read with still 
more pleasure and advantage.” But “ the language of the translation, though 
correct, hath neither that force nor harmony which we find in the common version 
in our Bibles.” (Monthly Review, O. S. vol. xxviii. p. 267.) 

In 1781 Mr. Green published a thin quarto volume of “ Poetical Parts of the 
Old Testament, newly translated from the Hebrew, with notes critical and ex¬ 
planatory.”— An account is given of it in the same critical journal, vol. lxviii. 

pp. 1—8. 

60. Hermanni Venemse Commentarii ad Psalmos. Leovardiae, 
1762—1767. 4 vols. 4to. 

“ Through its great scarcity, the work is little known in Great Britain. What 
was said by David of Goliath’s sword, may be justly said of Venema’s Commer* 
tary on the Book of Psalms — There is none like it.” (Dr. Clarke.) It is held in 
the highest esteem abroad, particularly in Holland. 

61. Annotations on the Psalms. By Jameg Merrick, M. A. Rea¬ 
ding, 1768. 4to. 

This volume is adapted to Mr. Merrick’s Poetical Version of the Psalms, pub¬ 
lished in 1765, in 4to. and justly considered as the best English poetical transla¬ 
tion extant. In the compilation of these notes he was assisted by Bishop Lowth 
(then Bishop of Oxford) and Archbishop Seeker. “ A large part of them relate 
to the readings of the antient versions, and propose the conjectural emendations 
of various writers. Many of them abound with passages, principally from tho 
Greek authors, which justify the modes of expression used by the Psalmist; and 
for this part of his design Mr. Merrick was admirably qualified, by his extensive 
and uncommon acquaintance with Grecian literature. Some of the notes, which 
are the most curious and entertaining, are those w r hich treat upon the plants, 
trees, and animals, mentioned in the Psalms.” (Monthty Review, O. S. vol. xl. 
p. 574.) 

62. Francisci Vatabli Annotationes in Psalmos, subjunctis Hugo- 
nis Grotii Notis, quibus Observationes suas adspersit, G. J. L. Vogel. 
Ilala), 1767. 8vo. 

63. Mosis Amyraldi Paraphrasis in Psalmos Davidis, una cum 
Annotationibus et Argumentis. Editio altera, emendatior et auctior, 
nova Pracfatione Jac. Cremeri. Traj. ad Rhenutn, 1769. 4to. 

64. A Commentary on the Book of Psalms; in which the literal 
or historical sense, as they relate to King David and the People of 
Israel, is illustrated; and their application to the Messiah, to the 
church, and to individuals as members thereof, is pointed out. By 

vol . ii. 97 


770 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI- 


George Horne, D. D. [late Bishop of Norwich], 4to. 2 vols. Oxford, 
X771; 8vo. 2 vois.; 12mo. 3 vols.; and 18mo. 2 vols. They also 
form vols. ii. and iii. of the collective edition of his works in 6 vols. 
8vo, 

The variety and number of the editions of this learned and pious work sufficiently 
attest the very high estimation in which it is most deservedly held : the critics of 
the day, however, when it first appeared, were of opinion that Bishop Horne applied 
too many of the Psalms to the Messiah. A judicious “ Selection” from this work 
was published by Mr. Lindley Murray, in 12mo. 1812, comprising the most strik¬ 
ing, pathetic, and instructive parts of the commentary. 

65. Davidis aliorumque Poetarum Hebrseorum Carminum Libri 
quinque, e Codd. MSS. et Antiquis Versionibus recensuit et Com- 
mentariis illustravit Jo. Aug. Stark. 8vo. vol. i. pars 1 et 2. Regio- 
monti, 1776. 

These two parts contain only an introduction to the Psalms ; the work was never 
continued. 

66. A New Literal Version of the Book of Psalms, with a Preface 
and Notes. By the Rev. Stephen Street, M. A. London, 1790. 2 
vols. 8vo. 

The author’s object in this work is to give a closely literal translation of the 
Psalms. In several instances, the Monthly Reviewers state that this version “ is 
an improvement of those which have preceded it; that in some the alterations 
are doubtful, and that in many others they are unnecessary, if not mistaken; yet 
that all are worthy of attention, and may open the way to further amendments. 
We consider this work as a useful addition to this branch of learning. The author 
may, perhaps, be too ready in advancing conjectures; but he always gives notice 
when he does it, and he never dogmatically affirms.” (Monthly Review, N. S. 
vol. viii. p. 50.) 

67. Notes on the Books of Psalms and Proverbs. By the Rev. H. 
Dimock. Gloucester, 1791. 4to. 

68. J. F. Stange Anticritica in Locos Psalmorum varios. 2 vols. 
Lipsiae et Halae, 1791—1795. 

69. A New and Liberal Version of the Psalms into Modern Lan¬ 
guage, according to the Liturgy Translation, with copious Notes and 
Illustrations, partly original and partly selected from the best com¬ 
mentators, calculated to render the Book of Psalms intelligible to 
every capacity. By the Rev. W. Wake. Bath, 1793. 2 vols. 8vo. 

The alterations in this version are by no means such as to render it intelligible 
to every capacity. “ This fault pervades the book, which in other respects is well 
executed. The arguments in general are well drawn up, and the notes appear to 
be judicious. The translation of the Psalms contained in the liturgy is by many 
considered to be the best, though the most antient. At all events, as it is used so 
much, it ought to be duly explained. This book will, we doubt not, be well re¬ 
ceived among persons of some education.” (British Critic, O. S. vol. iv. p. 311.) 

70. An Attempt to render the Daily Reading of the Psalms more 
intelligible to the Unlearned, with a Paraphrase selected from the 
best Commentators, and illustrated with occasional Notes. By F. 
T. Travell, A. M. Oxford, 1794. 8vo. 

The design of this work is “ to make the daity rending of the Psalms more easy 
and pleasant to those serious and unlearned Christians, who make it a point of 
conscience to attend the public worship of God, and are desirous of joining in his 
praises with understanding'' (Preface, p. xi.) “ Mr. Travell appears to have 
studied carefully, and explained judiciously, the scope of the several psalms, and 
the sense of their distinct parts. A plain Christian, who takes up this book with 
the best of all purposes, that of being made better by it, can hardly fail of success.” 
(British Critic, O. S. vol. vi. pp. 625. 627, 628.) 

71. Psalmi, ex recensione Textus Hebreeiet Versionum Antiqua- 


771 


Sect. V.] Principal Commentators on the Old Testament. 

rum Latine versi, notisque criticis et philologicis illustrati [a N. M. 
Berlin]. Upsalise, 1805. 8vo. 

This is one of the most useful Latin versions of the Psalms that has appeared in 
modern times ; it is faithfully executed without being- servilely literal. The notes, 
though brief, are sufficiently explicit, and are designed to explain obscure pas¬ 
sages ; to elucidate, by a short paraphrase, peculiar expressions that could not be 
rendered in the text by a single word ; to point out the principal various readings 
worthy of note ; to state briefly those arguments for the renderings of particular 
words, concerning which interpreters are by no means agreed, with references to 
philological works in which those arguments are more copiously discussed ; and 
to suggest probable meanings to words of doubtful interpretation, which are sub¬ 
mitted to the reader’s judgment. 

72. A New Translation of the Book of Psalms from the Original 
Hebrew, with various Readings and Notes. By the late Alexander 
Geddes, LL. D. London, 1807. 8vo. 

This is a posthumous publication of Dr. Geddes, edited by Dr. Disney ana 
Oharles Butler, Esq. The doctor’s version extends only to the eleventh verse of 
Psalm cxviii.; the rest is added from an interleaved copy of Bishop Wilson’s Bible, 
corrected by Dr. G. who professes to have confined himself to the direct and lite¬ 
ral meaning of the inspired authors, leaving secondary applications to professed 
commentators. “ Though many things have displeased us in the perusal of this 
work, we are not prepared to say that the learned editors should have altogether 
withheld this new version from the public. Dr. Geddes was undoubtedly a con¬ 
siderable scholar, and his lucubrations may be turned by other scholars to good 
account, though they cannot be implicitly adopted.” (British Critic, O. S. vol. 
xxxiii. p. 358.) 

73. An entire New Version of the Book of Psalms ; in which an 
attempt is made to accommodate them to the worship of the Christian 
Church, with original Prefaces, and Notes, Critical and Explanato¬ 
ry. By the Rev. Wm. Goode, M. A. London, 1811. 2 vols. 8vo. 

A learned and valuable help to the critical as well as devotional understanding 
of the Psalms, which are here translated into English verse, and in various metres. 

74. C. G. Friedricliii Symbolse Philologico-criticce, et Lectionis 
Varietatemcontinentes, ad interpretationem Psalmi Centesimi. Lip- 
siae, 1814. 4to. 

75. The Book of Psalms, translated from the Hebrew, with Notes 
explanatory and critical. By Samuel Horsley, LL. D. late Lord Bi¬ 
shop of St. Asaph. London, 1815. 2 vols. 8vo. 

To this valuable and erudite publication of the eminent Bishop Horsley we 
have been indebted for many important hints in the course of the present work 
For an account of his principles of interpretation, see Vol. IV. p. 113. infra ; and 
for a copious and well-written critique on his work, see the British Review, vol. 
xi. pp. 1—25. 

76. Lyra Davidis ; or, a New Translation and Exposition of the 
Psalms ; grounded on the Principles adopted in the posthumous Work 
of the late Bishop Horsley ; viz. that these Sacred Oracles have for 
the most part an immediate reference to Christ, and to the Events of 
his first and second Advent. By the Rev. John Fry, B. A. London, 
1819. 8vo. 

77. Psalmi Quindecem Hammaaloth, philologice et critice illustra¬ 
ti ; a Theodoro Adriano Clarisse, Theol. Doct. Lugduni Batavorum, 
1819. 8vo. 

An ingenious and useful commentary on Psalms cxx.—cxxxv. which are usually 
called Psalms of Degrees. 

78. Commentatio in PsaJmum Centesimum Decimum. Auctore 
Johanne Theodoro Bergman. Lugd. Bat. 1819. 4to 


772 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI 


THE WRITINGS OF SOLOMON COLLECTIVELY. 

79. Salomonis Regis et Sapientis, quae supersunt ejusque esse per 
hibentur, Omnia ex Ebraeo Latine vertit, Notasque, ubi opus esse vi¬ 
sum est, adjecit Josephus Fridericus Schelling. Stuttgardia?, 1806. 
8 vo. 

PROVERBS. 

80. Proverbia Salomonis, cum cura enucleata a Martino Geiero, 
Lipsiae, 1669. 1725. 4to. 

Tliis work is executed on the same plan, and with the same ability, as Geier’s 
Commentary on the Psalms, already noticed in p. 763. 

81. Proverbia Salomonis : Versionem integram, ad Hebramm fon- 
tem expressit, atque commentarium adjecit, Albertus Schultens, Lugd. 
Bat. 1748, large 8vo. (sometimes called 4to.) 

An abridgment of this elaborate work was printed at Halle in 8vo. 1760,. by 
Professor Vogel, who added some critical remarks. The preface was written by 
Semler, and an auctarium was furnished by Teller. 

82. Observations on several Passages in the Book of Proverbs ; 
with Two Sermons. By Thomas Hunt, D. D. Regius Professor of 
Hebrew, &-c. Oxford, 1775. 4to. 

These observations are twenty-six in number ; lL They display in a very advan¬ 
tageous light the critical acumen of the author, and his extensive acquaintance 
with the eastern languages.” (Monthly Review, O. S. vol. liii. p. 302., where the 
result of Dr. Hunt’s elaborate criticisms is given, first in the words of the autho¬ 
rised translation, and then in the version proposed by him.) As the book is neither 
very scarce nor very dear, it will be worth the student’s while to procure it. 

83. Joamiis Jacobi Reiske Conjecture in Jobum et Proverbia Sa¬ 
lomonis. Lipsie, 1779. 8vo. 

84. The Proverbs of Solomon ; translated from the Hebrew, with 
Notes. By the Rev. Bern. Hodgson, LL. D. Principal of Hertford 
College. Oxford, 1788. 4to. 

u The notes are not numerous, and, we must say, not very important. They 
are intended chiefly to explain, or to justify, the version, where it departs from the 
usual mode of translating. On the whole, though we do not think that Dr. H. has 
been singularly happy as a translator, yet we cannot frequently charge him with 
wanton deviations from the common version ; he has not often changed, merely 
for the Kike of changing.” (Monthly Review, N. S. vol. v. p. 294.) 

r _ 

85. Observationes in Proverbiorum Salomonis Versionem Aiexan- 
drinam, scripsit Jo. Gottliebb Jaeger. Meldorpi et Lipsiae, 1788. 
8vo. 

86. Commentarii Novi Critici in Versiones Veteres Proverbiorum 
Salomonis, a J. F. Schleusnero. Goettingae, 1794. 8vo. 

87. An Attempt towards an improved Translation of the Proverbs 
of Solomon, from the original Hebrew ; with Notes, Critical and Ex¬ 
planatory, and a Preliminary Dissertation. By the Rev. George 
Holden, M. A. London, 1819. 8vo. 

As this is the latest, so it is the most valuable help to the critical understanding 
of the Book of Proverbs, extant in our language. The translation is, in substance, 
the same as that in general use, with such alterations only as appear to be war¬ 
ranted by a critical interpretation of the original Hebrew, and to be demanded by 
evident necessity. In those passages, where the author has deemed it right to 
desert the authorised translation, he has laudably endeavoured to assimilate his 
version to its style and manner of expression. The notes accompanying Mr. Hol¬ 
den’s version, and which are, in no case, unnecessarily prolix, are partly critical 
and partly explanatory. The former are designed to ascertain the full meaning 
of the sacred text, by a philological inquiry into the signification of words and 


773 


Sect. V.] Principal Commentators on the Old Testament. 

phrases. In the latter, the author has explained the allusions to antient facts and 
customs; has introduced such observations as may serve to illustrate the original; 
and has occasionally presented, in a short paraphrase, an exposition of the mean¬ 
ing intended by the inspired author of the Book of Proverbs. The notes on the 
eighth chapter will be read with peculiar interest by the Christian student. Mr. 
Holden expounds the attributes there given to Heavenly Wisdom, of the second 
Person in the Holy Trinity: and he has supported this exposition by proofs and 
arguments not easily to be refuted, which he has drawn from Scripture, and from 
the fathers ot the church during the first three centuries, as well as from the an¬ 
tient Jewish writers. 

88. Exposition of the Book of Proverbs. By the late George 
Lawson, DD. Edinburgh, 1821. 2 vols. 12ino. 

ECCLESIASTES. 

81). Martini Geieri Commentarius in Salomonis Ecclesiasten. 
Lipsise, 1711, best edition, 8vo. 

DO. A Philosophical and Critical Essay on Ecclesiastes, wherein 
the author’s design is stated; his doctrine vindicated.; his method 
explained in an analytical paraphrase annexed to a new version of 
the Text from the Hebrew; and the differences between that new 
translation and the received version accounted for, in philological 
observations. By A. V. Desvoeux. London, 1762. 4to. 

In this work “ the author has shown very considerable abilities as a critic, and 
appears in the character of a candid and judicious writer. lie has taken infinite 
pains to render his work as perfect as possible ; and those who are acquainted 
with the Hebrew language, will find in his philological observations many new, 
and some pertinent remarks.” (Monthly Review, O. S. vol. xxvii. p. 485.) Mr. 
Desvoeux’s elaborate essay was translated into German, and published at Halle, 
in 1764. 4to. 

01. Ecclesiastes translated, with a paraphrase and notes. By 
Stephen Greenaway, A. B. Leicester, 1781. 8vo. 

This singularly executed volume consists of three T parts, the two former of which 
(originally sold for one penny and three pence,) are rarely to be met with. Be¬ 
sides Ecclesiastes, it contains translations of 2 Samuel xxiii. ver. 1. to 7. Isaiah 
vii. 20, 21, 22. and ix. 1. to 5.; also Psal. xxvii. in prose and verse. (Dr. Cotton’s 
List of Editions of the Bible, p. 46.) 

9*2. Ecclesiastes : a New Translation from the original Hebrew, 
by Bernard Hodgson, LL. D. Principal of Hertford College, Oxford. 
London, 1791. 4to. 

The same remarks which have been offered on this author’s version of the Book 
of Proverbs, are nearly applicable to his translation of Ecclesiastes. See Monthly 
R-eview, N. S. vol. ix. p. 59. 

93. An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes. By Edward Rey¬ 
nolds, D. D. Bishop of Norwich. Revised and corrected by the Rev. 
Daniel Washbourne. London, 1811. 8vo. 

This work originally formed part of the collection of notes on the Bible, usually 
called the Assembly’s Annotations, noticed in p. ?5i. supra. The editor of this 
impression states that the whole of the commentary has been carefully transcrib¬ 
ed ; and that the author’s ideas are strictly and fully retained; lie has however 
“ deemed it necessary to alter the construction of most of the sentences, frequently 
to exchange obsolete words for those now in use ; and in a few instances to omit 
redundant paragraphs.” Bishop Reynolds’s work concludes with important prac¬ 
tical reflections. 

94. Lectures on the Book of Ecclesiastes. By Ralph Wardlaw, 
D. D. London, 1821. 2 vols. 8vo. 

95. An Attempt to illustrate the Book of Ecclesiastes. By the 
Rev George Holden, M. A. London, 1822. 8vo. 




774 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


Of the various publications, which have been issued from the press, relative to 
this, in many respects, difficult book, this “ attempt” (as its author modestly terms 
it) is the best that has fallen under the notice of the writer of the present work. 
It is a kind of Paraphrase (similar to that in Dr. Doddridge’s Family Expositor); 
in which the expressions of the Hebrew author are interwoven with a commen¬ 
tary. Mr. Holden has taken the authorised version as his basis, from which he has 
departed only where a departure appeared to him absolutely necessary, and sup¬ 
ported upon the soundest principles of criticism. The reasons of these deviations 
are stated in distinct notes. The work is further accompanied by useful notes, 
establishing the scope and design of the Book of Ecclesiastes, and embodying such 
observations as seem proper to enforce and elucidate the whole. We are indebt¬ 
ed to Mr. Holden’s labours for the excellent view of the Scope and Synopsis of 
the Book of Ecclesiastes, given in the fourth volume of this work. 

SONG OF SOLOMON. 

90. Caroli Marise tie Veil Explicatio Litteralis Cantici Cantieorum, 
ex ipsis Scripturarum fontibus, Ebra3orum ritibus et idiomatis, vete- 
rum et recentiorum monimentis eruta. London, 1079. 8vo. 

A rare and valuable work : the author confines himself to the explication of the 
literal sense. 

97. Joannis Marckii in Canticum Scbelomonis Commentarius, sive 
Analysis Exegetica. Amsterdam, 1703. 4to. 

98. An Exposition of the Book of Solomon’s Song, commonly 
called Canticles; wherein the divine authority of it is established; 
several versions compared with the original Text ; the different 
senses both of Jewish and Christian interpreters considered ; and 
the whole opened and explained. By John Gill, D. D. 1728, 1751, 
folio, 4to. ; and again in 1767. In 2 vols. 8vo. 1805. 

This work is frequently mistaken for an extract from Dr. Gill’s commentary on 
the Bible, noticed in p. 754. supra , whereas it preceded the latter by more than 
t wenty years. It is highly allegorical in its interpretation. 

99. The Song of Solomon, newly translated from the original He¬ 
brew ; with a Commentary and Annotations. [By the late Dr. Per¬ 
cy, Bishop ofDromore.] London, 1764. 12mo. 

The elegance of this version, and of its accompanying criticisms, has caused it 
to he held in the highest esteem ; and all subsequent commentators have diligently 
availed themselves of it. It is now exceedingly scarce, and extravagantly dear. 

100. Outlines of a new Commentary on Solomon’s Song, drawn 
by the Help of Instructions from the East: containing, 1. Remarks 
on its general nature ; 2. Observations on detached places of it; 3. 
Queries concerning the rest of the Poem. By the Author of Obser¬ 
vations on divers Passages of Scripture. London, 1768; second edi¬ 
tion, 1775. 8vo. 

For this valuable work Bible students are indebted to the Rev. Thomas Harmer, 
whose Observations on divers Passages of Scripture we have already noticed ; in 
it very many difficult passages of Solomon’s Song are happily elucidated, and 
hints are offered, of which subsequent commentators have not failed to avail them¬ 
selves. It bears a high price. 

101. Solomon’s Song, translated from the Hebrew. By the Rev. 
Bernard Hodgson, LL. D. Oxford, 1785. 4to. 

In this work the literal meaning only of Solomon’s Song is illustrated, there 
being not the slightest allusion to its mystical meaning. An account of it, with 
extracts, may be seen in the Monthly Review, O. S. vol. lxxvi. pp. 26—2‘J. 

102. The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. A New Transla¬ 
tion, with a Commentary and notes. By Thomas Williams. Lon¬ 
don, 1801. 8vo. 

This version is aa literal as our language will admit, and is rendered in eon- 


775 


Sect. V.] Principal Commentators on the Old Testament. 

formity with the authorised translation, whenever it was practicable. The notes 
are for the most part judiciously selected from the labours of all preceding com¬ 
mentators, and give a sober but practical and evangelical exposition of the alle¬ 
gory* Two dissertations are prefixed, 1. On the origin of language, particularly 
figurative and allegorical language, and on Hebrew poetry and music ; and, 2. On 
the nature, design, and authority of Solomon’s Song. In pp. 100—109. is given 
an interesting account of nearly 40 expositors and commentators on this book. 
See a further account of this work in the Monthly Review, N. S. vol. xlvii. pp. 
302—310. 

103. Song; of Songs, or Sacred Idyls. Translated from the origi¬ 
nal Hebrew, with Notes critical and explanatory. By John Mason 
Good. London, 1803. 8vo. 

The present work offers two versions of the original; the one in prose, mark¬ 
ed with the divisions of the Bible version ; the other in couplet verses, of no in¬ 
ferior construction. Bach idyl is illustrated with notes, in which very various 
learning is displayed, with much taste in the selection of beautiful parallelisms 
from a great variety of authors. — So much elegant learning and successful illus¬ 
tration we have seldom seen within so small a compass as the present volume.” 
(British Critic, O. S. vol. xxvi. pp. 454, 455.) See also Monthly Review, N. S. 
vol. xlvii. pp. 302—312. 

104. Canticles, or Song of Solomon : a new Translation, with 
Notes and an attempt to interpret the Sacred Allegories contained in 
that Book. To which is added an Essay on the name and charac¬ 
ter of the Redeemer. By the Rev. John Fry, A. B. London, 181L 
8vo. 

105. Canticum Canticorum illustratum ex Hierographia Orienta- 
lium, a J. H. Kistemaker. Munster, 1818. 8vo. 

106. A Brief Outline of an Examination of the Song of Solomon ; 
in which many beautiful Prophecies, contained in that inspired book 
of Holy Scripture, are considered and explained, with Remarks cri¬ 
tical and expository. By William Davidson. London, 1817. 8vo. 

The learned and pious author of this work considers the Canticles as an inspired 
song wholly referring to the spiritual Solomon, or Christ and his true spiritual 
church, and particularly to their espousals; and as giving a general prophetic 
outline of her history from the preaching of John the Baptist, and baptism of our 
Lord, to the conversion of the Jews, and that of the wild Arabians, and their union 
with the Christian church. And while her particular, often invisible, progressive 
state here on earth is mentioned, and her duties are pointed out, her outward state, 
trials, and persecutions do not pass unnoticed. Mr. Davidson has diligently 
availed himself of the previous labours of most of the commentators on this poem ; 
and at the end of his volume he has divided it into hemistichs according to Dr. 
Kennicott’s mode of printing the poetical parts of the Old Testament. 

107. Canticum Canticorum, prsefatione, Versione Latina, et com- 
mentario exegetico-critico, instruxit. M. F. Uhlemann. Lipsiee, 1821. 
8vo. 

ISAIAH. 

108. Campegii Vitringac Commentarius in Librum Prophetiarum 
Jesaiae. Leovardiae, 1714, and 1720. 2 vols. folio. 

In this most elaborate commentary on the u Evangelical Prophet,” to which ail 
subsequent expositors have been deeply indebted, the literal sense is carefully in¬ 
vestigated ; the different interpretations of the prophetic visions are examined; 
and the interpretation which Vitringa has deduced from them, is confirmed and 
illustrated by historical documents. Copious prolegomena are prefixed, treating 
of the prophet’s personal history, the argument of his prophecy, its style, time of 
writing, and canonical authority. The value of the work is further augmented by 
the geographical and historical notices interspersed throughout, concerning the 
Babylonians, Philistines, Moabites, Syrians of Damascus, Egyptians, Tyrians, and 
other Gentile nations ; by which not only Isaiah, but also very many other pas 
sages of Scripture, are admirably elucidated 


776 


APPENDIX. 


rNo. vi. 

L_ 


109. Isaiah : a New Translation, with a preliminary Dissertation, 
and Notes critical, philological, and explanatory. By Robert Lowth, 
D. D. Bishop of London. 4to. London, 1778. 2 vols. 8vo. 

Of this sublime and admirably executed version, a German translation was pub¬ 
lished by M. Koppe, at Gottingen, 1779—1781, in 4 vols. 8vo. The preliminary 
dissertation is invaluable for the light it throws on the genius and structure of 
prophetic poesy. The merits of this work are ably appreciated in the British 
Critic, O. S. vol. xxix. pp. 144—146., and the integrity of the Hebrew text was 
asserted against some of the bishop’s corrections in a tract that is now of rare oc¬ 
currence, by Koecher in his Vindicicc Sacri Textus Hcbrcei Esaicc adversus Low- 
thii Criticam , 8vo. Bern, 1786, reprinted at Tubingen in 1790. The rarity of 
Koecher’s book, however, is no great loss to the student; for the late eminently 
learned orientalist, the professor Henry Albert Schultens (of Leyden) speaking of 
his book, says : — “It violates the bounds of moderation and decency by the asser¬ 
tion that the text of Isaiah would not gain any thing by Dr. Lowth’s conjectures. 
I am of a very different opinion. When in Oxford and London I was intimately 
acquainted with Bishop Lowth, and had an opportunity of knowing his excellent 
disposition ; and am therefore much vexed that Koecherus, from his fiery zeal 
against innovations, should have been induced to treat him with severity, as if the 
Bishop had been a rash and petulant critic.” Letter of Professor Schultens to the 
late Dr. Findlay of Glasgow, cited in the Monthly Review, N. S. vol. xv. p. 504. 
Bishop Lowth’s version was attacked by the late Mr. Dodson, in his supplemen¬ 
tary notes to his “ New Translation of Isaiah ,” (8vo. London, 1790) with con¬ 
siderable asperity. The bishop was ably vindicated by the Rev. Dr. Sturges. in 
“ Short Remarks on a New Translation of Isaiah” (8vo. London, 1790): to these 
Mr. Dodson replied in 1791, in a “ Letter to the Rev. Dr. Sturges ,” in which he 
justifies the freedom with which he had censured Bishop Lowth’s mistakes and 
defects. Mr. D.’s version and notes were framed in support of Unitarian tenets, 
and were, published by the (Unitarian)Society for promoting the Knowledge of 
the Scriptures.” 

110. E saias ex Recensione Textus Hebrsei, ad fidem codd. et verss. 
Latine, vertit, et Notas subjecit, J. C. Doederlein. Norimbergte, 
1789. 3d editiou, 8vo. 

The first edition was published at Altdorf, in 8vo. 1780. 

111. The Book of the Prophet Isaiah, in Hebrew and English. 
The Hebrew' Text metrically arranged ; the Translation altered from 
that of Bishop Lowth. By the Right Rev. Joseph Stock, D. D. Bi¬ 
shop of Killala. 1804. 4to. 

“ The right reverend translator had conceived a wish to see the original lan¬ 
guage of Isaiah reduced to a metrical arrangement, and to have this accompanied 
with the Version of Bishop Lowth, reserving to himself the liberty of adding such 
corrections as later critics, or his own investigations, might supply. These cor¬ 
rections multiplied to such a degree as to assume almost the form of anew version. 
There is also a variety of notes critical and explanatory, supplied partly by the 
translator and partly by others. Many of these are very valuable for their uncom¬ 
mon depth and acuteness, and tend to elucidate, in a high degree, the subject 
matter of these prophecies.” (British Critic, vol. xxviii. O. S. p. 466.) “ Bishop 
Stock’s version is by no means to be considered as an attempt to rival or to super¬ 
sede that of Dr. Lowth. Both versions exhibit a close, nervous, and manly style. 
That of Dr. Lowth may by every class of readers be perused with profit. Super- 
added to this, Dr. Stock invites the Hebrew scholar to investigate and to compare, 
by the Hebrew and the English meeting the eye in the same page ; and may tempt 
even the careless to know something of that language, in which the oracles of 
God were originally conveyed.” (British Critic, O. S. vol. xxix. p. 146. See 
also the Monthly Review, N. S. vol. xlix. pp. 253—265.) 

112. Lectures on the Prophecies of Isaiah. By Robert Maculioch. 
London, 1791, and following years. 4 vols. 8vo. 

These lectures were delivered in the ordinary course of his pastoral labours by 
Mr. M., who is a minister in the church of Scotland. “ They contain many in¬ 
genious elucidations of the text, and many judicious and useful reflections. The 
author appears to have taken much pains to understand the phraseology of the 


777 


Sect. V.] Principal Commentators on the Old Testament. 

Prophet, and to investigate his original design ; he marks distinctly the leading 
divisions of the prophecies, and explains, at the beginning of each division, its 
peculiar object.” (Monthly Review, N. S. vol. xx. p. 226.) 


Besides the above learned works on this sublime prophet, Professor Jahn, in his 
Appendix Hermcncutica Sacra, Fasciculi i. and ii. (8vo. Vienna, 1813, 1815), has 
illustrated a variety of passages in Isaiah and other prophetic writers relative to 
the Messiah. But the cheapest and most compendious popular work on this and 
the other prophets is Dr. Smith’s “ Summary view and explanation of the writings 
of the Prophets ,” 12mo. Edinburgh and London, 1787. This work is a judicious 
abstract of all that is valuable in the writings of Bishop Lowth, Archbishop New- 
come, Bishop Newton, and Drs. Kennicott and Blayney ; it was originally com¬ 
piled to accompany a Gaelic version of the Prophets, and was subsequently trans¬ 
lated into English by the author himself. The writer of this account was inform¬ 
ed many years since by one of the original London publishers, 1 (and he records it 
\\ ith peculiar satisfaction,) that the late Archbishop (Moore) of Canterbury held 
this little work in great estimation, and was in the habit of purchasing copies for 
gratuitous distribution among students and others who could not afford to buy 
many books. Bishop Newton’s “ Dissertations on the Prophecies,” 8vo. 2 vols. 
illustrate many of the prophetic parts of the Old and New Testament with equal 
learning and ability. 

113. Critical Disquisitions on the Eighteenth Chapter of Isaiah, 
in a Letter to Edward King, Esq. F. R. S. A. S. By Samuel [Hors- 
ley], Lord Bishop of Rochester, F. R. S. A. S. London, 1801.4to. 

114. N. G. Schroederi Commentarius Philologico-Criticus de Ves- 
titu Mulierum Hebrsearum, ad Jesai. III. v. 16—24., quo vocabulo- 
rum abstrusiorum tenebras, ad facem dialectorum, discutere conatus 
est. Lug. Bat. 1745. 4to. 

JEREMIAH, AND LAMENTATIONS. 

115. A Translation of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, accompanied 
by short notes, is given in the second tome or part of the works of 
Mr. Hugh Broughton, pp. 317—323. folio. 

116. Hermanni Venemae Commentarius ad Librum Prophetiarum 
Jeremiae. Leovardiae, 1765. 2 vols. 4to. 

117. Jeremiah, and Lamentations : a new r translation, with notes 
critical, philological, and explanatory. By Benjamin Blayney, D. D. 
Oxford, 1784. 4to. Edinburgh, 1810. 8vo. 

This work is executed on the same plan as Bishop Lowth’s version of Isaiah ; 
u and, though not with equal success, yet with much credit to the author, both as 
a translator and a critic. His subject is not of equal eminence with that which 
was undertaken by the Bishop. It has less variety in the matter, and contains a 
less fund for curious inquiry and critical illustration. The translation is very ex¬ 
act, and preserves the tone and majesty of sacred writing. The notes are very 
copious. Many of them are very useful, and some discover much critical know¬ 
ledge in the Hebrew language, and a good acquaintance with antient history. The 
various readings are noticed with the most scrupulous exactness: conjectural 
emendation is sometimes hazarded, but not rashly or injudiciously.” (Monthly Re¬ 
view, O. S. vol. lxxi. pp. 162, 163.) Besides a valuable preliminary discourse, 
there is an appendix, comprising a selection from Archbishop Seeker’s manuscript 
notes (now deposited in the archiepiscopal library at Lambeth), relative to the 
prophecy and lamentations of Jeremiah. 

118. J. D. Michaelis Observationes Philologicse et Criticae in Je- 
remiae Vaticinia et Threnos, edidit, multisque animadversionibus 
auxit. Joh. Frid. Schleusner. Gottingen, 1793. 4to. 

c 0 

These observations were collected from the loose papers of that late eminent 
scholar, J. D. Michaelis, by Profossor Schleusner, with many additional remarks 
by the latter. M. Schleusner in the same year published, at Tubingen, in 4to. 
Dissertationes Tres, quee continent Observationes ad Vaticinia Jeremies. 


VOL. II. 


1 The late Mr. Kay, of the firm of Elliott and Kay. 

98 





778 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI 


119. Jeremias Vates, e Versione Judseorum Alexandrinorum, ac 
reliquorum Interpretum Graecorum emendatus, notisque illustratus a 
G. L. Spohn. Vol. I. Lipsiae, 1794. Vol. II. Lipsiae, 1823. 8vo. 

A continuation of the first volume of these illustrations of Jeremiah is given in 
Pott’s and Ruperti’s Sylloge Commentationum Theologicarum. These are en¬ 
larged and completed in the second volume, which was published, after the author’s 
death, by his son, F. A. W. Spohn. 

120. Threni Jeremiae philologiee et critice illustrati a Joh. Henr. 
Pareau. Lugd. Bat. 1793. 8vo. 

121. Curse Exegetico-Criticae in Jeremiae Tlirenos : auctore Fr. 
Erdmann. Rostochii, 1819. 8vo. 

EZEKIEL. 

122. Hieronymi Pradi et Jo. Baptistae Villalpandi in Ezechielem 
Explanationes, et Apparatus Urbis ac Templi Ilierosoiymit. Com- 
mentariis illustratus. Romae, 1596—1604. 3 vols. folio. 

This is a work of extreme rarity, and the best commentary on the prophet Eze¬ 
kiel that ever was written. An extract of Villalpandi's comment on Ezekiel, c. 
40, 41, 42. and 40., illustrating the prophetic vision of the temple, is to be found in 
the first volume of Bishop Walton’s edition of the Polyglott Bible. Mr. Lowth 
made great use of this work in his learned commentary on Ezekiel. 

123. Scholar Propheticas, ex Praelcctionibus Ccorgii Calixti in Je- 
saiam, Jeremiam, et Ezechielem, eollectae. Quedlinburgi, 1715. 4to. 

124. J. Fr. Starckii Commentarii in Ezechielem. Francofurti ad 
Moenum, 1731. 4to. 

125. Hermanni Veriemae Lectiones Academicae ad Ezechielem, 
edente J. II. Verschuir. Leovardiae, 1790. 2 vols. 4to. 

126. An Attempt towards an Improved Version, a Metrical Ar¬ 
rangement, and an Explanation of the Prophet Ezekiel. By Wm. 
Newcome, D. D. (Bishop of Waterford, afterwards Archbishop of 
Armagh). Dublin, 1788. 4to. 

This work is executed on the same plan as the version of the minor prophets 
noticed in p. 781. “ The numerous admirers of that valuable production will find 
not less to commend in the present work. They will observe with pleasure, that 
the right reverend author not only pursues the path which he had before so wisely 
chosen, but that, instead of treading only the smoothest and most flowery parts of 
it, he surmounts with a firm though cautious step, difficulties which the boldest 
traveller might shun without disgrace. Instead of lavishing most explanation on 
what is most intelligible, and betraying the pride of erudition where erudition is 
least necessary, he successfully employs his solid judgment and effectual learning 
in the elucidation of a writer who has been called the Aschylus of Hebrew Poetry.’' 
(Monthly Review", N. S. vol. iv. p. 1.) 

DANIEL. 

127. Hexapla, or a Sixfold Commentary on Daniel. By Andrew 
Willett. Cambridge, 1610. folio. 

This “ is a work of much information, as it contains the opinions of many au¬ 
thors on each point of difficulty.” The same “ author has written comments on 
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Samuel, Romans, Jude, and some detached parts of 
books ; but in none does he discover more skill and judgment than in the present 
work.” [Dr. Williams’s Christian Preacher, p. 431.) 

128. A Translation of the Book of Daniel, with a Commentary in 
English and in Latin, is in the first tome or part of the learned but 
eccentric Hugh Broughton’s Works, pp. 164—337. 

129. Martini Geieri Prselectiones Academics in Danielem Prophe- 
tam. Leipsic, 1702. 4to., best edition. 

One of the most valuable of all Geier’s expository works. 


779 


Sect. V.] Principal Commentators on the Old Testament . 

130. Prodromus Danielicus, sive Novi Conatus Historici, Critici, 
in celeberrimas difficultates Historiae Veteris Testamenti, Monar- 
chiarum Asiae, &c. ac praecipue. in Danielem Prophetam. Auctore 
Gerardo Kerkherdere. Lovanii, 1710. 8vo. 

131. Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apo¬ 
calypse of St. John. By Sir Isaac Newton. London, 1733. 4to. 

A Latin version of this well-known and elaborate work was published by M. Su- 
demann, in 4to., at Amsterdam, 1737, All subsequent commentators are largely 
indebted to the labours of Sir Isaac Newton. 

132. Hermanni Venemae Dissertationes ad Vatieinia Danielis. 
C ap. ii. vii. et viii. Leovardiae; 1745. 4to.—Ejusdem, Commenta- 
rius ad Danielis. Cap. xi. 4. —xii. 3. Leovardiae, 1752. 4to. 

133. Daniel: an Improved Version attempted: with Notes criti¬ 
cal, historical, and explanatory. By Thomas Wintle, B. D. Lon¬ 
don, 1807. 4to. 

A very valuable translation, executed on the same plan as Bishop Lowth’s version 
ot Isaiah, and Dr. Blayney’s of Jeremiah. In the fourth sermon of his Bampton’s 
Lectures (8vo. Oxford, 1795), Mr. W. has some excellent remarks on the predictions 
of Ilaggai, Malachi, and Daniel. See an analysis of this work in the Monthly Re¬ 
view, N. S. vol. x. pp. 245—250. 

Numerous disquisitions relative to particular prophecies of Da¬ 
niel have been published, particularly concerning the seventy 
weeks: the following are the most worthy of note. 

134. An Essay towards an Interpretation of the Prophecies of 
Daniel, with occasional Remarks upon some of the most celebrated 
Commentators on them. By Richard Amner. London, 1776. 8vo, 

This author adopts the exploded and untenable hypothesis of Grotius (who has 
been followed by Le Clerc, Prideaux, and others,) that all the prophecies of Daniel 
terminated in the persecution of the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes. This work 
(which is noticed only to put the unwary reader on his guard against it) was re¬ 
printed in 1798, with some other tracts, tending to show that certain passages of 
Scripture, which clearly announce a future resurrection, relate to nothing more than 
a mere temporal deliverance! An exposure of some of this author’s notions may be 
seen in the British Critic, O. S. vol. xiii. pp. 290—295. 

135. Joannis Davidis Michaelis Epistolae de LXX Hebdomadibus 
Danielis ad D. Joannem Pringle, Baronetum. London, 1773. 8vo. 

For an account of these highly curious letters see the Monthly Review, O. S. vol. 
xlix. pp. 263—267. 

136. Adriani Kluit Vaticinium de Messia Duce Primarium, sive 
Explicatio LXX Hebdomadum Danielis. Mediob. 1744. 8vo. 

137. A Dissertation, by way of Inquiry, into the true Import and 
Application of the Vision related Dan. ix. 20. to the end, usually 
called Daniel’s Prophecy of Seventy Weeks, &c. By Benjamin 
Blayney, B. D. Oxford,' 1775. 4to. 

Dr. Blayney controverts some points of Professor Michaelis’s opinion, which our 
limits permit us not to notice. The reader will find an account of this learned tract 
in the Monthly Review, O. S. vol. lii. pp. 487—491. 

138. LXX Hebdomadum, quas Gabriel ad Danielem detulerat, 
Tnterpretatio, Paraphrasis, Computatio, cum Vocabulorum Difficilio- 
rum Explicatione, &c. Auctore Johanne Uri. Oxonii, 1788. 8vo. 

COMMENTATORS ON ALL OR MOST OF THE MINOR PROPHETS. 

139. Victorini Strigelii Argumenta et Scholia in Duodecim Pro- 
phetas Minores. Lipsiae, 1561. 8vo. 

140. Joannis Merceri Commentarii Locupletissimi in Prophetas 


780 


APPENDIX, 


[No. VI. 


Quinque Minores, inter eos qui Minores vocantur. Quibus adjuncti 
sunt aliorum, etiam et veterum (in quibus sunt Ilebroei) et recentium 
Commentarii. Sine anno et loco. 

141. Lamberti Danaei Commentarius in Joelem, Amos, Micham, 
Habacuc, Sophoniam, Hagg®um, Zachariam, et Malachiam. Ge- 
nev®, 1758. 8vo. Also with commentaries on the other four minor 
prophets, in 8vo. Geneva, 1580, 1594. 

142. Johannis Drusii Commentarius in Prophetas Minores. Am¬ 
sterdam, 1027. 4to. 

These commentaries were originally published at different times, between the 
years 1595 and 1627. They are also to be found in the third volume of the Critici 
Sacri. 

143. As Fatidicus, sive Duodecim Prophet® Minores, Latina Meta- 
phrasi Poetica expositi, partim a Jacobo Augusto Thuano, partim a 
Cunrado Rittershusio. Amberg®, 1004. 8vo. 

This is a work of rare occurrence. The younger Rosenmdller pronounces the 
paraphrases of the celebrated president De Thou, and his coadjutor Rittershusius, 
to be executed with great elegance. Besides the arguments to the prophecies, and 
the summaries translated into Latin by Rittershusius from the Greek of Hesychi- 
us, a presbyter of the church of Jerusalem, this volume contains, 1. Three Latin 
paraphrases of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, by De Thou, Joachim Camerarius, 
and Adam Siberus ; —2. A poetical paraphrase of the first chapter of Isaiah by an 
anonymous French author ; — 3. A paraphrase of the third chapter of the same pro¬ 
phet by Henry Meibomius ; — 4. A poetical paraphrase of chapters xxxvi.—xxxviii. 
of Isaiah, by John Conrad Rumellius ;—5. Daniel preserved among the lions by 
Rittershusius ; — and, 6. Nine of the Psalms of David translated into Greek hexa¬ 
meters, also by Rittershusius. RosenmOller has frequently cited this work in his 
Scholia on the Minor Prophets. 

144. Caroli Mari® de Veil Expositio Litteralis Duodecim Prophe- 
tarum Minorum, ex ipsis Scripturarum fontibus, Ebr®orum ritibus et 
idiomatis, veterum et recentiorum monimentis. Londini, 1680. 8vo. 

145. Joannis Tarnovii in Prophetas Minores Commentarius, in 
quo Textus Analysi perspicua illustrator, ex fonte Hebraeo explica¬ 
te, locis SS. parallelis confirmatur, a pravis expositionibus vindica¬ 
tor ; usus vero in locis communibus ex ipsa Scriptura natis et proba- 
tis indicatur, cum Pr®fatione Jo. Benedicti Carpzovii. Francofurti 
et Lipsi®, 1688, 1706. 4to. 

Tarnovius was justly considered as one of the most learned and eminent divines 
of his day ; his commentaries on the several prophets were published at different 
times in a detached form, and were first collected together by the elder Carpzov. 

146. Commentaries on the Prophecies of Hosea, Joel, Micah, and 
Malachi. By Edward Pococke, D. D. 

These learned commentaries were published at several times between the years 
1667 and 1691. They are also extant in the collective edition of his “Theological 
Works,” published by Dr. Twells, in 2 vols. folio. London, 1740. 

147. Joannis Marckii Commentarius in Prophetas Minores, sen 
Analysis Exegetica, qua Ilebneus Textus cum Yersionibus veteribus 
confertur, vocum et phrasium vis indagatur, rerum nexus monstratur : 
et in sensum genuinum, cum examine variarum interpretationum, in- 
quiritur. Amsterdam, 1696—1701. 4 vols. 4to. 

These commentaries are much esteemed : they were reprinted in 1734, at Tu 
bingen, in two folio volumes, under the care of Professor Pfaff, who prefixed an 
account of the life and writings of Marckius. 

148. Phil. Davidis Burkii Gnomon in Duodecim Prophetas Mino 


781 


Sect. V.] Principal Commentators of the Old Testament. 

res, in quo, ex nativa verborum vi, simplicitas, profunditas, concinni- 
tas, salubritas sensuum coelestium indicatur. Heilbron, 1753. 4to. 

The remark already offered on Burkius’s Gnomon Psalmorum (p. 769. supra) 
is equally applicable to his work on the minor prophets. 

149. Yaticinia Chabacuci et Nachumi, itemque nonnulla Jesaite, 
Micheae, et Ezecliielis Oracula, observationibus historico-philologicis 
ex bistoria Diodori Siculi circa res Sardanapali illustrata. Auctore 
R. T. Gottlieb Kalinsky. Vratislavise, 1748. 4to. 

A work of rare occurrence in this country : it is in the list of biblical treatises 
'Sjcommended to students by the late bishop of Landaff (Dr. Watson). 

150. An Attempt towards an Improved Version, a Metrical Ar¬ 
rangement, and an Explanation of the Twelve Minor Prophets. By 
W. Newcome, D. D. Bishop of Waterford. London, 1785. 4to. Pon¬ 
tefract, 1809. 8vo. 

“ The notes are copious and pertinent, untainted by an ostentatious display of 
erudition, and abounding with such illustrations of eastern manners and customs 
as are best collected from modern travellers. As a commentator, the learned pre¬ 
late has shown an intimate acquaintance with the best critics, antient and modern 
His own observations are learned and ingenious. It is, moreover, not the least 
merit of his criticisms, that they are continually enlivened by the introduction of 
classical quotations — an expedient by which the tedium of grammatical disquisi¬ 
tion is happily relieved, the taste of the commentator displayed, and the text, in 
some instances, more successfully explained, than in diffuse and laborious modes 
of instruction.” (Monthly Review, O. S. vol. lxxvi. p. 58.) — The 8vo. edition 
above noticed is a reprint of the 4to. edition, enriched with the addition of the 
most important of Bishop Horsley’s criticisms on Iiosea, and those of Dr. Blayney 
on Zechariah. It is neatly printed, and of easy purchase. 

151. Observationes Philologicae atque Critic® ad quaedam Prophe- 
tarum Minorum Loca, subjuncta vernacula Chabacuci Interpreta- 
tione. Auctore J. Ch. Dahl. Neo-Streliti® (New Strelitz), 1798. 8vo. 

IIOSEA. 

152. The Prophecies of Hosea, translated, with a commentary and 
notes. By James Neale, A. M. London, 1771. 8vo. 

153. Samuelis Henrici Mangeri Commentarius in Librum Prophe- 
ticum Hose®. Campis, 1782. 4to. 

154. Hose® Oracula, Hebraice et Latine, perpetua annotatione 
lllustravit Chr. Fr. Kuinoel. Lipsi®, 1792. 8vo. 

Prof. Kuinoel has applied Heyne’s mode of illustrating Virgil to the elucidation 
of the prophecy of Hosea. The text rarely varies from the Masora. 

155. Hosea: translated from the Hebrew, with Notes explanatory 
and critical. By Samuel Horsley, Bishop of Saint Asaph. 2d edition. 
London, 1804. 4to. 

This edition contains additional notes and corrections ^ the first edition appeared 
in 1801; the preface contains a treasure of biblical criticism. “ This translation, 
with its notes, forms a most valuable accession to sacred learning ; and evinces at 
once the best qualities of the scholar and the divine, supported by sagacity and a 
powerful judgment.” (British Critic, O. S. vol. xix. p. 176.) A new edition of 
this valuable work, with the learned author’s last corrections and alterations, forms 
part of the third and fourth volumes of his “ Biblical Criticism,” which is noticed 
infra. 

JOEL. 

156. A Paraphrase and Commentary on the Prophecy of Joel. 
By Samuel Chandler. 1735. 4to. 

157. Joel, Latine versus, et notis philologicis illustrates, ab A. 
Svanborg, Lingg. 00. Professoris in Academia Upsaliensi. Upsal. 
1806. 4to. 


782 


> 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI 


AMOS. 

158. Amos Propheta, expositus, interpretations nova Latina in¬ 
structs, amplissimo commentario ex theologia Ebraea ac Israelitica 
illustratus, cum quatuor appendicibus. Cura et studio J. Ch. Haren- 
bergii. Lugd. Bat. 1763. 4to. 

159. Oracula Amosi, Textum, et Hebraicum, et Graecum Versio- 
nis Alexandrine notis criticis ex exegeticis instruxit, adjunctaque 
versione vernacula [i. e. Germanica]. Edidit Joannes Severinus Va- 
ter. Halae, 1810. 4to. 

JONAH. 

160. Aug. PfeifFeri Praelectiones in Prophetiam Jonse, recognitte 
et in justum commentarium redactse, quibus emphases vocum eruun- 
tur, verus sacrae Scripturae sensus exponitur, sententiae variae et Ju- 
daeorum et Christianorum adducuntur, falsae refelluntur, et quaestiones 
dubiae resolvuntur. Wittebergae, 1671, 1706; Lipsiae, 1686. 4to. 

This commentary is also extant in the collective edition of Pfeiffer’s works print¬ 
ed at Utrecht, in two volumes, 4to. in 1704. See tom. ii. pp. 1131—1165. 

161. Jonah : a faithful translation from the original, with philolo¬ 
gical and explanatory notes, to which is prefixed a preliminary dis¬ 
course, proving the genuineness, the authenticity, and the integrity 
of the present text. By George Benjoin. Cambridge, 1796. 4to. 

Literally good for nothing. — In proof of this remark, see the British Critic, vol 
x. O. S. pp. 493—50G. 622—636. 

NAHUM AND HABAKKUK. 

162. Adami Wildii Meditationes Sacrae in Frophetam Nahum. 
Francofurti, 1712. 4to. 

A learned and elaborate work, which contributes greatly to the elucidation cf 
the prophet Nahum. (Walchius.) 

163. Syrabolae Criticae ad Interpretationem Vaticiniorum Habacuci, 
etc. Auctore Henr. Car. Alex. Haenlein. Erlang. 1795. 8vo. 

164. Chabacuci Vaticinium Commentario Critico atque Exegetico 
illustratum. Edidit B. P. Kofod. Gottingae, 1792. 8vo. 

IIAGGAI. 

165. Haggeus, the Prophet; whereunto is added a most plentiful 
Commentary, gathered out of the Publique Lectures of Dr. J. J. Gry- 
neus, faithfully translated by Christopher Featherstone. London, 
1586. 12mo. 

ZEPHANIAH. 

166. Spicilegium Observationum Exegetico-criticarum ad Zepha- 
nise Vaticinia. Auctore Dan. a Coelln. Breslau, 1818. 4to. 

ZECHARIAH. 

167. Zechariah : a New Translation with Notes, critical, philolo¬ 
gical, and explanatory, etc. By Benjamin Blayney, D. D. Regius 
Professor of Hebrew. London, 1797. 4to. 

This work is executed on the same plan a3 the author’s version of Jeremiah 
already noticed in p. 777. supra. u We think it our duty to say, that Dr. Blayney 
has produced a valuable illustration of Zechariah, and afforded great assistance to 
the biblical student.” (British Critic, O. S. vol. xiii. p. 655.) See also the Monthly 
Review, N. S. vol. xxviii. pp. 26—28. 

168. F. B. ICoester Meletemata Critica et Exegetica in Zachanaa 

© 


783 


Sect. VI.] Principal Commentators on the New Testament. 

Prophetse partem posteriorem, cap. ix.—xiv. pro tuenda ejus authen- 
tia, Gottingae, 1818. 8vo. 

MALACHI. 

169. A learned and useful Commentary on the Prophecy of Mala- 
ehy. Gy Richard Stock. London, 1643. folio. 

This work was recommended by Bishop Wilkins as the best extant in his day 
on the prophet Malachi. The only other distinct commentary in our language is 
that of Dr. Pococke in vol. i. of his works, already noticed in p. 780. 

170. Salomonis Van Til Malachias Illustratus. Lugd. Bat. 1701. v 

4to. 

171. Hermanni Venemte Commentarius ad Malachiam. Leovar- 
dise, 1759. 4to. 


SECTION VI. 

PRINCIPAL COMMENTATORS ON THE NEW TESTAMENT, AND ON 

DETACHED BOOKS THEREOF. 


§ 1. Commentators on the New Testament. 

1. Laurentii Vallae Annotationes in Novum Testamentum, ex diver- 
sorum utriusque linguae, Grsecae et Latinte, codicum collatione. Pa- 
risiis, 1505. 8vo. 

Valla held a distinguished rank among the revivers of literature ; and was one 
of the first to consider the sense of the New Testament as a critic rather than as 
a divine ; whence he was led to make many corrections in the Latin Vulgate 
translation. His annotations were first edited by Erasmus : they are also to be 
found in the Critici Sacri. 

2. Desiderii Erasmi Paraphrasis in Novum Testamentum. Basil, 
1524. folio. 

11 Not inferior to any of the old commentators in sensible and ingenious remarks.” 
(Dr. Harwood.) An edition of Erasmus’s Paraphrase was printed at Berlin, 1777 
—1780, in 3 vols. 8vo. Erasmus was also author of a Latin version of the New 
Testament, which, together with his annotations, is printed in the sixth volume 
of Le Clerc’s edition of his works, in 10 vols. folio. Leyden, 1703. The notes are 
chiefly grammatical, and designed to excite his contemporaries to the study of the 
New Testament in the original Greek. 

3. 'Ttfopu/r)|uw*ra in omnes Libros Novi Testamenti, in quibus et 
genus sermonis explicatur, et series concionum monstratur, et nativa 
sententia testimoniis pi»3 antiquitatis confirmata. Edita a Victorino 
Strigelio. Lipsia?, 1565. 2 vols. 8vo. 

“ This is another of the most valuable books of sacred criticism. The observa¬ 
tions are neat, and the critical judgment of Victorinus Strigelius is excellent.” 
(Dr. Harwood.) 

4. Jesu Christi Domini Nostri Novum Testamentum, cujus Greeco 
contextui respondent interpretationes duse; una, vetus; altera Theo- 
dori Bezae; cum ejusdem Theod. Bezae annotationibus. Accessit 
etiam Joachimi Camerarii in Novum Fcedus Commentarius, in quo et 
Fiirurre Sermonis, et Verborum Significatio, et Orationis Sententia, 
ad illius Foederis intelligentiam certiorern, tractantur. Cantabrigise, 
1642. folio. 

The best edition of a most valuable work. “ Beza is undoubtedly the best critic 
cn the Greek language of any commentator we have. There is no translation 




784 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


that I know of equal to his: and his remarks on Erasmus and the vulgar Latin are 
wrought up to the utmost degree of exactness. On the whole, it is an invaluable 
treasure, and deserves to be read with the utmost attention.” (Dr. Doddridge.) 
The Commentaries of Joachim Camerarius, which are annexed to Beza’s work, 
are very useful: in them, the learned author expounds the text in a grammatical 
and critical manner only, according to the genius of the original languages, and 
without entering into any disputed points of doctrine. They are a reprint of Ca- 
merarius’s Notatio jigurarum sermonis in libris quatuor evangcliorum, et indicata 
verborum signijicatio ct orationis sentcntia, ad illorum scriptorum intelligcntiam 
ccrtiorcm. Lipsiae, 1572. 2 vols. 4to. 

5. Lucse Brugensis Cummentarius in Quatuor Jesu Christi Evan 
gelia. Antwerp, 1606. 6 vols. folio. 

ii A beautifully printed book, very scarce and valuable.” (Dr. Harwood.) 

6. Joannis Maldonati Comnientarii in Quatuor Evangelia. Paris, 
1617. folio. 

“ A very ingenious commentator, distinguished for his elegant and neat Latini- 
ty.” (Dr. Harwood.) 

7. Martini Cheranitii ITarmonia Quatuor Evangelistarum. Ham¬ 
burg, 1704, best edition, folio. 

This work, begun by Chemnitz, was continued by Polycarp Leyser, and finished 
by John Gerhard; it contains many valuable observations, illustrative of the four 
Gospels. It is deservedly held in the highest esteem. 

8. Joannis Pricsei Commentarii in varios Novi Testamenti Libros 
London, 1660. folio. 

These notes are inserted in the fifth volume of the Critici Sacri: they are 
greatly valued, as containing “ many valuable observations, particularly illustrating 
the modes of diction which occur in the sacred classics, from profane writers.” 
(Dr. Harwood.) 

9. Job. Christoph. "VVolfii Curre Philologicte in Novum Testamen- 
tum. Basil, 1741 ; the best edition, 5 vols. 4to. 

This is a very valuable compilation; as “ Wolfius does not simply relate the 
sentiments of others, but frequently animadverts upon them with great critical 
discernment.” (Dr. Williams.) A continuation of this work was published by 
John Christopher Koecher, entitled “ Analecta Philologica et Exegetica in Qua¬ 
tuor Evangelia.” Altenburg, 1766. 4to. 

10. Le Nouveau Testament de N. S. Jesus Christ, traduit en Fran¬ 
cois, sur POriginal Grec, avec des notes litterales, pour eclaircir le 
texte : par Messieurs de Beausobre et L’Enfant. Amst. 1741, best 
edition, 4to. 

To complete this excellent work, there should be added, “ Remarqucs histori- 
ques, critiques , et philologiqucs sur le Nouveau Testament, par M. Beausobre , 4to. 
a la Haijc, 1742. This, though a posthumous work, is very valuable, and contains 
many excellent and judicious observations briefly expressed, but which neverthe¬ 
less comprise the substance of remarks offered by the best interpreters. An En¬ 
glish translation of St. Matthew’s Gospel from this French version, was printed 
in 4to. several years since, which was republished in 8vo. London, 1816. 

11. Novum Testamentum Grsecum editionis recept® cum Lectioni- 
bus variantibus Codicum manuscriptorum, Editionum aliarum, Yer- 
sionum, et Patrum, nec non commentario pleniore ex Scriptoribus 
veteribus Hebrceis, Graecis et Latinis, historiam et vim verborum il- 
lustrante. Opera et studio Joan. Jacobi Wetstenii. Amsterdam, 1751, 
1752. 2 vols. folio. 

The critical merits of this edition of the New Testament are considered in Vol. 
ii. p. 133. As a merely critical comment , this of Wetstein is unquestionably one 
of the most valuable : “ almost every peculiar form of speech in the sacred text 
he has illustrated by quotations from Jewish, Greek, and Roman writers.” (Dr. 


Sect. VI.] Principal Commentators on the New Testament . 785 

A. Clarke.) — Almost every modern commentator of note has largely availed him¬ 
self of the previous labours of Wetstein. 

12. Joannis Bengelii Gnomon Novi Testamenti, in quo, ex nativa 
Verborum Vi, Simplicitas, Profunditas, Concinnitas, et Salubritas 
sensuum ccelestium, indicatur. Ulm, 1763, best edition, 4to. 

“ This work contains an instructive preface, a perspicuous analysis of each 
book, with short notes, in the true taste of judicious criticism. His plan is a per¬ 
fect contrast to that of Wolfius. Simplicem fere veritatem, sine sylva multarum 
opinionum, propono .” (Dr. Williams.) Bengel’s Gnomon is a very valuable sub¬ 
stitute for the more expensive critical commentaries on the New Testament; 
he excels in showing the connection and harmony of Scripture, and how Scripture 
is to be interpreted by Scripture. The generally cheap price of this book greatly 
enhances its value. 

13. H KAINH AIA0HKH. Novum Testamentum Domini nostri 
Jesu Christi, cum Scholiis theologicis et philologicis. 8vo. 2 volg. 
Londini, 1768 ; 2d edit. 1776 ; 3d edit. 1820. 

The editor of this work was a Mr. Hardy. “ It is a very useful companion to 
every biblical student, and has gone through two editions (the second in 1776), 
the first of which is the best; but it must be acknowledged that the Greek text in 
both is inexcusably incorrect.” (Dr. Clarke.) The third edition of this work is 
the most correct: it is beautifully printed. The notes are chiefly extracted from 
Poole’s Synopsis. 

14. Christ. Gottfr. Kiittneri Hypomnemata in Novum Testamen¬ 
tum, quibus Graecitas ejus explicatur, et Scholiis, quae ex Scriptis 
recentiorum quorundam magni nominis philologorum excerpta sunt, 
illustratur. Lipsice, 1780. 8vo. 

15. Novum Testamentum Greece, perpetua Annotatione illustra- 
tum. Editio Koppiana. Vols. III. IV. VI.—X. Gottingae, 1778— 
1821. 

G. B. Koppe (from whom this edition derives its distinctive appellation), — a 
man of extensive learning and uncommon critical acumen, in the year 1778 pub¬ 
lished a plan of a new edition of the New Testament, with a corrected text, short 
critical notes, and some excursus, or somewhat more extended philological ones : 
and at the same time gave a specimen in the Epistles of Paul to the Galatians, 
Ephesians, and Thessalonians. A second edition of this specimen appeared in 
171)1, and a third in 1823, corrected and enlarged by professor T. C. Tychsen, 
which in the title page i3 called Vol. VI. of the projected work. Koppe lived only 
to add another volume, numbered IV., on the epistle to the Romans, which was 
published in 1783. Since that period, at very irregular intervals, L. H. Heinrichs 
has published Vol. III. in two parts, containing the Acts of the Apostles (which is 
more particularly noticed in p. 794, infra), in 1809 ; Vol. VII. in two parts, 
1792, containing the epistles to the Colossians, Philippians, Timothy, Titus, and 
Philemon ; Vol. VIII. in one part, containing the epistle to the Hebrews, and 
the Apocalypse in two parts, forming Vol. X. 1821. Of the Catholic Epistles, 
which are to form Vol. IX. D. J. Pott has published two fasciculi, the first con¬ 
taining the epistle of James, and the second containing the two epistles of Peter. 
The third fasciculus which i3 to contain the epistles of John and Jude has not yet 
appeared. Pott has also undertaken to furnish Vol. V. which is to comprise the two 
epistles to the Corinthians. Vols. I. and II., containing the four Gospels, are under¬ 
taken by persons, whom Heinrichs declares to be every way competent to the task. 

The plan of this work appears to be excellent. There is, first of all. at the head 
of the page, a corrected text, agreeing for the most part with that of Griesbach’s 
edition, divided into paragraphs according to the sense, while the ordinary notation 
of chapters and verses is given in the margin. Then follow briof notes, strictly 
critical, assigning the reasons for the variations from the textus receptus ; and be¬ 
low these, at the bottom of the page, there are notes of a philological nature, of 
considerable extent. These notes are precisely of the kind which are to be found 
in the best critical editions of the classics. Their sole object is, to enable the read¬ 
er distinctly and accurately to apprehend the meaning of the original writers 
To illustrate a phrase of doubtful meaning, first of all are brought forward the 
passages, where the writer uses the same or a similar mode of expression ; then 

vol. ii. (39 


786 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


other New Testament writers are appealed to ; then the Greek translators of the 
Old Testament are cited ; then the Apocryphal writers ; and also Josephus and 
Philo; and, last of all, the classical authors are referred to. All doctrinal discus¬ 
sions are carefully avoided. To each book are prefixed prolegomena, in which 
questions relating to their author’s authenticity, &c. are discussed : and to each 
book also are subjoined short excursus or disquisitions on passages of extraordinary 
obscurity, or on phrases of frequent occurrence, or which are used in a particular 
sense by the sacred writers. 

With regard to the execution of the plan above detailed : — Koppe’s two vo¬ 
lumes are by far the best of the series : he is a remarkably cautious critic and ju¬ 
dicious interpreter. But the second edition of his commentary on the epistle to 
the Romans contains some very exceptionable notes by Professor Ammon : they 
are however carefully distinguished from those of Koppe. Both Heinrichs and 
Pott are, unhappily, tainted with that lax system of interpretation and excess of 
philological speculation, which are the characteristics of the modern theologians and 
biblical critics of Germany. (Christian Monitor, vol. ii. pp. 642—644. Edinburgh, 
1822. 8vo.) 

16. G. F. Hezel Novi Foederis Volumina Sacra, Virorum Clarissi- 
morum opera ac studio, e Scriptoribus Grsecis, illustrata. Halae, 
1788. 8vo. 

This work, which has never been completed, contains the Gospels of Matthew 
and Mark, cum, JVotis Variorum , and embodies the labours of Wetstein, Raphelius, 
Palairet, Kype, Alberti, Bos, and others. 

17. H KAINH AIA0HKH. Novum Testamentum, cum Notis Theo- 
logicis et Philologicis. Londini, in aidibus typographic^ A. J. Valpy, 
1816. 3 vols. 8vo. 

A work executed with equal correctness and elegance : there are a few copies on 
large paper which are truly beautiful. The Greek is that of the received text; 
and the Scholia are arranged in a similar order with those of Hardy’s edition just 
noticed. They are chiefly selected from Grotius, Eisner, Raphelius, Bos, Palairet, 
Kype, and RosenmOller. To each book is prefixed a short account of its author, occa¬ 
sion, and object, drawn up in pure and elegant Latinity. For this valuable auxiliary 
to sacred studies, the biblical student is indebted to the Rev. Edmund Valpy, B. D 
Head Master of the Endowed Grammar School at Norwich. It is no mean com¬ 
mendation of this commodious and valuable edition of the New Testament, that 
an eminent prelate of the Anglican church, who has examined it, has signified his 
approbation of every passage on which any controversy was likely to be occasion¬ 
ed, and has stated that, had he edited it, it would have been similarly edited. 

18. Lud. Casp. Valckenarii Selecta e Scholis [Scboliis] in Libros 
quosdam Novi Testamenti, Editore Discipulo E. Van Wassenbergh. 
qui Dissertationem prsemisit de Glossis Novi Testamenti. Amst. 
1816. 1818. 2 vols. 8vo. 

Valckenaer was one of the most distinguished critics of the last century. These 
extracts from his Scholia are wholly philological. To the first volume, M. Was¬ 
senbergh has prefixed a dissertation on those passages, which he thinks were ori¬ 
ginally glosses, written in the margin of manuscripts, but which in the lapse of 
ages have become incorporated with the text. To the second volume he has also 
prefixed a Dissertation respecting the Trajeetions often necessary in the New 
Testament. Some of these trajeetions or transpositions are arbitrary enough. 
Bishop Jebb has given a specimen of them with some just castigatory remarks ^in 
Ilia Sacred Literature, pp. 128—130. 


19. The Text of the New Testament of Jesus Christ, translated 
out of the vulgar Latine, by the Papists of the traiterous seminary 
at Rheims, with arguments of Bookes, Chapters, and Annotations, 
pretending to discover the corruptions of divers translations, and to 
clear the controuersies of these dayes. With the authorised English 
Version, and a confutation of all such arguments, glosses, and anno¬ 
tations, as contain manifest impiety or heresy, treason and slander 
against the Catholic Church of God, and the true teachers thereof, 



Sect VI.] Principal Commentators on the New Testament. 


787 


or the translations used in the Church of England. By W. Fulke, 
D. D. London, 1G17 & 1633. folio. 

This e l a b° r at e w°rk first appeared in 1580, and was again reprinted in 1601. 
That late elegant scholar and pious divine, the Rev. James Hervey (though 
sometimes rather too candid and indiscriminate in his public recommendations of 
books), passed the following very just encomium on Dr. Fulke’s noble perform¬ 
ance : — He styles it “ a valuable piece of antient controversy and criticism, full 
of sound divinity, weighty arguments, and important observationsadding — 
" would the young student be taught to discover the very sinews of popery, and 
be enabled to give an effectual blow to that complication of errors, I scarce know 
a treatise better calculated for the purpose.” 

20. A Commentary or Exposition on the New Testament; with a 
Decad of Common Places. By John Trapp. London, 1647. 2 vols. 
4to. 

A work containing many judicious observations, culled from various sources, 
but for the most part expressed in uncouth language. It is both scarce and dear. 
The same author also wrote commentaries on some parts of the Old Testament, 
which we have not seen. 

21. A Paraphrase and Annotations on the New Testament, by 
Henry Hammond, D. D. London, 1702. folio, best edition. 

The first edition of this valuable work appeared in 1653 ; it is in great and 
growing reputation. There are many good criticisms, but many that are much 
mistaken. Dr. Hammond finds the Gnostics every where, which is his principal 
fault; many of Le Clerc’s animadversions upon those places are very good; and 
his edition of his book in Latin I think much preferable to the original.” (Dr 
Doddridge.) 

22. A Paraphrase on the New Testament, with Notes Doctrinal 
and Practical. By the Rev. Richard Baxter. London, 1695. 8vo. 
— Reprinted at London, 1810. 8vo. 

The paraphrase is inserted between the verses of the text, and in a smaller type. 
The annotations are at the end of the chapters. They are for the most part very 
short, and contain much sound sense and piety. Mr. Baxter’s “ practical writ¬ 
ings,” said Dr. Barrow, “ were never mended, and his controversial ones seldom 
refuted.” 

23. A Paraphrase and Commentary on the New Testament: to 
which is added a Chronology of the New Testament, and an alpha¬ 
betical Table of Places mentioned in the New Testament. By Da¬ 
niel Whitby, D. D. London, 1761. folio. 2 vols. 

This is considered as the best edition: the work was first published in 1703 : 
and the tenth edition, in 4to. appeared in 1807. Divines of every denomination 
concur in pronouncing Dr. Whitby’s commentary to be, upon the whole, the best 
upon the New Testament that is extant in the English language. It is inserted 
in almost every list of books that we have seen recommended to students. 

24. Expository Notes, with Practical Observations on the New 
Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; wherein the sacred 
Text is at large recited, the Sense explained, &c. &c. By William 
Burkitt, M. A. late Vicar and Lecturer of Dedham in Essex. Lon¬ 
don, 1814. 4to. 

The first edition of this deservedly popular work was printed early in the last 
century ; and its practical utility has caused it to be several times reprinted in 
folio, besides the above noticed edition in 4to. It does not profess to discuss criti¬ 
cal questions, but is very useful for the inferences it deduces from the sacred text. 
Burkitt (says Dr. Doddridge) “ has many schemes of old sermons ; his sentiments 
vary in different parts of the work, as the authors from whom he took his mate¬ 
rials were orthodox or not.” The Reverend Dr. Glasse published an edition of 
this work, a few years since, in two volumes, 4to.; which were soon afterwards 
followed by an abridgment in one thick volume 8vo. for the use of the poor. 

25. The Practical Expositor ; or, an Exposition of the New Tes- 


788 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


lament in the Form of a Paraphrase, with occasional Notes, and se¬ 
rious Recollections at the end of each Chapter. By John Guyse, 
D. D. London, 1739—1752. 4to. 3 vols. 

Dr. Guyse was an eminent dissenting divine of the eighteenth century, and in 
his religious principles Calvinistic. His paraphrase has never been popular, though 
it “ is said to display a sound judgment, intimate acquaintance with the original, 
and considerable critical powers.” (Chalmers’s Biographical Dictionary, vol. xvi. 
p. 400.) 

2G. The Family Expositor ; or a Paraphrase and Version of the 
New Testament, with Critical Notes, and a Practical Improvement of 
each Section. By Philip Doddridge, D. D. 6 vols. London, 1760-62. 
4to. Also in 4 vols. 4to. London, 1808; and in 6 vols. 8vo. 

The right reverend the Bishop of Durham (Sermons and Tracts, p. 150.), in 
addressing his clergy on the choice of books, characterises this masterly work in 
the following terms : —“In reading the New Testament, I recommend Doddridge’s 
Family Expositor, as an impartial interpreter and faithful monitor. Other expo¬ 
sitions and commentaries might be mentioned greatly to the honour of their re¬ 
spective authors, for their several excellencies ; such as, elegance of exposition, 
acuteness of illustration, and copiousness of erudition: but I know of no expositor, 
who unites so many advantages as Doddridge ; whether you regard the fidelity 
of his version, the fulness and perspicuity of his composition, the utility of his 
general and historical information, the impartiality of his doctrinal comments, or, 
lastly, the piety and pastoral earnestness of his moral and religious applications. 
He has made, as he professes to have done, ample use of the commentators that 
preceded him : and in the explanation of grammatical difficulties, he has profited 
much more from the philological writers on the Greek Testament, than could al¬ 
most have been expected in so multifarious an undertaking as the Family Expo¬ 
sitor. Indeed, for all the most valuable purposes of a Commentary on the New 
Testament, the Family Expositor cannot fall too early into the hands of those in¬ 
tended for holy orders.” This admirable commentary is in the list of books recom¬ 
mended by Bishops Watson and Tomline, and almost every other theological 
tutor. 

An abridgment of the Family Expositor, upon a plan suggested by Dr. Dod¬ 
dridge himself, was published a few years since, by the late Reverend S. Palmer, 
entitled, “ The Family Expositor abridged, according to the plan of its author ; 
containing his version and the most useful explanatory notes, with practical 
reflections at the end of each section entire.” 8vo. 2 vols. It forms a convenient 
companion to Mr. Orton’s Exposition of the Old Testament, noticed in p. 761. of 
this Appendix. 

27. Theological Lectures to the King’s Scholars at Westminster 
Abbey, with an Interpretation of the New Testament, See. 6c c. By 
John Heylin, D. D. London, 1749, 1761. 2 vols. 4to. 

The first part of this work contains the interpretation of the four Gospels, the 
second part comprises the Acts of the Apostles and the several Epistles. “ This 
interpretation, though far from being elegant, appears to us, in general, to be ac¬ 
curate and judicious, and shows that the author had carefully studied the original. 
The whole contains evident marks of solid judgment, critical skill, and considera¬ 
ble learning. In several parts of the work, indeed, the reader will perceive a small 
tincture of mysticism ; and accordingly we are told, in the preface to the second 
part, that the author was deeply read in the writings of the mystic divines, and 
was styled by some the mystic doctor.” (Monthly Review, O. S. vol. xxv. p. 33.) 

28. The New Testament, carefully collated with the Greek, and 
corrected ; divided and pointed according to the various subjects 
treated of by the Inspired Writers, with the common division into 
chapters and verses in the margin ; and illustrated with notes criti¬ 
cal and explanatory. By Richard Wynne, A. M. London, 1764. 2 
vols. 8vo. 

u Mr. Wynne seems to have made his divisions into chapters and verses, with a 
good deal of attention and judgment. As to the translation and many of the notes, 
they are so much taken from the Family Expositor of the late Reverend Dr. Dod 


789 


Sect. VI.] Principal Commentators on the New Testament. 

dridge, that the duty we owe the public obliges us to say, they are more the pro¬ 
perty of that learned critic than of our editor.” (Monthly Review, O. S. vol. xxxi. 
pp. 406, 407.) The book, however, is useful, and not dear. 

29. The New Testament or New Covenant of our Lord and Sa¬ 
viour Jesus Christ, translated from the Greek, according to the pre¬ 
sent idiom of the English tongue. With Notes and References. By 
John Worsley. London, 1770. 8vo. 

The design of this version is to depart, as little as possible, from the authorised 
translation, while the author has endeavoured (and with some degree of success) 
to bring it nearer to the original, and to make the form of expression more suited to 
our present language. He professes to have paid especial attention to the correct 
rendering of the particles, many of which, it is well known, are omitted in the autho¬ 
rised version. The notes are very brief, and principally intended to confirm and 
illustrate the more literal or various renderings at the bottom of each page. “ This 
work may be very usefully consulted: and persons, who are unacquainted with 
the original, may be able from hence to form their judgment concerning the trans¬ 
lation in common use among us, and to improve their knowledge of the Scriptures.” 
(Monthly Review, O. S. vol. xliii. p. 12.) 

30. The Christian Expositor: being a brief Explanation of the 
New Testament, whereby the Holy Scriptures are rendered easy to 
be understood by the meanest capacities. By the Rev. James Ashton. 
London, 1774. 8vo. 

“We think Mr. Ashton seems to have assumed rather too much in his title-page. 
We have looked over the volume, and find several pertinent illustrations ; but we 
apprehend that this well-intended work will admit of a great deal of improvement.” 
(Monthly Review, O. S. vol. lii. p. 365.) 

31. An Exposition of the New Testament, intended as an Intro¬ 
duction to the Study of the Scriptures, by pointing out (he leading 
sense and connection of the Sacred Writers. By Wm. Gilpin, M. A. 
2 vols. 8vo. 

This justly admired and ably executed work has gone through several editions: 
it first appeared in one volume, 4to. 1790. “ The plan of the author is, to give 
the whole substance of the New Testament, verse by verse, in such a kind of pa¬ 
raphrase, as may make the historical parts run on in a pleasing style of narrative, 
and convey the doctrinal parts with such connection of the argument and illustra¬ 
tion of the sense, as may induce even the idle to read the whole with pleasure. 
Sentences are occasionally thrown in for sake of explanation ; but, of this and 
every deviation from the apparent literal sense of the context, due notice is given 
in the notes ; which are numerous, learned, and satisfactory. We have not seen 
any plan more likely to attract all kinds of readers to this best of studies ; and we 
are happy to bear testimony that the plan is executed with good sense, and with¬ 
out affectation.” (British Critic, O. S. vol. iv. p. 122.) 

32. A Translation of the New Testament. By Gilbert Wakefield, 
B. A. Second edition, with improvements. London, 1795. 2 vols. 
8vo. 

The first edition of this work was published in three volumes 8vo. 1792; — for 
an account of the merits and defects of this version, see Monthly Review, New 
Series, vol. viii. pp. 241—247. and vol. xx. p. 225. It was preceded, first, by a 
new translation of the Gospel of Saint Matthew, with notes critical, philological, 
and explanatory, 4to. London, 1782, of which a severe account is given in the 
same journal, vol. lxix. Old Series, pp. 48—59.; and secondly, by a new transla¬ 
tion of those parts only of the New Testament, which are wrongly translated in 
our common version. 8vo. London, 1789. This is a small work, but more valuable 
for reference than the work above noticed ; as it consists simply of corrections of 
passages mistranslated, without any comment or observations. 

33. A Translation of the New Testament, from the Original Greek. 
Humbly attempted by Nathaniel Scarlett, assisted by men of piety, 
and literature. With Notes. London, 1798. 8vo. 

“ It is with sincere regret that we see so much piety and good intention so very 




790 APPENDIX. [No. VI. 

expensively misemployed as in the present volume. Nothing can be more inju¬ 
dicious than the whole plan and form of the work. What advantage can possibly 

be expected from printing the historical parts of the Testament like a play ?” . 

“ It will hardly be credible to those who do not see the book, that this strange 
method is employed throughout, whenever it is practicable.” (British Critic, O. 
S. vol. xiii. p. 435.) 

34. An Attempt towards revising our English Translation of the 
Greek Scriptures, or the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, and towards 
illustrating the Sense by philological and explanatory Notes. By 
William Newcome, D. D. Archbishop of Armagh. 1796. 2 vols. royal 
8vo. 

This work, though printed so long ago as 1796, was not published till some time 
after the right reverend author’s decease in 1800. In his preface it is stated that 
his original intention extended no further than to improve our authorised transla¬ 
tion of the Greek Scriptures, following the text of Griesbach’s critical edition, 
except in a few instances. Finding, however, that his plan would be defective 
without a comment on the text of such a difficult book, he proceeded to add a se¬ 
lection of annotations from a body of notes which he had formed or compiled, 
with occasional additions supplied by able commentators, or by his own study of 
the sacred writings. This version was (much to the mortification of some of the 
archbishop’s relati ves) made the basis of the following work, which is here noticed, 
merely lest the author of these pages should be charged with designedly omit¬ 
ting it. 

35. The New Testament in an improved Version, upon the basis 
of Archbishop Newcome’s New Translation : with a corrected Text, 
and Notes critical and explanatory, &c. &c. &c. London, 1808. 
8vo. 

This version is avowedly made to support the Unitarian scheme, for though the 
late learned Archbishop Newcome’s name is specified in the title page, as a kind 
of model, his authority is disregarded whenever it militates against the creed of 
the anonymous editors. The errors and perversions of this translation have been 
most ably exposed by the Rev. Dr. Nares in his “ Remarks on the Version of the 
New Testament, lately edited by the Unitarians,” &c. &c. 8vo. London, 1808; by 
the R.ev. T. Rennell in his “ Animadversions on the Unitarian Translation by a 
Student in Divinity,”'8vo. London, 1811; and by the Rev. Dr. Lawrence (now 
archbishop of Cashel) in his “ Critical Reflections on some important Misrepresen¬ 
tations contained in the Unitarian Version of the New Testament,” 8vo. Oxford 
and London, 1811; and especially in the “ Vindication of the Authenticity of the 
Narratives contained in the first two chapters of the Gospels of St. Matthew and 
St. Luke.” by a Layman. London, 1822. 8vo. The three last mentioned treatises 
discuss various topics, which it did not fall within Dr. Nares’s plan to notice. 
Two short but very able critiques on the Unitarian Version may also be seen in 
the Quarterly Review, vol. i. pp. 315—336. and the Eclectic Review for 1809, vol. 
v. pp. 24—39. 236—251. 


§ 2. Commentators on detached Books of the New Testament. 

COMMENTATORS ON THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 

1. Novi TestamentiLibri Historici, Graeci et Latini, perpetuo Com- 
mentario illustrati, a Baldvino Walaeo. Lud. Bat. 1653; et Amstel. 
1662. 4to. 

This may, with great propriety, be termed an edition of the four Gospels and 
Acts of the Apostles, cum nods variorum. The notes of Beza, Grotius, Drusius, 
Heinsius, and others, are here inserted in regular order, the reader being left to 
decide for himself, which interpretation he will prefer. As the book sells at an 
easy price, it may be advantageously substituted for the larger editions of those 
eminent critics, where they cannot be conveniently referred to. 

2. A Paraphrase on the Four Evangelists. By Samuel Clarke, 
D. D. London. 2 vols. 8vo. 




791 


Sect. VI.] Principal Commentators on the New Testament. 

To form a complete paraphrase on the New Testament, there are usually asso¬ 
ciated with this valuable work of Dr. Clarke, a 11 Paraphrase on the Acts and 
Epistles, 2 vols. bvo. and a u Paraphrase on the Revelations,” in one volume 8vo. 
by T.. Pyle, M. A. Their deserved popularity has caused them to passthrough 
repeated editions. Dr. Clarke’s paraphrase on the Evangelist deserves an atten¬ 
tive reading ; he narrates a story in handsome language, and connects the parts 
well together ; but fails much in emphasis, and seems to mistake the order of the 
histories.” (Dr. Doddridge.) Pyle’s Paraphrase on the Epistles Dr. D. considered 
to be inferior in ability to that on the Old Testament already noticed. 

3. Samuelis Friderici Bucheri Antiquitates Biblic® ex Novo Tes- 
tamento select®, consuetudines, ritus, formulas veterum examinantes. 
Vitemberg® et Lipsi®, 1729. 4to. 

A collection of notes — some of which are sufficiently prolix — on the four Gos¬ 
pels, elucidating them principally from the rabbinical writers. 

4. A Commentary, with Notes, on the Four Evangelists and the 
Acts of the Apostles; together with a New Translation of Saint 
Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, with a Paraphrase and Notes, 
to which are added other Theological Pieces. By Zachary Pearce, 
D. D. late Bishop of Rochester. London, 1777. 2 vols. 4to. 

“ On the whole, Dr. Pearce deserves to be ranked with other writers of emi¬ 
nence who have employed their philological learning in illustrating the sacred 
writings.” (Monthly Review, O. S. vol. lvi. p. 205.) “ To Dr. Z. Pearce, Bishop 
ot Rochester, we are indebted for an invaluable commentary and notes on the four 
Gospels,” &c. “ The deep learning and judgment displayed in these notes are 
really beyond all praise.” (Dr. A. Clarke.) 

5. Chr. Gul. Thalemanni Versio Latina Evangeliorum, Matth®i, 
Luc®, et Johannis, itemque Actorum Apostolorum, edita a C. C. Tit- 
manno. Berolini, 1781. 8vo. 

6. Pericop® Evangelic®. Illustravit Christ. Theoph. KuinoeL 
Lipsi®, 1796, 1797. 2 vols. 8vo. 

This work contains critical and expository annotations on the Gospels for every 
Sunday in the year, according to the ritual of the Lutheran church, in which 
these portions of the New Testament usually form the subjects of the preacher’s 
discourse. The passages selected are nearly the same as those used in the Litur¬ 
gy of the Anglican church. The notes in this work are much enlarged and cor¬ 
rected in the ensuing article. 

7. D. Christiani Theophili Kuinoel Commentarius in Libros Novi 
Testamenti Historicos, vols. 1—3. Lipsi®, 1808—1812; vol. 4. 
Lipsi®, 1818. Svo. 

This is one of the best philological commentaries on the Historical Books of 
the New Testament; and is less tainted by dogmatical hypothesis than many of 
the biblical productions of the later German divines. The text is not inserted. 
Vol. i. contains the commentary on Saint Matthew’s Gospel; vol. ii. those on the 
Gospels of Saint Mark and Saint Luke ; vol. iii. that on Saint John; and vol. iv. 
that on the Acts of the Apostles. To each book are prefixed well compiled prole¬ 
gomena, in which the author’s life, the authenticity of his narrative, the time, 
place, and the language in which he wrote, as well as his style and manner of 
writing, are fully discussed. New editions of vol. i. were published in the years 
1816 and 1822, the second edition of vols. ii. and iii. in 1817, and the third edition 
of vol. ii. in 1823. 

8. Explanatory Notes upon the Four Gospels, in a new method 
for the use of all, but especially the unlearned English reader, in tyvo 
parts, to which are prefixed three discourses. By Joseph Trapp, 
D. D. Oxford, 1805. 8vo. 

The design of this very useful work (which first appeared in 1747 or 1748) is to 
take notice only of difficult texts, to correct the authorised version, and explain 
the diction of the sacred writings, but chiefly to reconcile apparently contradic¬ 
tory passages. The three discourses prefixed, explain with much perspicuity 


792 


APPENDIX. 


i 


[No. VI. 


many prophecies of the Old Testament, that are cited in the New. The nume¬ 
rous impressions which this work has undergone, sufficiently attest the high esti¬ 
mation in which it is deservedly held. 

9. The Harmony of the Four Gospels. By J. Macknight, D. D. 
4to. 2 vols. 1756; 2d edit. 1763 ; 3d edit. Svo. 2 vols. Edinburgh, 
1804. 

See a notice of this excellent work, in p. 482. supra, of this volume. 

10. The Four Gospels translated from the Greek ; with prelimina¬ 
ry Dissertations and Notes. By George Campbell, D. D. F. R. S. 
Edinburgh ; Principal of Marischal College, Aberdeen. 4to. 2 vols. 
London, 1790; 8vo. 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1807 ; 3d edit. London, in 
3 vols. 8vo. 

The extensive circulation of this valuable work, which has placed the author 
high in the rank of biblical critics, sufficiently attests the esteem in which it is 
held. Although his version has not altogether answered the expectations enter¬ 
tained of it, yet the notes which accompany it form an excellent philological com¬ 
mentary on the four Evangelists ; and the dissertations are a treasure of sacred 
criticism. The narratives of the sacred writers are arranged in sections, regulat¬ 
ed by the subject matter, and the divisions of chapters and verses are retained in 
the margin. Professor Campbell’s work is in Bishop Tomline’s list of books for 
students. 

11. Annotations on the Four Gospels, and the Acts of the Apos¬ 
tles. Compiled and abridged for the use of students. 3 vols. 2d edit. 
London, 1812. 8vo. 

Though published anonymously, this work is known to be the production of the 
Rev. Mr. Elsley, vicar of Burenston near Bedale ; by whom the annotations on the 
Gospels only were first published in 2 vols. 8vo. 1799. u Altogether, we say with¬ 
out the smallest reserve, we never saw a book more admirably adapted for the use 
of students, more creditable to an author’s sagacity, diligence, and erudition, »or 
more likely to make the investigation of the New Testament easy and agreeable.” 
(British Critic, O. S. vol. xvi. p. 236. See also Monthly Review, N. S. vol. xxx. 
p. 441. and vol. lxxvi. p. 381.) 

SAINT MATTHEW AND SAINT MARK. 

12. Caroli Marise de Veil Explicatio Litteralis Evangelii secundum 
Matthoeum et Marcum, ex ipsis Scripturarum fontibus, Ebrseorum 
ritibus et idiomatis, veterum et recentiorum monimentis, eruta. Lon- 
dini, 1678. 8vo. 

SAINT MATTHEW. 

13. A New Version of Saint Matthew’s Gospel, with Select Notes; 
wherein the version is vindicated, and the sense and purity of several 
words and expressions in the Original Greek are settled and illus¬ 
trated. By Dr. Scott, J. U. D. London, 1741. 4to. 

14. Gottfridi Olearii Observationes ad Evangelium Matthaei. Lip- 
siae, 1743. 4to. 

Professor J. B. Carpzov mentions this as an excellent commentary on Saint 
Matthew’s Gospel. 

15. Jacobi Elsneri Commentarius in Evangelia Matthaei et Marci. 
Zwollae, 1767, et annis sequentibus. 3 vols. 4to. 

16. Lectures on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, delivered in the pa¬ 
rish church of Saint James, Westminster, in the years 1798, 1799, 
1800, and 1801. By the Right Rev. Beilby Porteus, Bishop of Lon¬ 
don. London, 1802. 2 vols. 8vo. 1823, in one vol. 8vo. 

The multiplied editions of these admirable lectures sufficiently attest how highly 
they are esteemed. “ They are,” indeed, “ calculated alike to do good to the learn¬ 
ed and unlearned; the aged as well as the inexperienced, the grave and the re 


Sect. VI.] Principal Commentators on the New Testament. 793 

fleeting, the gay and the thoughtless. They are learned without ostentation, pious 
without any tincture of enthusiasm, argumentative without pedantry, and perspi¬ 
cuous without losing sight of the graces of style and diction.” (British Critic, O. S. 
vol. xx. p. 306.) 

SAINT MARK. 

17. Georgii Friderici Heupelii Commentarius in Evangelium Marci. 
Argcntorati (Strasburgh), 1716. 8vo. 

Carpzov has indicated this Commentary as being an excellent one ; we have 
never seen it. 

, SAINT LUKE. 

18. Sam. Frid. Nath. Mori Prcelectiones in Lucae Evangelium, 
edidit C. A. Donat. Lipsiae, 1795. 8vo. 

SAINT JOHN. 

19. Joannis Clarisse, Pro Evangelii Joannei ’AT0ENTEIA Disser- 
tatio Critico-Theologica. Harderovici, 1806. 8vo. 

19. * Caroli Gulielmi Stein, Authentia Evangelii Joannis contra 
Bretschneideri Objectiones defensa. Additur Specimen Novi Lexici 
Joannei. Brandenburgi, 1821. 8vo. 

This publication contains a satisfactory vindication of the genuineness of the 
writings of Saint John, against the objections of M. Bretschneider ; who, in his 
Probabilia de Evangelii et Epistolarum Johannis Apostoli indole et origine, (Lip¬ 
siae, 1820, 8vo.) had asserted, contrary to all evidence, — that the writings which 
bear that apostle’s name, were compiled after his decease by some Gentile Chris¬ 
tian in the beginning of the second century, who passed himself for the apostle ! 

20. A. Th. Calmberg, De antiquissimis Patrum pro Evangelii Jo¬ 
annei ctvSsvreia, Testimoniis. Lipsise et Hamburgi, 1823. folio. 

21. L. Usteri, Commentatio Critica, in qua Johannis Evangelium 
genuinam esse, ex comparatis IV Evangeliorum de coena ultima et 
de passione Jesu Christi narrationibus, ostenditur. Turici, 1823. 8vo. 

21. * G. F. Weber, Authentia capitis ultimi Evangelii Johannis, 
hujusque Evangelii totius, argumentorum internorum usu vindicata. 
Halae, 1823. 8vo. 

22. An Exposition of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to John. 
By George Hutcheson, Minister of the Gospel at Edinburgh. Lon¬ 
don, 1657. folio. 

A Book not of common occurrence : it contains many valuable observations. 

23. Commentarius Analytico-Exegeticus, tarn literalis quam realis, 
Evangelii secundum Johannem. Auctore Fred. Adol. Lampe. Am- 
stelaedami, 1724—1726. 3 vols. 4to. 

This is unquestionably the most valuable work on Saint John’s Gospel that was 
ever published, every thing which the learned author could possibly collect, in or¬ 
der to illustrate the Evangelist, being here concentrated. It is, however, a work 
better adapted to the mature scholar than to the student in divinity, who may not 
always be able to select with judgment from these ample tomes. Lampe also 
composed two quarto volumes of Dissertationes Philologico-Theologicae, on Saint 
John’s Gospel, which were published in 1737, by Dr. Gerdes. They are replete 
with solid erudition. 

24. Paraphrasis Evangelii Joannis, cum Notis et Cantabrigiensis 
Codicis Latino Textu, a Joanne Salomone Semlero. Halae, 1771. 
8vo. 

Semler was one of the most celebrated biblical critics of Germany, during the 
last century : his writings, which illustrate with great ability many philological 
difficulties,” bear a high price ; but he espoused such rational dogmas, in certain 
points of doctrine, which are of fundamental importance that the student cannot 
be too much on his guard against them. 

VOL. II. 100 


794 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI 


25. Sam. Frid. Nathan. Mori Recitationes in Evangelium Joannis ; 
animadversiones subjecit Tho. Imm. Dindorf. Pragse, 1795. 8vo. 
Lipsiae, 1821. 8vo. 

26. Notes, Critical and Dissertatory, on the Gospel and Epistles 
of Saint John. By the Rev. R. Shepherd, D. D. F. R. S. London, 
1796. 4to. 

Though bearing the date of 1796, this volume was not published until the year 
1801. See an analysis of it in the Monthly Review, N. S. vol. xxxviii. pp. 145—150, 

27. Caroli Titmanni Meletemata Sacra, sive Commentarius Exe- 
getico-Critico-Dogmaticus in Evangelium Joannis. Lipsiae, 1816.8vo. . 

The author of this work was superintendent of the diocese of Dresden. With¬ 
out vouching for every opinion Dr. Titmann has offered, we have no hesitation 
in saying that his work is, upon the whole, the most valuable commentary on Saint 
John’s Gospel, extant in the compass of a single 8vo. volume, and though it does 
not render Lampe’s expensive work unnecessary, it may be advantageously substi¬ 
tuted for this, where the student cannot obtain access to it. 

28. Practical Lectures upon the Ten First Chapters of the Gospel 
of Saint John. By the Rev. J. R. Pitman, M. A. London, 1822.8vo. 

29. Five Lectures on the Gospel of Saint John, as bearing Testi¬ 
mony to the Divinity of our Saviour. By C. C. J. Blomfield, D. D. 
London, 1823. 12mo. 

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 

30. The Apostolical History of Mr. Cradock, Dr. Benson’s Histo¬ 
ry of the first planting of Christianity, and Mr. Bevan’s Life of Paul, 
all of which have been mentioned in p. 485. of this volume, deserve 
to be noticed in this place, among those writers who have materially 
illustrated the Acts of the Apostles. 

31. Caroli Marise de Veil Acta Sanctorum Apostolorum ad litte- 
ram explicata. Londini, 1684. 8vo. 

This is one of the scarcest of Dr. de Veil’s expository publications : it was trans¬ 
lated into English, and entitled A Literal Explanation of the Acts of the Holy 
Apostles. Written in Latine, by C. M. du Veil , D. D. note translated into English 
out of a copy carefully reviewed and corrected by the Author. To which is added, 
a learned Dissertation about Baptism for the Dead. 1 Cor. xv. 29. Written in 
Latine , by the famous Fredericas Spanhemius, Filius. London, 1685. 8vo. 

32. The History of the Acts of the Holy Apostles confirmed from 
other Authors, and considered as full evidence of the Truth of Chris¬ 
tianity. By Richard Biscoe, D. D. London, 1742. 2 vols. 8vo. 

This learned and elaborate work contains the substance of Dr. Biscoe’s sermons 
preached at Mr. Boyle’s lecture between the years 1736 and 1738. Dr. Doddridge 
frequently refers to it as a work of great utility, and as showing, in the most con¬ 
vincing manner, how incontestably the Acts of the Apostles demonstrate the truth 
of Christianity. 

33. Acta Apostolorum Greece, perpetua annotatione illustrata a 
Car. Hen. Heinrichs. Gottingen, 1809. 2 parts or vols. 8vo. 

This forms a part of Koppe’s edition of the New Testament, with notes, men¬ 
tioned in p. 785. of this Appendix. Some of Heinrichs’s expositions are character¬ 
ised by that lax system of interpretation which is adopted by some modern exposi¬ 
tors and critics in Germany, and against which the student cannot be too much 
upon his guard. Take one instance ; the account of Ananias falling down dead 
(Acts v. 1—6.) is made to mean that Peter stabbed Ananias; which (says Hein¬ 
richs) does not at all disagree with the vehement and easily exasperated temper of 
Peter ! On the absurdity of this exposition — if exposition it may be called, — it 
is unnecessary to make any remark. 

34. Actions of the Apostles, translated from the original Greek 
by the Rev. John Willis, B. D. London, 1789. 8vo. 


795 


beet VI.] Principal Commentators on the New Testament. 

1 his work u is divided into several sections, to which are added notes, styled 
Proois and Illustrations. Some of the author’s alterations, we think, are real im¬ 
provements ; others, the contrary ; some are very fanciful; and there are others, 
for which we cannot at all account.” (Monthly Review, N. S. vol. iii. p. 154.) 

35. Sam. Frid. Nathan. Mori Versio et Explicatio Actuum Aposto- 
licorum. Edidit, animadversiones recentiorum suasque adjecit, Gott¬ 
lob Immanuel Dindorf. Lipsiae, 1791. 2 vols. 8vo. 

30. Lectures on the Acts of the Apostles, explanatory and practi- 
cal. By Richard Stack, D. D. 2d edition. London, 1805. 8vo. 

57. Lectures on the Acts of the Apostles, delivered in the Parish 
Lhurch of Stockton-upon-Tees, during Lent, in the Years 1803,1804, 
1805, and 1800. Illustrated with maps. By John Brewster, M. A. 
London, 1807. 2 vols. 8vo. 

“ Both these authors profess to imitate the Bishop of London’s (Porteus) ex¬ 
cellent Lectures on St. Matthew’s Gospel. By a mere comparison of bulk it is 
evident that Dr. Stack’s lectures must be more slight and cursory than those of 
Mr. Brewster, the one being twice the extent of the other.” Dr. Stack’s lectures 
‘‘ contain little more than a recapitulation of the subjects of the chapters in other 
words. Nor have we been able to discover any remarks in his book but what are 
so extremely plain and obvious, that they seem to be hardly worth committing to 
paper, much less to the press. Mr. Brewster proceeds in a very different style. 
He is full of illustrations from the fathers and divines of various ages ; and his 
own remarks are not trite, but lively as well as just. Mr. B.’s lectures may be 
justly recommended, as approaching much more nearly to the model, which both 
undertook to imitate, and as not only instructive, but pleasing and attractive.” 
(British Critic, O. S. vol. xxx. pp. 133, 134. 136. See also Eclectic Review, O. S. 
vol. ii. p. 408.) 

38. Lectures on the Acts of the Apostles. By John Dick, D. D. 
Glasgow. 2d edition, 1822. 8vo. 

The first edition of these Lectures was in two volumes, which were published 
at different times. Dr. Dick is advantageously known as the author of a sensible 
and well-written essay on the inspiration of the Scriptures. Speaking of the first 
volume of the first edition, some critics have remarked that his discussion of the 
principal topics related in the Acts of the Apostles “ is fully calculated to esta¬ 
blish the faitli of Christians in their holy religion, and furnishes them with some 
excellent practical rules for the regulation of their moral conduct. Upon the 
whole, we cheerfully recommend the present volume to the attention of the pub¬ 
lic.” (Eclectic Review, O. S. vol. ii.pp. 438. 440.) The same critics (vol. v. part 
ii. p. 834.), speaking of the two volumes collectively, observe, that they contain 
altogether an useful illustration of many important passages of the Acts ; they are 
full of good sense and orthodox divinity, conveyed in a perspicuous and easy 
style. The second edition of these lectures has been carefully revised. 

Many valuable philological and historical illustrations of the Acts of the Apos¬ 
tles are likewise to be found in Johannis Ernesti Immanuelis Walchii Disserta- 
tiones in Acta Apostolorum. 4to. 3 vols. Jena, 1756-59. 

COMMENTATORS ON THE WHOLE OR GREATER PART OF THE 

EPISTLES. 1 

39. Joachimi Langii Commentatio Historico-Hermeneutica de vita 
et epistolis apostoli Pauli, ita adornata, ut isagogen generalem et spe- 


1 Though not a commentary in the strict sense of the term, the author cannot 
pass in silence Bishop Burgess's Initia Paulina , sive Introductio ad Lectionem Pauli 
Epistolarum, 12mo. London, 1804. It is adapted indeed for the exclusive use of 
those who are studying the Epistles of Saint Paul in the original language. This 
little volume contains, 1. Pauli Epistolam ad Philipp. Graece et Anglice, cum bre- 
vibus notis Kuttneri; 2. Theophylacti Proaemia Epistolarum ; 3. Ejusdein Inter- 
pretationem Epistolae ad Philipp.; 4. Rosenmalleri Scholia ad eandein. Quibus 
prseeunt Kuttneri Observata de Idiomatibus Novi Testamenti. Though not speci¬ 
fied in the title page, there are added two valuable extracts from Henry Stephens’s 
and our learned countryman Gataker’s Dissertationes de Stylo Novi Testamenti; 



796 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI 


cialem historico-exegeticum praebeat in Acta Apostolorum et Pauli 
Epistolas, nec non in ipsam Hermeneuticam Sacram. Halae, 1718 
4to. 

A most valuable work, which is not of common occurrence : both Walchius and 
Michaelis concur in stating that it throws great light on St. Paul’s Epistles, of 
which it presents very copious analyses. The Appendix contains similar analyses 
of the epistles of Peter, James, and Jude ; and also numerous aphorisms on the 
Interpretation of Scripture, and particularly of the phraseology of St. Paul’s epis¬ 
tles. The latter were corrected, enlarged, and reprinted at Halle in 1733, in a 
separate volume, the title of which is given at length, in p. 724. supra. 

40. Gulielmi Estii in omnes Pauli et aliorum apostolorum Episto 
las Commentarius. Paris, 1679. folio. 

The best edition of a most valuable work, which Roman Catholics and Protes 
tants alike concur to recommend as an excellent critical help to the exposition of 
the apostolic Epistles. The Prefaces of Estius are particularly valuable. A very 
useful Abridgment of this work, as well as of the Commentary of Cornelius a La- 
pide so far as concerns St. Paul’s Epistles , was published by John Van Gorcum, 
at Antwerp, in 1C20. 8vo. The best edition is that of Louvain, 1754. 8vo. entitled 
— Epitome commentariorum Gulielmi Estii S. Tli. Doctor is, et Corn, a Lapide, e 
Soc. Jcsu Theologi, in omnes D. Pauli Epistolas, per Johannem a, Gorcum, Pres - 
byterum, collecta. Editio nova, D. Pauli tcxtu et G. Estii Prcefationibus aucta. 

41. A New Literal Translation, from the Original Greek, of all 
the Apostolical Epistles ; with a Commentary and Notes, philological, 
critical, explanatory, and practical. To which is added, a History 
of the Life of the Apostle Paul. Ey James Macknight, D. D. 4to 
4 vols. 1795 ; 8vo. ivith the Greek Text, 6 vols. 2d Edition, with 
the Life of the Author. Without the Greek Text, in 3 vols. 4to. and 
4 vols. 8vo. 

This work, together with the harmony noticed in p. 482 of this volume, is in 
Bishop Tomline’s list of books for clergymen. A specimen of it, containing the 
Epistles to the Thessalonians, was published in 4to. in 1787 ; and the work itself, 
we are informed in Dr. M.’s life (vol. i. 8vo.p. xv.), was the unremitting labour of 
nearly thirty years, during which period seldom less than eleven hours a day were 
employed on it. u We apprehend that few persons who shall peruse this work 
with competent judgment and due respect for the sacred writings, will hesitate to 
acknowledge that Dr. M. is also entitled to approbation and applause, as a faithful 
translator, a learned and able commentator, and a pious divine.” (Monthly Re¬ 
view, N. S. vol. xviii. p. 411.) “ It is a work of theological labour not often pa¬ 

ralleled, and an ample storehouse of observations to exercise not only the student 
but the adept in divinity. If we do not always implicitly coincide with the author 
in opinion (which in such various matter cannot reasonably be expected), we can 
always praise his diligence, his learning, and his piety; qualities which confer no 
trifling rank on any scriptural interpreter or commentator.” (British Critic, O. S. 
vol. vii. Preface, p. ii.) 

42. A Paraphrase and Annotations upon all Saint Paul’s Epistles. 
Done by several eminent men at Oxford, corrected and improved by 
the late Right Rev. and learned Bishop Fell. London, 1702. 3d 
Edition, 8vo. 

“ Fell on the Epistles is very short; but most of his notes are worthy of remark. 
The collection of parallel Scriptures is judicious, and the translation in some 
places altered for the better.” (Dr. Doddridge.) 

43. A Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of Saint Paul to the 
Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans, Ephesians. To which is 
prefixed, An Essay tor the understanding of Saint Paul’s Epistles by 


11 thus collecting some of the most valuable illustrations of the style of Saint Paul’s 
Epistles that can be offered to the attention of the student.” (British Critic, O. S. 
vol. xxv. p. 413.) This valuable work is at present out of print, and extremely 
searce and dear. 



797 


Sect. VI.] Principal Commentators on the New Testament. 

consulting Saint Paul himself. By John Locke. London, 1733. 4to. 
(Works, vol. iii.) also in Svo. 

44. A Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of Saint Paul to the 
Colossians, Philippians, and Hebrews, after the manner of Mr. Locke. 
To which are annexed, several Critical Dissertations on particular 
Parts of Scripture, &c. &c. By the late reverend and learned Mr. 
James Pierce of Exon. London, 1733, second edition, 4to. 

45. A Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of Saint Paul to the 
Thessalonians, Timothy, Philemon, and Titus; and the Seven Ca¬ 
tholic Epistles by James, Peter, Jude, and John, &c. &c. By 
George Benson, D. D. London, 1752, 1756, best editions, 2 vols. 4to. 

“ Locke, Pierce, and Benson make up a complete commentary on the Epistles; 
and are indeed all in the number of the most ingenious commentators I have ever 
read. They plainly thought very closely, and attended much to connection, which 
they have often set in a most clear view. But they all err in too great a 
fondness for new interpretations : and in supposing the design of the apostles less 
general than it seems to have been. It must be allowed that Benson illustrates 
the spirit of Paul sometimes in an admirable manner, even beyond any former 
writer. See especially his Epistle to Philemon.” (Dr. Doddridge.) 

46. The Epistles of Paul the Apostle translated, with an Exposi¬ 
tion and Notes. By the Rev. Thomas Belsham. London, 3822. 2 
vols. 4to.; also in 4 vols. 8vo. 

Mr. Belsham is one of the reputed editors of the “ Improved Version” of the 
New Testament, noticed in p. 790. supra. This exposition of Saint Paul's Epis¬ 
tles (which is noticed here, only that the author may not be charged with design¬ 
edly omitting it) is executed on the same principles. See an Examination of it 
in the Eclectic Review for May and June, 1823, and also in the fourth volume of 
the New Edinburgh Review, pp. 327—359. 

47. Gottlob Christiani Storr, Interpretatio Epistolarum Pauli ad 
Philippenses, ad Colossenses, et ad Philemonem, ac etiam in Episto- 
lam Jacobi, Svo. 

These valuable philological commentaries on the above mentioned Epistles are 
inserted in the first and second volumes of Dr. Storr’s Opuscula Acadcmica ad In- 
terpretationem Librorum Sacrorum pertinentia, Svo. Tubingen, 1796, 1797. Vol, 
ii. of the same collection also contains some valuable historical notices , which mate¬ 
rially contribute to elucidate Saint Paul’s Epistles to the Corinthians. We are 
further indebted to the same learned author for a similar philological commentary 
on the Epistle to the Galatians, in vol. ii. of Velthusen’s and Kuinoel’s collection 
of Commentationcs Theologicce. 

48. Versio Latina Epistolarum Novi Testamenti, perpetua Anno- 
tatione illustrata a Godofr. Sigism. Iaspis. Lipsiae, vol. i. 1793. vol. 
ii. 1797. Svo. 

A new edition of the first volume of this work, very materially enlarged and 
corrected, was published at Leipsic, in 1821. 

49. Annotations on the Epistles, being a continuation of Mr. Els- 
ley’s Annotations on the Gospels and Acts, and principally designed 
for the use of Candidates for Holy Orders. By the Rev. James Slade, 
M. A. London, 1816. 2 vols. 8vo. 

This work is executed on the same plan as Mr. Elsley’s Annotations on the Gos¬ 
pels, noticed in p. 792. of this Appendix, to which it is designed as a continuation. 

50. A Harmony of the Epistles of the Holy Apostles, to which is 
added, A Summary of the Entire. By the Rev. Peter Roberts, M. A. 
Cambridge, 1800. 4to. 

Though not a commentary in the strictest sense of the word, this work affords 
so valuable an help towards ascertaining the doctrinal agreement of the Epistles, 


TOS APPENDIX. [No. VI 

that it deserves special notice in this place. See a further account of its plan and 
execution, in page 485. of the present volume. 

ROMANS. 

51. Jo. Jac. Rambachii Introductio Historico-Theologica in Epis- 
tolam Pauli ad Romanos. Adjecta est Martini Lutheri aurea prefa- 
tio, variis observationibus exegeticis atque apologeticis illustrata. 
Halae, 1727. 8vo. 

Though not a commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, this introduction may 
very advantageously be substituted for one : not a single point is omitted that can 
throw any light on the author, time and place of writing, the external and inter¬ 
nal state of the Christian church at Rome, the scope and style, and the canonical 
authority of this admirable Epistle. The preface of Luther truly deserves the 
epithet of golden; it illustrates the peculiar phraseology of the apostle, and his 
arguments of the chapters are singularly perspicuous. In our analysis, &c. of 
Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, we have been largely indebted to Rambach’s 
publication. 

52. A Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistle to the Romans ; to 
which is prefixed, a Key to the Apostolic Writings, or an Essay to 
explain the Gospel Scheme and the principal Words and Phrases the 
Apostles have used in describing it. By J. Taylor, D. D. Second 
and best edition, 1747. 4to. 

The first edition of this celebrated and learned work appeared in 1745; two 
others were printed in the years 1754 and 1769. Archbp. Magee pronounces the 
system developed in this key, to be u nothing more than an artificial accommoda¬ 
tion of Scripture phrases to notions utterly repugnant to Christian doctrine.” Dr. 
Taylor’s scheme (which was Arian) is examined by Archbp. Magee in the first vo¬ 
lume of his Discourses on the Atonement, pp. 181—188. 199—201. 322—333. In 
the Christian Observer for 1807, which Dr. M. justly characterises “ as a periodi¬ 
cal publication, distinguished for the uprightness and talent with which it is con¬ 
ducted,” there is a series of valuable letters on the subject of this work. See 
Christian Observer, vol. vi. pp. 5—8. 77—81. 151—158. 228—232. 289—296. 360 
—367. and 433—438.) Dr. Taylor’s work contains however several valuable phi¬ 
lological illustrations of the Epistle to the Romans, of which we have availed 
ourselves in the course of this work. 

53. A Paraphrase, with Critical Annotations, on the Epistles of 
Saint Paul to the Romans and Galatians. By Timothy Edwards, 
A. M. London, 1752. 4to. 

We notice this work, which is judiciously compiled from the best previous 
commentaries on these two Epistles, because it is occasionally to be purchased at 
a cheap rate. “ The author appears to us to have been a person of learning, judg¬ 
ment, and candour, and well acquainted with the sacred writings. He endeavours, 
in the first place, to give his readers a distinct view of the whole Epistle, to dis¬ 
cover the true occasion of the apostle’s writing it, the main subject of it, the prin¬ 
cipal branches of which it consists, and the subdivision of them into their proper 
sections, paragraphs, and periods ; and then to clear up the connection of these 
several particulars, the seeming perplexity of the arguments, and the hidden force 
of the reasonings, in order to set forth the true meaning and coherence of the 
whole discourse in a clear light.” (Monthly Review, O. S. vol. vii. p. 412.) 

54. Jacobi Welleri Adnotationes in Epistolam Pauli ad Romanos. 
Brunswick, 1754. 4to. 

Walchius states, that this work holds a high rank in Germany, among the best 
commentaries on Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans; and that Weller’s exposi¬ 
tion is both learned and solid. 

55. Jo. Sal. Semleri Paraphrasis Epistolae ad Romanos, cum No- 
tis, translatione vetusta, et dissertatione de duplici Appendice hujus 
Epistolae, in cap. xv. xvi. Halae, 1769. small 8vo. 

Semler also published similar paraphrases on the following Epistles ; viz. 1 & 2 
Corinthians, Hal®, 1770,1776 ; Galatians, ibid. 1779; James, ibid. 1781 ; 1 Peter, 


799 


Sect. VI.] Principal Commentators on the Neio Testament. 

ibid 1783; 2 Peter and Jude, ibid. 1784 ; Revelation, Neustadt, 1785 and 1 
John, to which is added by Professor Noesselt, a Disquisition, entitled Narratio 
de Semlero ejusque meritis in interpretatione S. S. 8vo. Riga, 1792. Semler to¬ 
tally rejects those doctrines concerning original sin, &c. which are received as 
orthodox by the Protestant churches.. His works are all scarce and dear in this 
country, — so that the student will not sustain any loss, who may not be able to 
procure them. 

56. A Paraphrase on the Eleven First Chapters of Saint Paul’s 
Epistle to the Romans. By Thomas Adam, Rector of Wintringham. 
London, 1771. 8vo. 

This appears to be the performance of a sensible man, who desires to deliver 
the true sense of Scripture as far as he can attain it, and to advance the cause of 
piety among men. His method is, to lay a small number of verses before the 
reader at one view, in which are inserted a few words to illustrate and explain 
them, and then he adds several observations upon the sense of the passage, with 
some practical remarks. On the whole this paraphrase, not abounding in criticism, 
as some might expect, appears however to be a candid, well meant, practical, and 
useful performance.” (Monthly Review, O. S. vol xlv. pp. 400, 401.) What fur¬ 
ther recommends this useful work, is the low price at which it may frequently be 
procured, it having been frequently reprinted. 

57. A Paraphrase on the Fifteenth Chapter of the First Epistle to 
. the Corinthians, with Critical Notes and Observations, and a preli¬ 
minary Dissertation; a Commentary, with critical Remarks, on the 
Sixth, Seventh, and Part of the Eighth Chapters of the Romans, &c. 
Bv John Alexander. London, 1766. 4to. 

See an account of this learned and ingenious tract, in the Monthly Review, 
O. S. vol. xxxiv. pp. 443—451. 

58. Chr. Frid. Schmidii Annotationes in Epistolam Pauli ad Ro¬ 
manos. Lipsise, 1777. 8vo. 

59. Sam. Frid. Nath. Mori Prselectiones in Epistolam Pauli ad 
Romanos, cum ejusdem versione Latina, locorumque quorundam Novi 
Testamenti difficiliorum interpretatione. Edidit J. T. T. Holtzapfel. 
Lipsise, 1794. 8vo. 

60. Epistola Pauli ad Romanos, Greece, ex recensione novissima 
Griesbachii, cum commentario perpetuo. Edidit Chr. Fr. Boehme, 
Lipsise, 1806. 8vo. 

61. Lectures, explanatory and practical, on the Epistle of Saint 
Paul to the Romans. By the Rev. John Fry, A. B. Rector of Des- 
ford, &c. London, 1816. 8vo. 

These lectures are exactly what the author professes them to be, explanatory 
and practical .* in his view of the doctrinal part of the Epistle, the author takes 
what has been called the Calvinistic ground , particularly in his exposition of the 
seventh chapter. Although the writer of these remarks can by no means agree 
with Mr. F. in his doctrinal views, he cheerfully adds, that it is almost impossible 
to peruse a single lecture without being deeply impressed with the important prac¬ 
tical considerations which are earnestly urged upon tl^e reader s attention. 

62. Pauli Epistola ad Romanos. Interpretatus est Ern. Godofr. 
Adf. Bockel. Gryphiswaldiae, 1821. 8vo. 

1 AND 2 CORINTHIANS. 

63. Pauli ad Corinthios Epistol®, Greece, perpetua annotatione 
illustratse, a Fr. Aug. Guil. Krause, vol. i. complectens Epistolem 

priorem. Francofurti, 1792. 8vo. 

64. Animadversiones ad Cap. III. et XIII. Epistolse Pauli 1. ad 
Corinthios. Scripsit Dr. Ant. Georg. Holmann, Lccles. et Schol. Due. 
Oldenburg. Antistes Generalis. Lipsise, 1819. 8vo. 


800 


APPENDIX. 


fNo. VI. 


This tract elucidates certain words and difficult passages in the third and thir¬ 
teenth chapters of St. Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians. 

65. Pauli ad Corinthios Epistola secunda, perpetua annotatione il- 
lustrata, a Jo. Georg. Frid. Leun. Lemgovioe, 1804. 8vo. 

66. Disputatio de altera Pauli ad Corinthios Epistola, et observan- 
da in ilia Apostoli indole et oratione, quam pro summis in theologia 
honoribus in Academia Rheno-Traject., publico examini submittit 
Herm. Jo. Royaards. Trajecti ad Rhenum, 1818. 8vo. 

This well compiled academical dissertation consists of three parts, in which the 
author examines, 1. The second Epistle to the Corinthians; 2. The character of 
Saint Paul; and 3. The language and style of the apostlo. The second division 
is particularly valuable. 

67. Alberti Gerhardi Becker, Conjectanea in Locum Paulinum 2 
Corinth. XII. 7—9. Magdeburgi, 1822. 8vo. 

GALATIANS. 

68. A Commentary on Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, trans¬ 
lated from the Latin of Martin Luther. 8vo. and 2 vols. 12mo. 

There are also editions extant in folio and 4to., of this valuable work, which 
completely exposes the doctrine of justification by works alone. We may apply 
to it in particular what Erasmus is recorded to have said of Luther’s commenta¬ 
ries in general: — “ There is more solid divinity contained in one page, than could 
be found in many prolix treatises of schoolmen and such kind of authors.” (Mid¬ 
dleton’s Biographia Evangelica, vol. i. p. 230.) Walchius states that Protestants 
and Catholics have both concurred in their commendations of Luther’s work. 
(Theolog. Biblic. vol. iv. p. 607.) 

69. A Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistles of Saint Paul to the 
Galatians and Ephesians, with Doctrinal and Practical Observations, 
together with a Critical and Practical Commentary on the Two Epis¬ 
tles of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians. By the late learned Samuel 
Chandler, D. D. London, 1777. 4to. 

“ The paraphrase clearly and fully expresses the meaning of the sacred writer ; 
the notes are enriched by original quotations from Greek and Latin authors, in 
order to illustrate and confirm the learned commentator’s own criticisms, and many 
doctrinal and practical observations are interspersed, with a view of farther ex¬ 
plaining the tendency of the apostle’s reasoning, and improving the moral temper 
and conduct of the reader.” “ The commentary on the two Epistles to the Thes¬ 
salonians is more diffuse: the author has every where introduced references to 
original writers, with whom none were more conversant, and omitted no opportu¬ 
nity of subjoining practical reflections, adapted to the various passages, which he 
had previously explained by learned and liberal criticism.” (Month. Review, O. S. 
vol. lvi. pp. 161, 162.) 

70. Interpretatio Epistol® Pauli ad Galatas, auctore E. A. Borger. 
Lugd. Bat. 1807. 8vo. 

71. Pauli ad Galatas Epistola. Latine vertit, et commentario 
perpetuo illustravit Doctor et Professor G. B. Winer. Lipsise, 1821. 
8vo. 

EPHESIANS, PHILIPPIANS, COLOSSIANS, THESSALONIANS, TIMOTHY, 

TITUS, &C. 

72. Expositio Lpistoloe D. Pauli ad Colossenses, per reverendum 
in Christo Patrem, Joannem [Davenant] Sarisburiensem jam primum 
edita: olim ab eodem, Dominos Margaret® in Academia Cantabrigi- 
ensi Professore Theologico dictata. Cantabrigian, 1627. folio. 

73. Joannis Tarnovii Commentarius in Epistolas Pauli ad Ephesi- 
os, ad Philippenses, ad Colossenses, et ad Thessalonicenses. 4to. 
Rostochii, 1636. 


801 


Sect. \ I.] Principal CCommentators oj the New Testament. 

/4. 1 auli Apostoli Epistola ad Pliilippenses, Greece, ex recensione 
Gnesbachiana, nova versione Latina et annotatione perpetua illus- 
ti ata, a J. G. Am-Ende. 8vo. Vitebergse, 1798. 

75. An Exposition upon the Epistle to the Colossians. Wherein 
not only the text is methodically analysed, but the sense of the words, 
by the help of writers, both antient and modern, is explained. By 
N. Byfield. London, 1615. folio. 

76. A Familiar Exposition and Application of the Epistle of Saint 
Paul to the Colossians, in a course of Eight Sermons ; including an 
Examination of the General Nature and Use of the Epistles of the 

New Testament, &c. By Thomas Gisborne, M. A. London, 1816. 
8vo. 

For an analysis of this very useful little work see the Christian Observer for 
1816, vol. xv. pp. 524—534. 

77. An Exposition upon the Two Epistles of the Apostle St. Paul 
to the Thessalonians. By the Reverend Father John Jewell, Bishop 
of Salisbury. Reprinted from the original edition. London, 1811. 
8vo. 

This valuable Commentary on the Epistle to the Thessalonians is printed in the 
tolio edition of Bp. Jewell s works, (London, 1609) and also in the seventh volume 
of the compilation, intitled the “ Fathers of the English Church.” 

78. Joannis Alphonsi Turretini Commentarius Theoretico-practi- 
cus in Epistolas Divi Pauli ad Thessalonicenses. Basileae, 1739.8vo. 

79. The Epistles of St. Paul to the Colossians, to the Thessaloni¬ 
ans, to Timothy, and to Titus, and the General Epistle of St. James : 
A new Version from the Greek, and chiefly from the Text of Gries- 
bach. By Fhilalethes. London, 1820. 12mo. 

Of this translation, which in many instances is made to support the scheme of 
the modern Socinians, the reader will find an account in the Eclectic Review, (N. 
S.) vol. xiv. pp. 277—283. 

80. Pauli Epistolae ad Thessalonicenses. Recensuit, veterum re- 
centiorumque notas selectas congessit, suasque adjecit, et tamquam 
specimen novae editionis Epistolarum Pauli edidit F. Schleiermacher. 
Berolini, 1823. 8vo. 

PHILEMON. 

81. Pauli ad Philemonem Epistola, Greece et Latine, illustrata a 
Lebr. Gotti. Schmidio. Lipsiae, 1786. 8vo. 

HEBREWS. 

82. An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews, with preliminary 
Exercitations. By John Owen, D. D. folio. 4 vols. London, 1668— 
1674. 8vo. 7 vols. 

This work is particularly valuable for its illustration of the Epistle to the He-, 
brews by the aid of Rabbinical learning : a well executed abridgment of it was 
published in 4 vols. 8vo. 1790, by the late Dr. Edward Williams, of which a new 
edition was printed in 1815. 4 vols. 8vo. 

83. Joannis Braunii Commentarius in Epistolam ad Hebraeos, cum 
indicibus locupletissimis et quibusdam tabulis seneis elegantissimis. 
Amstel. 1705. 4to. 

Professor Braun or Braunius is well known for several valuable pieces, eluci¬ 
dating sacred antiquities; his commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, in the 
opinion of J. B. Carpzov, is one of the best ever edited. It is indeed truly valua- 
cle for its illustrations by the aid of Rabbinical learning ; and the author is par¬ 
ticularly able, in refuting the perverse interpretations of the celebrated Socinian 
teacher, Schlichtingius. 

VOL. II. 101 


802 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


84. Joannis Benedicti Carpzovii Exercitationes in Pauli Epistolam 
ad Hebraeos ex Philone Alexandrina. Helmstadt, 1750. 8vo. 

A work of singular utility in explaining the phraseology of St. Paul’s Epistle to 
the Hebrews. 

85. A Paraphrase and Notes on the Epistle to the Hebrews. To 
which is prefixed an Inquiry into—the Author of this Epistle; 
when it was written ; the manner of citing the Old Testament; and 
the method of reasoning in it, &c. By Arthur Ashley Sykes, D. D. 
London, 1755. 4to. 

“ This production cannot fail to throw much useful light on that part of divine 
revelation which it is intended to illustrate.” (Monthly Review, O. S. vol. xiii. p. 
225.) 

8(3. Joannis Augusti Ernesti Lectiones Academic* in Epistolam 
ad Hebraeos ad ipso revisae, cum ejusdem excursibus theologicis edi- 
dit; commentarium, in quo multa ad recentissimorum imprimis in- 
terpretum sententias pertinentia uberius illustrantur, adjecit Gotlib 
Immanuel Dindorf. Lipsiae, 1815, royal 8vo. 

These Academic Lectures of Ernesti were delivered by that eminent scholar and 
divine while he was professor of Divinity at Leipsic. They have been edited from 
his corrected copy, with various important additions by Professor Dindorf, who 
succeeded him in the Hebrew chair at Leipsic. These are included between brack¬ 
ets, with the initial letter D. On some of the earlier chapters there are also some 
marginal observations of an anonymous pupil of Ernesti’s, which are distinctly 
marked. Altogether this may be pronounced the most complete critical commen¬ 
tary on the Epistle to the Hebrews that is extant. 

87. Adr. Leon. Van der Mesch, Specimen Hermeneuticum, in lo¬ 
cum ad Hebraeos ix. 14. Lugd. Bat. 1819. 8vo. 

88. A Paraphrase and Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews. 
By Archibald Maclean. London, 1819. 2 vols. 8vo. 

11 We are acquainted with no expository work in our language, which, within so 
small a compass, contains so much valuable matter, and truly scriptural illustration. 
It is not a work of imagination, but of judgment. It deals not in conjectures or 
random interpretations ; but in solid, judicious investigation. It discovers no 
fondness for novelty, nor any silly attachment to the suffrage of antiquity. It is 
uniformly calm, serious, and scriptural. The illustrations of the divinity, the 
sacrifice, the priesthood, and the covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ, are most ex¬ 
cellent, though on some points he differs from expositors of established reputation. 
Some of the subjects on which he rather dissents from very generally received 
opinions, are taken up in an appendix to the second volume. It contains an essay 
on the double sense of prophecy ; one on the administration of angels, previous to 
Christ’s resurrection and exaltation ; and another on the commencement of the 
exercise of Christ’s office as high priest.” (London Christian Instructor, July 1819.) 

89. F. A. Seyffarth, De epistolae, quae dicitur ad Hebraeos, indole 
maxime peculiari Dissertatio. Lipsiae, 1821. 8vo. 

THE SEVEN CATHOLIC EPISTLES. 1 

90. Epistolarum Catholicarum Septenarius, Graece, cum nova ver- 
sione Latina, ac scholiis grammaticis atque criticis, opera Jo. Ben. 
Carpzovii. Halae, 1790. 8vo. 

SAINT JAMES, AND 1 AND 2 PETER. 

91. Sam. Frid. Nathan Mori Praelectiones in Jacobi et Petri Epis- 
tolas. Edidit C. A. Donat. Lipsiae, 1794. 8vo. 

92. A Commentary on the First Epistle of Peter, by Robert Leigh¬ 
ton, D. D. Archbishop of Glasgow. 2 vols. 8vo. 

1 The Paraphrases of Dr. Benson on these Epistles have already been noticed in 
p. 797. of this Appendix. 




803 


Sect. VI.] Principal Commentators on the New Testament. 


This admirable commentary, which fills the two first volumes of Archbishop 
Leighton’s works, is wholly practical, and has long been admired for its piety. Dr. 
Doddridge, in his paraphrase on this Epistle, has acknowledged himself deeply in¬ 
debted to Archbishop Leighton for many important hints. Dr. Storr, in his 
“ Opuscula Academica,” has a valuable dissertation on the occasion and design of 
writing the Catholic Epistles, as they are called. See vol. ii. pp. 367—415. 

1, 2, and 3 John. 

93. Sam. Frick Nath. Mori Prselectiones Exegeticae in tres Johan- 
nis Epistolas, cum nova earundem paraphrasi Latina. Cura C. A. 
Hempel. Leipsic, 1797. 8vo. 

This work contains a free Latin Version of Saint John’s three Epistles, as it 
was dictated by the late celebrated Professor Morns in his Divinity Lectures, to¬ 
gether with his observations on it, and two critical Excursus , one of which relates 
to the disputed passage in 1 John v. 7, 8. 

94. A Commentary upon the First, Second, and Third Epistles 
of Saint John. By Thomas Hawkins. London, 1808. 8vo. 

95. Joh. Jac. Rambonnet, Specimen Academician de Secunda. 
Epistola Johannea. Trajecti ad Rhenum, 1819. 8vo. 

90. Versio Latina Epistolarum et Libri Visorum Joannis Novi Tes- 
tamenti, perpetua adnotatione illustrata a M. Godofr. Sigismund. 
Iaspis. Editio altera, novis curis emendata & aucta. Lipsise, 1821. 
8vo. 


JUDE. 

97. Hermanni Witsii Commentarius in Epistolam Judee, 4to. Lug. 
Bat. 1703. 

A learned, elegant, and perspicuous illustration of the Epistle of Jude. 

98. Epistola Judae, Grsece, commentario critico et annotatione per¬ 
petua illustrata, a Henr. Carl. Alex. Haenlein. Erlang, 1799. 8vo. 

99. Collectanea, sive Notae Critical et Commentarius in Epistolam 
Judae. Accedunt De fonte Doctrinae, et Dietionis Judae genere et co¬ 
lore, Dissertationes duae. Auctore M. T. Laurmann. Groningae, 
1818. 8vo. 

100. A. Jessien, de auSsvrsia Epistolae Judae Commentatio Critica. 
Lipsiae, 1820. 8vo. 

THE REVELATION OF SAINT JOHN. 

101. In the second tome or part of Mr. Hugh Broughton’s works, 
(pp. 408—522.) there is an exposition or interpretation of the Reve¬ 
lation of Saint John, entitled “ A Revelation of the Holy Apocalypse.” 
The learned writer expounds it chiefly of the corruptions of the 

Church of Rome. . 

102. Clavis Apocalyptica ex innatis et insitis Visionum Characte- 

ribus eruta et demonstrata a Josepho Mede. —Ejusdem Commenta¬ 
rius in Apocalypsin, et Appendix ad Clavem Apocalypticam. 

These excellent treatises “ of the pious and profoundly learned” Joseph Mede 
(as he is iustly stvled in the title-page to the collective edition of his works) were 
originally published in 4to., but now form, together with some other disquisitions 
on prophecy, the second volume of the folio edition of his works. Mede is uni¬ 
versally allowed to have led the way to a correct and rational interpretation of 
the Apocalypse : the examination of his Claris occupies the chief part of Bishop 
Hurd’s tenth sermon on the study of the prophecies ; and that eminent prelate, 
after adverting to the numerous and abortive attempts to explain this mysterious 
book, which were made soon after the Reformation, has the following striking re¬ 
mark concerning Mede.The issue of much elaborate inquiry was, that the 
book itself was disgraced by the fruitless efforts of its commentators, and on the 
point of beincr given up as utterly impenetrable, when a sublime genius arose in the 
beginning ofthe last century, and surprised the learned world with that great de- 


804 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 

sideratum — a key to the Revelations .” (Works, vol. v. p. 270.) The tenth of 
Bishop Hurd’s sermons on the prophecies discusses, after Mede, the interpretation 
of the Apocalypse. 

103. Atiacrisis Apocalypseos Joannis Apostoli, qua in veras inter- 
pretandse ejus hypotheses diligenter inquiritur, et ex iisdem interpre- 
tatio facta, certis historiarum monumentis confirmatur et illustratin', 
turn quoque quae Meldensis Praesul Bossuetus hujus libri commenta- 
rio supposuit, et exegetico Protestantium systemati in visis de Bestia 
ac Babylone Mystica objecit, sedulo examinantur. Auctore Campe- 
gio Vitringa. Amstelsedami, 1719. 4to. 

104. A Perpetual commentary on the Revelation of Saint John, 
with a Preliminary Discourse concerning the Principles upon which 
the said Revelation is to be understood. By Charles Daubuz, M. A. 
New modelled, abridged, and rendered plain to the meanest capacity, 
by Peter Lancaster, A. M. London, 1730. 4to. 

The best edition of an elaborate and very useful work, of which later writers 
have not failed to avail themselves. Daubuz’s work was first printed in folio, 1720. 

105. A Paraphrase and Notes on the Revelation of Saint John. 
By Moses Lowman, 2d edit. London, 1745. 4to. London, 1807. 8vo. 
4th edition. 

Bishop Tomline includes this work in his list of books for clergymen and bibli¬ 
cal students. Dr. Doddridge has said of it, that lie “ has received more satisfac¬ 
tion from it, with respect to many difficulties,” in the book of Revelation, than he 
il ever found elsewhere, or expected to have found at all.” (Works, vol. ii. Leeds 
edit. p. 37.) He has given an abstract of Mr. Lowman’s scheme of interpretation 
in his 229th lecture. (Works, vol. v. pp. 410—414.) Lowman’s scheme of the 
seven seals is also approved by the late Rev. David Simpson, in his “ Key to the 
Prophecies,” (p. 582. a useful digest of preceding writers) as more consistent with 
history than that of Bishop Newton, printed in the second volume of his Disserta¬ 
tions on the Prophecies. 

106. Bengelius’s Introduction to his Exposition of the Apocalypse ; 
with his preface, and the greatest part of the conclusion of it; and 
also his marginal notes on the text, which are a summary of the 
whole exposition. Translated from the High Dutch, by John Ro¬ 
bertson, M. D. London, 1757. 8vo. 

See an account of this work in the Monthly Review, O. S. vol. xviii. pp. 25— 
28. The substance of Bengel’s expository writings on the Apocalypse is given in 
the Rev. John Wesley’s notes, mentioned in p. 754. of this Appendix. 

107. The Revelations translated, and explained throughout, with 
keys, illustrations, notes, and comments ; a copious introduction, ar¬ 
gument, and conclusion. By W. Cooke, Greek Professor at Cam¬ 
bridge, &c. 1789. 8vo. 

“ A writer who can discover” (as Mr. Cooke has done) “ the Jewish church in 
the Iliad, and Christianity in the Odyssey, may certainly find whatever he pleases 
in the Book of Revelations ; but it is not equally certain that he is qualified to 
detect the fallacies of Joseph Mede, and to prove him mistaken, false, and errone¬ 
ous. Though the author professes to ‘ have lighted the taper of God’s truth from 
the kindled incense of prayers,’ and though he may expect that it will ‘ flame like 
a fire-brand, fling and bounce, and run, singeing and scorching wherever it touch¬ 
es,’ we have been so unfortunate as not to receive from this flaming taper a sino-le 
ray to guide us through this region of darkness.” (Monthly Review, N. S. vol. 
iii. p. 148.) 

108. Commentarius in Apocalypsin Joannis. Scripsit Jo. Gothofr. 
Eichhorn. Gottingen, 1791. 2 vols. small 8vo. 

The hypothesis of the celebrated Professor Eichhorn is, that the Revelation of 
Saint John is a prophetic drama, the true subject of which is the spiritual victory 


Sect. \ I.] Principal Commentators on the New Testament. S05 


of Christianity over Judaism and Paganism. His eccentric scheme of interpreta¬ 
tion has iound but few supporters even in Germany. As this commentary on the 
Apocalypse is not of very frequent occurrence in this country, the following ab¬ 
stract oi Jus scheme may not be unacceptable to the reader. He divides the 
Apocalypse into four parts, viz. 1. The Title;—2. The Prologue itself;—3. 
I he Drama itself; — and 4. The Epilogue. 

I- The Title (i. 1—3.) 

~ The I rologue (i. 4. iii. 22.), in which it is stated that the argument of the 
drama belongs to the Christians; Epistles to the churches being”added, which 
.. m Ji, s y mboli< ? st yle of the poem are represented by the number seven. 

1 ip drama itself (iv. 1. — xxii. 5.), which consists of a prelude and three 
4 acts!!! r 

In the Prelude (iv. 1.—viii. 5.), the scenery is prepared and adorned. 

J erusa lem is taken ; i. e. Judaism is conquered by the Christian religion, 
(vm. 6.—xii. 17.) ® 

Act II. Rome is captured ; i. e. Paganism is subdued by the Christian religion, 
(xi. 18.—xx. 10.) 

f he New Jerusalem descends from heaven; or the happiness of the 
life to come, which is to endure for ever, is described, (xx. 11.—xxii. 5.) 

4. The Epilogue, (xxii. 6 — 21.) 

a. Of the Angel, (xxii. 6.) 

b. Of Jesus Christ, (xxii. 7—16.) 

c. Ot baint John, who denounces a curse against those who shall add to or 

diminish the predictions contained in this book (xxii. 16—20.), and con¬ 
cludes with an apostolical benediction. (21.) 

1 he hypothesis of Eichhorn (we understand) was attacked and refuted by M. 
Badge, in his German translation of the Apocalypse. 

109. A Commentary on the Revelations. By Bryce Johnstone, 
D. D. Edinburgh, 1794. 2 vols. 8vo. 


This work we have not had an opportunity of seeing: it is stated by the late 
Dr. E. Williams to be *‘ well calculated for general use, being written with great 
perspicuity, and in a popular practical strain.” (Christian Preacher, Appendix, 

110. Reflections sur l’Apocalypse. Par E. Gibert, Ministre de la 
Chapelle Royale, et Recteur de St. Andre dans l’Isle de Guernsey. 
Guernsey, 1796. Svo. 


Plain, pious, and practical. The learned author has chiefly followed the expo¬ 
sition given by Bishop Newton in the second volume of his Dissertations on the 
Prophecies. 

111. Practical Observations on the Revelation of Saint John, writ¬ 
ten in the year 1775. By the late Mrs. Bowdler. 2d edit. Bath, 1800. 
12mo. 


This work is expressly designed for those who have not leisure or inclination 
to examine the prophetical meaning of the apocalypse. “ Many such readers will 
doubtless be found; and whoever takes up the book with a serious mind, will be 
edified by the good sense, piety, and modesty of the writer.” (British Critic, O. S. 
vol. xvi. p. 561.) 

112. A Commentary on the Revelation of Saint John, accompanied 
with historical testimony of its accomplishment to the present day. 
By the Rev. E. W. Whitaker. London, 1802. 8vo. 

The present work is an enlarged edition of a small work on the prophecies, 
originally printed in 1795. The author 11 has the peculiar merit of compelling the 
historian Gibbon to give testimony, in almost every instance that falls within the 
limits of his chronology, to the fulfilment of the prophecies.” The points insisted 
on by Mr. Whitaker, “ he has succinctly handled, and reasoned upon each in such 
a manner as to render his work, if not decisive upon the subject, yet too impor 
lant not to become a book of reference and authority to future commentators.” 
(British Critic, vol. xxiii. O. S. pref. p. iv. and p. 252.) 

113. Brief Commentaries upon such parts of the Revelation and 
other Prophecies as immediately refer to the present times ; in which 


806 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


the several allegorical types and expressions of those prophecies are 
translated into their literal meanings, and applied to their appropri¬ 
ate events, &c. &c. By Joseph Galloway, Esq. London, 1802. 8vo. 

u In the work before us, much ingenuity is displayed, as to the explanation of 
some of the apocalyptic visions ; though in other parts solutions are offered, which 
appear to us to be but very weakly supported.” “ Mr. Galloway deserts many of 
the old interpretations for applications invented by himself; and, though we often 
dissent from his comments, we are pleased by the spirit of his admonitions.” (Brit¬ 
ish Critic, vol. xxiii. p. 537. and Pref. p. iv.) 

114. The Apocalypse, or Revelation of Saint John, translated, 
with Notes critical and explanatory. To which is prefixed a Disser- i 
tation on the divine origin of the book, in answer to the objections 
of the late Professor Michaelis ; with a biographical chart of writers 
in the early Christian church, who appear to have afforded evidence 
in favour of the Apocalypse. By John Chappel Woodhouse, D. D. 
London, 1806. royal 8vo. 

u This,” said the late Bishop Hurd, “ is the best book of the kind I have seen. 

It owes its superiority to two things, — the author’s understanding, for the most 
part, the apocalyptic symbols in a spiritual , not a literal sense : Secondly, to the 
care he has taken to fix the precise import of those symbols, from the use made 
of them by the old prophetical and other writers of the Old and New Testament. 
Still many difficulties remain and will remain to the time of the end.” ( Manuscript 
note of the late Bishop Hurd , on a blank leaf of a presentation copy of this work, 
in the library of Hartlebury. See Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. lxxviii. part ii. p. 
702.) After such commendation any further observation is unnecessary. The text 
of the Apocalypse is handsomely printed in three columns, containing the Greek, 
text of Griesbach’s second edition of the New Testament, Dr. W.’s own transla¬ 
tion from it, and the authorised version, from which he never departs but when 
the sense requires it. The reader who is desirous of seeing analyses of this most, 
excellent work, may consult the British Critic, O. S. vol. xxix. pp. 190—200.; and 
the Eclectic Review, O. S. vol. ii. part ii. pp.914—922. 

115. England Safe and Triumphant: or Researches into the Apo¬ 
calyptic Little Book, and Prophecies, connected and synchronical. 
By the Rev. Francis Thruston, M. A. Coventry and London, 1812. 

2 vols. 8vo. 

“ Among many interpretations of the Divine Book of the Revelation, here is one 
which expressly views in it the permanency of the church of England, and its 
prevalence over all other denominations of the Christian world ! Much as we are 
inclined to believe that there is a strong foundation of truth in what this author 
urges, in conformity with other sound interpreters, or built on their positions, we 
cannot but think in many places, particularly towards the latter end of his work, 
he is rather too rapid in forming his deductions and conclusions ; in some of which 
we confess ourselves unable to follow him.” (British Critic, O. S. vol. xxxiii. pp. 
593. 595.) It may be proper to remark, that Mr. Thruston has followed the line 
markod out by Mr. Faber in his works on prophecy already noticed. 

116. A Dissertation on the Dragon, Beast, and False Prophet of 
the Apocalypse ; in which the Number 666. is satisfactorily explain¬ 
ed : and also a full illustration of Daniel’s Vision of the Ram and 
He-Goat. By James Edward Clarke. London, 1814. 8vo. 

“ We cannot agree with the author in many of his explanations ; yet we have 
read his work with some degree of satisfaction, and think he has succeeded in throw¬ 
ing additional light on some of the obscure subjects which he undertakes to illus¬ 
trate.” (Eclectic Review, N. S. vol. iv. p. 289.) 

117. Expository Discourses on the Apocalypse, interspersed with 
Practical Reflections. By the late Rev. Andrew Fuller. London, 
1815. 8vo. 

This posthumous publication, consisting of thirty-one discourses delivered in the 
years 1809 and 1810, after tindergoing several revisions, was finished by the learn- 





beet. VII.] Collections of Philological Observations on the Bible. 807 

ed author, a short time only before his decease. “ There is however but little no¬ 
velty in the work, but little to gratify the anxious curiosity of the age, or to elu¬ 
cidate the unfulfilled and more difficult parts of the Revelation. The°general out¬ 
line of the prophetic scheme is boldly sketched, and its various ramifications are 
marked with that precision which was common to the writer : but in general there 
is an extreme of modesty and diffidence, with scarcely any attempts to pass the usual 
boundaries of thought on these subjects, or any adventurous flight of speculation.” 
(Morris’s Memoirs of Mr. Fuller, p. 249.) An abstract of Mr. F.’s scheme of the 
Apocalypse is given in the same work (pp. 230—260.), and in Mr. Jones's Biblical 
Cyclopedia, article Apocalypse. 

118. The Prophetic History of the Christian Revelation Explain¬ 
ed : or a Brief Exposition of the Revelation of Saint John. By the 
Rev. George Schmucker, Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 
York Town, Pennsylvania. Vol. I. Baltimore, 1817. 8vo. 

119. An Exposition of the Book of Revelation. Being the sub¬ 
stance of forty-four Discourses preached in the Parish Church of Gl¬ 
uey, Bucks. By the Rev. Henry Gauntlett. London, 1821. 8vo. 

This work “ affords ample proofs of his” [the author’s] “ piety, good sense and 
industry. His interpretations of the prophecies, whether fulfilled or expected to 
be so, are mostly supported by venerable authorities ; and where he differs from 
them, it is with due modesty and candour.” (British Review, vol. xviii. p. 396.) 

120. M. T. Laurmann Praelectio de imaginum sive figurarum poe- 
ticarum, in Apocalypsi Joannea, indole atque pretio. Groningse, 
1822. 8vo. 

121. A Concise Exposition of the Apocalypse, so far as the Pro¬ 
phecies are fulfilled; several of which are interpreted in a different 
way from that adopted by other Commentators. By J. R. Park, M. D. 
London, 1823. 8vo. 

The author of this work regards the Apocalypse as being altogether a spiritual 
and not a political prophecy ; that is, as relating exclusively to the progress of 
true religion, and not to the history of the Roman Empire. This general princi¬ 
ple is derived from the excellent work of Dean Woodhouse noticed in p. 806, 
which Dr. Park has adopted as his guide, and whose translation he has for the 
most part preferred. 

122. Dissertations, introductory to the Study and Right Under¬ 
standing of the Language, Structure, and Contents of the Apocalypse, 
By Alexander Tillocli, LL. D. London, 1823. 8vo. 


SECTION VII. 

PRINCIPAL COLLECTIONS OF OBSERVATIONS ON THE SCRIPTURES, 
GRAMMATICAL, PHILOLOGICAL, AND MISCELLANEOUS. 

1. Fr. Lud. Abresch, Animadversiones ad iEschylum ; accedunt 
adnotationes ad qusedam Loca Novi Testamenti. 8vo. 

2. Joannis Alberti Observationes Philologies in Sacros Novi Foe¬ 
deris Libros. Lugd. Bat. 1725. 8vo. 

3. Caroli Aurivillii Dissertationes ad Sacras Literas et Philologiam 
Orientalem Pertinentes. Gottingen, 1790. 8vo. 

4. Miscellanea Sacra : containing an Abstract of the Scripture 
History of the Apostles in a new method. With Four Critical Es¬ 
says — J. On the Witness of the Holy Spirit: 2. On the Distinction 
between Apostles, Elders, and Brethren : 3, On the Time when Paul 
and Barnabas became Apostles : 4. On the Apostolical Decree, &c. 
&c. (By Lord Barrington.) A new edition, with large additions and 
corrections. London, 1782. 3 vols. 8vo. 




SOB 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


The merit of this work is generally allowed. Dr. Benson acknowledged himself 
much indebted to it in his history of the first planting of Christianity, and in some 
other of his works. 

5. Jo. Hermanni Benner, Otia Sacra, de Divinis quibusdam Ora- 
eulis occupata. Gissae, 1736. 8vo. 

6. The Sacred Classics defended and illustrated, by Anthony 
Blackwall. London, 1737. 2 vols. 8vo. 

This work 11 gives many well chosen instances of passages in the classics, which 
may justify many of those in Scripture that have been accounted solecisms. They 
illustrate the beauty of many others, and contain good observations on the divi¬ 
sions of chapters and verses, by which the sense of Scripture is often obscured.” 
(Dr. Doddridge.) 

7. Zachariae Bogan Homerus 'E/3^ai^6jv; sive comparatio Homeri 
cum Scriptoribus sacris, quoad normam loquendi. Oxonii, 1658. 8vo. 

In the preface to this learned work the author states that it is not his intention 
to institute any comparison between the sacred writers and their opinions, and 
Homer, but simply between their idioms and ways of speaking. The author add¬ 
ed to his book Hesiodus 'Efipaifav ; in which he shows how Hesiod expresses him 
self nearly after the same manner as Homer. 

8. De Constanti et iEquabili Jesu Christi Indole, Doctrina, ac Do- 
cendi Ratione, sive Commentationes de Evangelio Joannis cum Mat- 
thaei, Marci, et Lucte Evangeliis comparato. Scripsit E. A. Borger. 
Lugd. Bat. 1816. 8vo. 

A work of deep research. Its design is to demonstrate the credibility of the 
four evangelists by internal arguments, deduced from the mutual comparison of 
their writings. 

10. Lamberti Bos Exercitationes Philologicae, in quibus Novi Fee- 
deris loca nonnulla ex auctoribus Graecis illustrantur, aliorumque 
versiones et interpretationes examinantur. Franequerae, 1713. 8vo. 

11. Lamberti Bos Observationes Miscellaneae ad loca quaedam 
Novi Foederis. Franequerae, 1707. 8vo. 

12. Lamberti Bos Ellipses Graecae, editae a Schaefer. Lipsise, 
1808, or Glasgow, 1813. 8vo. 

13. Critical Conjectures and Observations on the New Testament, 
collected from various Authors, as well in regard to Words as Point¬ 
ing, with the reason on which both are founded. By William Bowyer, 
F. S. A., Bishop Barrington, Mr. Markland, Professor Schultz, Pro¬ 
fessor Michaelis, Dr. Owen, Dr. Woide, Dr. Gosset, and Mr. Wes¬ 
ton. A series of conjectures from Michaelis, and a specimen of 
Notes on the Old Testament, by Mr. Weston, are added in an Ap¬ 
pendix London, 1812. 4to. 4th ed. 

For an account of the former impressions of this valuable work, see Monthly 
Review, O. S. vols. xlvi. p. 555. and lxvii. p. 113.; and for an account of the pre¬ 
sent edition, see the British Critic, O. S. vol. xl. p. 507. et scq. In the preface to 
which journal (p. vi.) it is truly observed, that Mr. Bowyer’s work “ is for the 
learned only, and for those among the learned who can discriminate and judge for 
themselves. Conjectures on the sacred text are at best extremely hazardous ; 
hence it is that the work, though valuable, can deserve only a partial recommen¬ 
dation.” 

14. Observations upon the Plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians; 
in which is shown the peculiarity of those judgments, and their cor¬ 
respondence with the rites and idolatry of that people, &c. &c. By 
Jacob Bryant. London, 1794 ; 2d edition, 1810. 8vo. 

“ The same depth of thought, the same brilliancy of fancy, and the same extent 
of erudition, are proportionably conspicuous in this smaller production, as in the 


Sect. VII.] Collections of Philological Observations on the Bible. 809 

larger work of the analysis,” of antient mythology. (British Critic, O. S. vol. 
iv. p. 35.) 

15. Observations upon some Passages of Scripture which the Ene¬ 
mies to Religion have thought most obnoxious, and attended with 
Difficulties not to be surmounted. By Jacob Bryant. London, 1803. 
4to. 

On the whole, we have discovered in this work much learning, much ingenu- 
ity, and an uniform good intention ; but truth compels us to add, that it displays 
a defect in judgment, and a too evident propensity to support a favourite hypothe- 
sis.” (British Critic, O. S. vol. xxv. p. 58.) 

16. Joannis Buxtorfii Dissertationes Philologico-Theologicse et 
Abarbanelis aliquot Dissertationes. Basil, 1662. 4to. 

17. Dav. Renaldi Bullerii Dissertationum Sacrarum Sylloge. Am- 
stelodami, 1750. 8vo. 

18. The Classical Journal, 8vo. London, 1810, and following 
years. 

Thirty volumes of this much esteemed literary journal have been published: 
though principally devoted to classical literature, biblical criticism forms an im¬ 
portant article in its contents; and many valuable elucidations of the Scriptures 
will be found in its pages. 

19. Four hundred texts of Holy Scripture, with their correspond¬ 
ing Passages, explained to the understanding of common people, and 
arranged under the following heads : — 1. Texts which appear con¬ 
tradictory. 2. Not to be understood literally. 3. Improperly trans¬ 
lated. 4. Better translated otherwise. 5. Requiring explanation. 
6. Wrested or perverted. 7. The parables. — The whole compiled 
with a view to promote religious knowledge, and facilitate the reading 
of the Divine Writings. By Oliver St. John Cooper, A. M. London, 

1791. small 8vo. 

20. The Practical Expositor of the more difficult texts that are 
contained in the Holy Bible: wherein the dreams in Daniel, and the 
visions of all the Prophets, and the two mystical Books of the Canti¬ 
cles and the Revelation, are all clearly opened. By Richard Coore, 
D. D. London, 1683. 8vo. 

21. Salomonis Deylingii Observationes Sacrae, Lipsiae, 1735. 5 
vols. 4to. 

21. * Ambrosii Dorhout, Animadversiones in Loca Selecta Veteris 
Testamenti. Leovardiae. 2 vols. 8vo. 1765. 

22. Joannis Doughtaei Analecta Sacra, et Nortoni Knatchbullii 
Animadversiones in Libros Novi Testamenti. Amstelodami, 1694. 
8vo. 

23. Exercitations, Critical, Philosophical, Historical, Theological, 
on several Important Places in the Writings of the Old and New Tes¬ 
tament. By John Edwards, D. D. London, 1702. 8vo. 

24. Jo. Aug. Ernesti Opuscula Theologica. 8vo. 2d edit. Lipsiae, 

1792. 

25. H. F. Eisner, Paulus Apostolus et Jesaias Propheta inter se 
comparati. Vratislaviae, 1821. 4to. 

26. Synopsis Selectiorum e Philologia Sacra Quaestionum. Dis- 
putatio I. —III. quam praes. M. Augusto Pfeiffero publicae <fv%rirri<fei 
sistit Samuel Fischer (in opp. Pfeifferi.) Ultrajecti, 1704. 4to. 

27. D. G. Goetzii Variae Celebriorum Medicorum, Observationes, 
quibus multa loca Novi Testamenti docte illustrantur. Altdorf, 1740* 
8 vo. 


VOL. II. 


102 


810 APPENDIX. ' [No. VI. 

Questions of considerable difficulty are in this work briefly but judiciously illus¬ 
trated. 

28. Theodori Hackspanii Not® philologico-theologicse in varia et 
difficilia Veteris Testamenti. Altdorf, 1664. 3 vols. 8vo. 

29. A free and impartial Study of the Holy Scriptures recommend¬ 
ed ; being notes on some particular texts, with discourses and obser¬ 
vations on various subjects. By Jos. Hallet, junior. London, 1729, 
1732, 1736. 3 vols. 8vo. 

Many important topics of Scripture criticism and interpretation are discussed 
in these volumes. If the reader is not always convinced by the arguments of the 
learned author, he cannot fail of being pleased with the ingenuity and spirit of 
candour and piety which pervade them. Those discourses, which treat on the 
evidences of Christianity, are peculiarly valuable, for the lucid and forcible reason¬ 
ing displayed in them. The nature of personal identity, in particular, with its 
application to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is admirably illustrated in two dis¬ 
courses contained in the second volume. 

30. Danielis Heinsii Exercitationes Sacree ad Novum Testamen- 
tum. Cantab. 1640. 4to. 

31. A. Th. Hoffmann Observationum in Difficiliora Veteris Testa¬ 
menti Particula prima. Jen®, 1823. 4to. 

32. Jo. Jac. Hottingeri Opuscula, philologica, critica, atque herme- 
neutica. Lipsi®, 1817. 8vo. 

33. Biblical Criticism on the first fourteen Historical Books of the 
Old Testament; also on the first nine Prophetical Books. By Samuel 
Horsley, LL. D. late Lord Bishop of St. Asaph. London, 1820. 
4 vols. 8vo. 

Besides the critical pieces mentioned in the title page, these volumes (which 
are edited by the author’s son, the Rev. Heneage Horsley) contain three valuable 
disquisitions, published in the Bishop’s life-time, viz. 1. A general view of the first 
three chapters of Genesis, together with an inquiry into the etymology and import 
of the Divine Names of Eloah, Elohim, El, Jehovah, and Jah : which originally 
appeared in the British Critic, for 1802, in a review of the late Dr. Geddes’s re¬ 
marks on the Hebrew Scriptures. 2. A Critical Disquisition on the Eighteenth 
Chapter of Isaiah ; and, 3. The Translation of the Prophecy of Hosea (noticed p. 
781. supra). These are inserted as revised by their author. At the end of the 
fourth volume are translations of several Sacred Songs, with Critical Notes on 
them, and on a few other Sacred Pieces, of which the Bishop has not given 
versions. 

34. Conradi Ikenii Dissertationes plnlologico-theologic® in diversa 
Sacri Codicis utriusque Testamenti loco. Lugd. Bat. 1749, 17,50. 2 
vols. 4to. 

35. Car. Aug. Theoph. Keilii Opuscula Academica ad N. T. In- 
terpretationem Grammatico-historicam, et Theologi® Christian® ori- 
gines, pertinentia. Edidit J. D. Goldhorn. Lipsi®, 1821. 8vo. 

36. Remarks on Select Passages in the Old Testament; to which 
are added eight sermons. By the late Benjamin Kennicott, D. D. 
London, 1777. 8vo. 

For an account of this work, see Monthly Review, O. S. vol. lxxviii np 477— 
489. r 

37. Petri Keuchenii Annotata in Novum Testamentum, cum Pr®- 
fatione Alberti. Ludg. Bat. 1775. 8vo. best edition. 

38. Morsels of Criticism, tending to illustrate some few Passages 
in the Holy Scripture upon Philosophical Principles and an enlarged 
View of Things. By Edward King, Esq. F. R. S. and F. S. A. 4to. 
London, part i. 1784, part ii. 1800; also a second edition, 8vo. in 3 
vols. London, 1800. 


Sect. VII.] Collections of Philological Observations on the Bible. 811 

. king s particular aim is, to provide answers to the more subtile opponents 
ot Christianity, and to trace the completion of the sacred oracles.” u We cannot 
take our leave of this valuable work, without expressing our admiration of the 
singular union ol ingenuity and piety which appears in every page. Few readers 
perhaps will iollow the author s steps with the same alacrity with which he pro¬ 
ceeds through the most curious and subtile inquiries ; but all must readily grant, 
that such an application of ingenuity, diligence, learning, and philosophical know¬ 
ledge, is in a high degree praise-worthy.” (British Critic, O. S. vol. xvi. preface, 
p. iv. and p. 667.) 

Geo. Chr. Knappii Scripta varii Argumenti, maximam partem 
exegeticam. Halae, 1805. 2 vols. 8vo. 

40. Jo. Bern. Koehleri Observationes philologicae in loca selecta 
codicis sacri. Lugd. Bat. 1700. 8vo. 

41. Kiichler (G. C.) De simplicitate Scriptorum Sacrorum in com- 
mentariis de Vita Jesu Christi. Lipsiae, 1821. 8vo. 

42. C. G. Kiittneri Hypoinnemata in Novum Testamentum. Lip¬ 
siae, 1780. 8vo. 

43. Geo. Dav. Kypke Observationes Sacrae in Novi Foederis Libros. 
Vratislavi®, 1755. 2 vols. 8vo. 

44. The Complete Works of Dr. Lardner. London, 1789. 11 vols. 
8vo. London, 1817. 5 vols. 4to. 

In the applause of Dr. Lardner all parties of Christians are united, regarding 
him as the champion of their common and holy faith. Archbishop Seeker, Bi¬ 
shops Porteus, Watson, and Tomlinc, and Doctors Jortin, Hey, and Paley, of the 
Anglican church ; — Doctors Doddridge, Kippis, and Priestley, amongst the Dis¬ 
senters, and all foreign Protestant biblical critics, have rendered public homage to 
his learning, his fairness, and his great merits as a Christian apologist. The can¬ 
did of the literati of the Roman Catholic communion have extolled his labours : 
and even Morgan and Gibbon, professed unbelievers, have awarded to him the 
meed of faithfulness and impartiality. With his name is associated the praise of 
deep erudition, accurate research, sound and impartial judgment, and unblemished 
candour. The publication of his works constituted a new sera in the annals of 
Christianity; for, by collecting a mass of scattered evidences in favour of the 
authenticity of the evangelical history, he established a bulwark on the side of 
truth which infidelity has never presumed to attack. His “ Credibility,” and his 
“ Collection of Jewish and Heathen Testimonies,” may be said to have given the 
deistical controversy a new turn, and to have driven the assailants of the Gospel 
from the field of Christian antiquity, in which they esteemed themselves securely 
intrenched, into the by-paths of sarcasm and irony. How amply we are indebted 
to the elaborate researches of the learned and accurate Dr. Lardner, the numerous 
references to his writings in the course of the present work, will sufficiently attest. 
The 4to. edition is handsomely executed, and has the additional merit of being a 
cheap publication. 

45. Jo. Dav. Michaelis Syntagma Commentationum. Gottingen, 
1759, 1767. 4to. 

46. Jo. Georg. Michaelis Observationes Sacrae. 2d edition. Arn- 
heim, 1752. Ejusdern Exercitationes theologico-philologicae. Lug. 
Bat. 1757. Svo. 

47. Observationes selectee in varia loca Novi Testamenti: sive 
Laur. Ramiresii de Prado Pentecontarchus, Alexandri Mori in No¬ 
vum Fcedus Nota3, et Petri Possini Societatis Jesu Spicilegium Evan- 
gelicum : cum preefatione Jo. Alberti Fabricii et tab. sen. Hamburgi, 
1712. Svo. 

One of the rarest little books of sacred criticism. Dr. Harwood calls this a very 
useful collection, containing many excellent notes on particular passages of the 
New Testament. 

48. Sam. Frid. Nathan Mori Dissertationes Theologies et Philo- 


812 APPENDIX. [No. VI. 

logic®, vol. i. Lipsi®, 1787, vol. ii. ibid. 1794. 2d edition, ibid. 1798. 
8vo. 

49. Casp. Frid. Munthii Observationes philologic® in Sacros Novi 
Testamenti Libros, ex Diodoro Siculo collect®. Hafni® et Lipsi®, 
1755. 8vo. 

50. H. Muntinghe Sylloge Opusculorum ad doctrinam sacram per- 
tinentium. Lugd. Bat. 1791, 1794. 2 vols. 8vo. 

51. Jo. Aug. Noesselti Opusculorum ad interpretationem sacrarum 
Scripturarum, Fasciculus I. 8vo. Hal®, 1785; Fasciculus II. ibid. 
1787. Ejusdem, Exercitationes ad sacr® Scriptur® interpretationem. 
Hal®, 1808. 8vo. 

52. Geo. Lud. (Ederi Observationum Sacrarum Syntagma, 8vo. 
Weissenberg, 1729. Ejusdem, Conjecturarum de difficilioribus SS. 
locis centuria, 8vo. Lipsi®, 1738. Ejusdem, Animadversiones sacr®. 
Brunswick, 1747. 8vo. 

53. Eli® Palairet Observationes philologico-critic® in sacros Novi 
Foederis Libros. Lugd. Bat. 1752. 8vo. Ejusdem Specimen Exerci- 
tationum philologico-criticarum in Sacros Novi Foederis Libros, 1775. 
8vo. 

54. Augusti Pfeifferi Opera Omnia, 4to. 2 vols. Amst. 1704. 

The first volume contains his Dubia Vexata Scripturcc , 400 notes on difficult 
passages of Scripture, Ebraica atquc exotica Novi Testamenti e suis fontibus deri- 
vata, an explanation of Hebrew and other foreign words occurring in the New 
Testament, and ten dissertations on passages of peculiar difficulty in the sacred 
writings. The second volume consists of treatises on the criticism, interpretation, 
antiquities, &c. of the Bible. 

55. Remarks on several Passages of Scripture, rectifying some 
errors in the printed Hebrew Text, pointing out several mistakes in 
the version, &c. By Matthew Pilkington, LL. B. London, 1759. 
Svo. 

56. Extracts from the Pentateuch compared with similar passages 
from Greek and Latin authors, with notes. By Edward Popham, 
D. D. Oxford, 1802. Svo. 

Of this learned and ingenious work, the reader will find an analysis in the Bri¬ 
tish Critic, O. S. vol. xx. pp. 289—294. 

57. Fr. V. Reinhardi Opuscula Academica. Lipsi®, 1808-9. 2 vols. 
8vo. 

58. Corrections of various passages in the English version of the 
Old Testament, upon the authority of antient manuscripts, and an- 
tient versions, by the late W. H. Roberts, D. D. Provost of Eton 
College. Published by his son W. Roberts, M. A. London, 1794. 
8vo. 

“ The biblical scholar will infallibly receive with pleasure these remarks, from 
a man of undoubted learning and ingenuity. The chief intention of Dr. Roberts 
seems to have been that of lessening the number of words supplied in Italic in our 
public version, as not answering literally to any words in the Hebrew, by showing 
that in some cases they are necessary, and that in some, the sense may be filled 
up by other means. There are also many remarks of a more general kind.” In 
these observations, 11 candour, modesty, and ingenuity will be found adorning 
learning.” British Critic, O. S. vol. iv. p. C48. and pref. p. vi. 

59. Discours Historiques, Critiques, Theologiques, et Moraux, sur 
les Evenemens les plus memorables du vieux et du nouveau Testa¬ 
ment. Par M. Saurin. Avec des planches, 6 vols. A la Haye, 1735 
—1739. folio. 


Sect. YII.] Collections of Philological Observations on the Bible. 813 

Mr. \ ander Marck formed a design of represenling on copperplates the most 
memorable events in sacred history j and he engaged Mr. Saurin to write an ex¬ 
planation of the plates; this gave rise to the discourses here published. There is 
an edition ol them in 11 vols. 8vo. They are deservedly held in the highest es- 

60. Dissertationes Philologico-Exegeticse Everardi Scheidii. Har- 
derovici, 1769, 1770. 8vo. 

61. Ihe Scripture Testimony to the Messiah : an Inquiry with a 
view to a satisfactory determination of the Doctrine taught in the 
Holy Scriptures concerning the Person of Christ. By John Pye 
Smith, D. D. London, 1818—1821. 3 vols. 8vo. 

Though this admirable work was published as a reply to Mr. Belsham’s Calm 
Inquiry concerning the person of Jesus Christ (of which it is a most satisfactory re¬ 
futation), yet it claims a distinct notice in this place, on account of the very nu¬ 
merous philological explanations of difficult passages of Scripture which it con¬ 
tains. It is one of those biblical works of which the student will never regret the 
purchase ; and is unquestionably the most elaborate defence and proof of the deity 
of Jesus Christ extant in our language. 

62. Biblical Fragments. By M. A. Schimmelpenninck. London, 
1821, 1822. 2 vols. 8vo. 

7 hese fragments are not critical elucidations of particular texts ; but they are 
written with much elegance, and the authoress has introduced some of the finest 
practical and devotional thoughts of the Jansenist writers, particularly the accom¬ 
plished and much traduced recluses of Port Royal. Rut her critical remarks or 
the authorised English Version are not always correct. 

63. Schnurrer (C. F.) Dissertationes Philologico-Criticce, Gothse, 
1790. 8vo. 

These dissertations, fifteen in number, are highly valued on the continent. 
They treat on the difficulty of determining the age of Hebrew Manuscripts, on 
the Arabic Pentateuch in Bp. Walton’s Polyglott, and illustrate various passages 
of Scripture. 

64. Opuscula Exegetica, Critica, Dogmatica, scripsit, recognovit r 
variisque additamentis locupletavit H. A. Schott, Theol. Doctor et 
Prof. Ordin. Academite Jenensis. Jena, 1817, 1818. 2 vols. 8vo. 

65. Jo. Schulthessii, De Charismatibus spiritus Sancti. Pars pri- 
raa De vi et natura, ratione et utilitate Dotis Linguarum, in primos 
Discipulos Christi collate, atque in posteros omnes deinceps ad finem 
usque sec. peren. Lipsise, 1818. 8vo. 

66. Gottlob Christiani Storr Dissertationes in librorum Novi Tes¬ 
tament Historicorum aliquot locos, parts i.—iii. Tubingen, 1790-91- 
94. 4to. 

67. Gottlob Christiani Storr Opuscula Academica ad interpretatio- 
nem Librorum Sacrorum pertinentia. Tubingen, 1796, 1799,1803.3 
vols. 8vo. 

Besides various critical disquisitions of great merit, this work contains several 
commentaries on detached books of the New Testament. 

68. Observations upon the expediency of revising the present En¬ 
glish version of the four Gospels, and of the Acts of the Apostles. 
By John Symonds, LL. D. Professor of Modern History in the Uni¬ 
versity of Cambridge, 1789. 4to. 

69. Observations on the expediency of revising the present English 
version of the Epistles in the New Testament. By John Symonds, 
LL. D. 1794. 4to. 

The same method of classification is pursued in both these publications. “Of 


814 


APPENDIX. 


[No. VI. 


the observations themselves it must be said, that many are just and useful; but 
many also are minute and over-refined.” (British Critic, O. S. vol. iii. p. 332.) 

70. Car. Chr. Titmanni Opuscula Tlieologica. Lipsiae, 1803. 8vo. 

Vari us questions of sacred criticism are illustrated in this work, with singular 
ability. 

71. Commentationes Theologicae, edit* a Jo. Casp. Velthusen, C. 
Theoj)ii. Kuinoel et Geo. Alex. Ruperti. Lipsiae, 1794, 1799. 6 vols. 
8vo. 

The first volume of this capital collection of critical tracts (in which various 
passages of the Old Testment are particularly illustrated) is now exceedingly 
scarce on the continent. A supplement to it was published by Messieurs Pott 
and Ruperti, at Helmstadt, entitled Sijlloge Commentationum Theologicarum, in 
8 vols. 8vo. 1800—1807. 

72. Verschuirii (.1. H.) Opuscula, in quibus de variis S. Litt. locis, 
et argumentis exinde desumptis critice et libere disseritur. Trajecti, 
1810. 8vo. 

73. Campegii Vitringae, patris , Observationum Sacrarum Libri iv. 
Franequerae, 1700. Libri v. et vi. 1708. 4to. 

74. Campegii Vitringae, Jilii, Dissertationes Sacrae, cum animad- 
versionibus Hermanni Venemae. Franequerae, 1731. 4to. 

75. Silva Critica, sive in Auctores Sacros Profanosque Commen- 
tarius Philologus. Concinnavit Gilbertus Wakefield, B. A. Cantabri- 
giae, 1789—1795. 5 parts 8vo. 

The design of that eminent scholar Mr. Wakefield, in the plan of this work, 
was the union of theological and classical learning, — the illustration of fhe Scrip¬ 
tures by light borrowed from the philology of Greece and Rome, as a probable 
method of recommending the books of revelation to scholars. How ably this de¬ 
sign was executed, the reader may see in the different critical journals of that 
time, 1 where Mr. W.’s peculiar notions on some points are considered. An eia- 
■men of his work was published by H. C. A. Haenlein, in four small tracts, printed 
at Erlang, in 4to. 1798—1801. 

76. Biblical Gleanings ; or a Collection of Passages of Scripture, 
that have generally been considered to be mistranslated in the receiv¬ 
ed English version, with proposed corrections ; also the important 
various readings in both Testaments, and occasional notes inter¬ 
spersed with a view to the illustration of obscure and ambiguous texts, 
with several other matters tending to the general elucidation of the 
Sacred Writings. By Thomas Wemyss. York, 8vo. 

The ample title page of this work sufficiently indicates the design of the indus¬ 
trious compiler ; in the compass of little more than 250 pages, it presents a variety 
of important corrections of a multitude of obscure or ambiguous passages in the 
sacred writings, compiled from the biblical labours of upwards of fifty of the most 
distinguished critics, both British and foreign. In the event of a new translation 
or revision of our authorised version of the Holy Scriptures, this little book cannot 
fail of being eminently useful. Its value would have been enhanced if the com¬ 
piler had specified the sources or authors of each emendation. 

77. An Illustration of the Method of explaining the New Testa¬ 
ment by the early opinions of Jews and Christians concerning Christ. 
By W. Wilson, B. D. C ambridge, at the University Press, 1797. 
8 vo. 

“ Though not expressly presented to the public as a refutation of Dr. Priest¬ 
ley’s 1 History of Early Opinions,’ and other works concerning the person of 
Christ, this performance is unquestionably to be received in this light. The au¬ 
thor constantly keeps in view the arguments of this work just mentioned, and 


1 See particularly the Monthly Review, N. S. vol. v. pp. 54. et seq. vol. viii. p 
571. and vol. xvi. p. 235. 



Sect. \IL] Collections of Philological Observations on the Bible . 815 

nearly passes over the same ground, in order to prove that the historical fact, re¬ 
lating to the opinions of the first Christians, is the reverse of that which the doc 
tor has represented, and consequently that the inference respecting the true mean¬ 
ing of the New Testament is directly contrary to that of the Unitarian hypothesis. 
— It would be injustice to the ingenious writer of this reply” to Dr. Priestley, 
“ not to allow him, unequivocally, the praise of having written, in a perspicuous 
and correct style, a learned and well-digested tract, and of having conducted his 
part of the controversy with urbanity and candour.” (Analytical Review, vol. 
xxvi. pp. 368. 372.) 

78. Petri Zornii Opuscula sacra ; hoc est, Programmata, Disser¬ 
tations, Orationes, Epistolse, et Scliediasmata, in quibus printer se- 
iectissima Historic Ecclesiasticae et Literarise capita, etiam plusquara 
sexcenta Scripturae loca, partim ex utriusqiue linguae sanctions genio, 
partim ex Antiquitatum Hebraicarum Graecarum et Romanarum ap- 
paratu, illustrantur ac vindicantur. Altonaviae, 1731. 2 vols. 8vo. 


In the present as well as in the preceding sections of this number 
of the Appendix, the author has endeavoured to bring forward the 
principal commentators and biblical critics , both British and foreign. 
Many of them indeed are too costly to be purchased by the generality 
of biblical students ; but a considerable portion, if not the whole of 
them, is to be found in our public libraries, and it is desirable to 
know in what works the best information is to be procured, eyen 
though we may not in every instance be able to purchase them, as 
well as to be on our guard lest we should be misled (as the author 
lias frequently been) in buying cheap books which are of compara¬ 
tively little utility. Ample as these lists are, they might have easily 
been enlarged, if the limits of the present volume would have per¬ 
mitted it. The reader, however, who is curious in seeing what has 
been written in the nature of commentaries, may (besides the autho¬ 
rities already referred to in p. 736. of this Appendix) consult the first 
volume of Mr. Radcliffe’s Catalogue of the Chetham Public Library 
at Manchester (BibliothecaChethamensis), pp. 14—60.; and Biblio¬ 
theca Piersoniana, or Catalogue of the Rev. Dr. Pierson’s Library 
(sold by auction in May 1815). The Sale Catalogues of the princi¬ 
pal theological Booksellers of London are particularly valuable in a 
bibliographical point of view, for the numerous commentaries and 
other works on sacred criticism which they contain, both British and 
Foreign, especially the latter. 

On the choice of commentators, it would be presumptuous in the 
author of this work to offer an opinion; the student will doubtless 
be regulated by the judgment of judicious friends or theological tu¬ 
tors. & Bishops Barrington, Cleaver, and Tomline, have respectively 
published lists of such as they recommend to those who are prepar¬ 
ing for the sacred office; and the Rev. Dr. Hales, in his Analysis of 
Sacred Chronology, (vol. ii. pp. xiii.—xx.) has given a useful list of 
the best biblical works generally , including editions of the Scriptures, 
Commentators, Lexicons, <fec. &.c. which are most deserving of at¬ 
tention. Nor, should the list be passed in silence which the late 
Rev. Dr. Edward Williams has inserted in the “ Preacher’s Library,” 
(pp.*400—438.) appended to his useful collection of discourses by 
Bishop Wilkins, M. Claude, Professor Franck, Drs. Watts, Dod¬ 
dridge, &c. relative to the pastoral office, entitled “ The Christian 
Preacher,” 2d edition, London, 1809. 12mo. 



( 816 ) 

ADDENDA 

To Page 480. 

4.* The New Testament, arranged in Historical and Chronological 
Order, on the Basis of Lightfoot’s Chronicle and the most approved 
Harmonies ; in such manner, that the Books, Chapters, Epistles, &c. 
may be read as one connected History, in the words of the Authorit- 
ed Translation:—with copious indexes.—By the Rev. George 
Townsend, M. A. of Trinity College, Cambridge. London, 1823. In 
two very large volumes. 8vo. 

Though a distinct work in itself, this elaborate publication may be considered 
as the second part of Mr. Townsend’s Harmony of the Old Testament, of which 
an account has been given in p. 477. supra; and the remarks on which are equally 
applicable to the present work. The notes, indeed, are much more valuable, from 
the extent and variety of the very important topics they discuss. The usefulness 
of this portion of Mr. T.’s labours is materially increased by the numerous im¬ 
portant rabbinical elucidations which he has derived from the works of Lightfoot, 
Schoettgen, Meuschen, and others, which are not within the reach of every bibli¬ 
cal student. 



To Page 712. 

2.* A Scripture Help, designed to assist in reading the Bible pro¬ 
fitably. By the Rev. Edward Bickersteth. London, 1806, 18mo. 
Tenth edition, London, 1823. 12mo. and 8vo. 

Though this work does not profess to be a critical introduction to the reading 
of the Scriptures, it demands a special notice as being, perhaps, the best practical 
help to the study of the sacred volume that is extant in our language. The sale 
of 18,000 copies of the large editions, and of not fewer than 90,000 copies of the 
18mo. abridgment, sufficiently attest the high estimation in which this manual is 
deservedly held. 


To Page 764 . 

22.* A Dissertation on the Fall of Man; in which the Literal 
Sense of the Mosaic Account of that Event is asserted and vindicated. 
By the Rev. George Holden, M. A. London, 1823. 8vo. 

The Scripture History of the Fall of Man has met with many strenuous adver¬ 
saries, who have endeavoured to explain it away in various ways ; while it is ut¬ 
terly rejected by many of those who have rejected the doctrine of the atonement. 
In the fourth volume of this work (pp. 6—9.) the literal sense of the first three 
Chapters of Genesis is briefly vindicated: but it has been reserved for Mr. Holden 
to consider the subject most fully and distinctly. All the efforts of perverted cri¬ 
ticism to reduce the Mosaic History of the Fall of Man to allegory, fable, or mv- 
thologue, are here examined in detail; and the objections of its adversaries to the 
literal sense of that history are minutely and satisfactorily refuted. 


THE END OP VOLUME II. 






































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